Creating community from within

Employees are a brand’s greatest assets and biggest supporters. They are often an untapped or underutilized resource when it comes to creating community and advancing your company’s external agenda.

According to Global Strategy Group’s Employee Engagement Survey, employees who admire and trust the organizations they work for are primed for engagement. It was reported that two out of three employees (64%) are willing to share something positive, if asked. However, only one in five (21%) employees has ever been asked to share news with others outside the organization.

Employees want to understand where the business is going and how the company is planning to make a difference. Communicating your company’s policies, goals, priorities, social impact, and stance on relevant public issues is a must. When employers communicate their social impact to employees, the response can be extremely favorable. In fact, more than 85% of employees think their employer has done a good job when they communicate about issues. This type of communication is often handled by communications, marketing, and public affairs in coordination with the executive team.

In fact, even executive teams can be overlooked. If you manage your company’s brand marketing, communications or public affairs, do you tap into your senior leaders to further amplify a story?

Take LinkedIn, for example. Ryan Roslansky, the CEO of LinkedIn, often shares news about the company’s latest initiatives and products in real time. His content is clearly linked to the brand’s purpose and a sense of social good. As a result, employees feel a stronger emotional connection to him which sparks positive engagement. They reshare his content or comment on it, further amplifying the company message.

Build a strong community by affiliation

It is also important to identify collaborations with partners who share the same mission. They can lend their perspectives, authority and some credibility when it comes to social good and public affairs initiatives.

For example, partnering with an NGO can help your brand be positively associated to another brand who strongly pursues agendas that relieve suffering, protect the environment, provide basic social services, undertake community development and more. This helps associate your brand with positive social or political change.

People feel a stronger sense of belonging to a community they care about because it helps them find like-minded people and feel valued. Their common interest can align with your brand and the values you share.

Take Johnson & Johnson as an example. The big pharma company works with like-minded partners like the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and the National Medical Association to support healthcare workers of color to become leaders in climate and health equity education, advocacy and policy solutions. These partnerships have significantly empowered medical professionals in caring for patients and the planet.

Leveraging influencers as storytellers

Organizations should also consider leveraging individuals as a means of creating community. After all, the rise of social media has provided a new platform for influencers to share ideas, promote narratives, and shape public opinion.

Dr. Shazril Shaharuddin, better known as Dr Say, frequently shares about his parenting, fitness, and health journey on social media. He uses his platform to promote healthy living to his followers, and many consumer-facing health brands have turned to him to host events, endorse products, or increase awareness on a health issue.

While influencers can build relationships, trust, and credibility with customers, brand owners must carefully consider the risks that comes with engaging externally.

When Christiano Ronaldo removed two bottles of Coca-Cola – one of the main sponsors of Euro 2020 – at a conference and encouraged people to drink water instead, Coca-Cola’s share price dipped by $4 billion. Coca-Cola paid tens of millions to be a sponsor, including guaranteed product placement. However, Ronaldo proved the power of activism. One small move cost the brand a huge drop in value.

With brands today looking to engage influencers for advocacy campaigns, there are some additional risks assessments that need to be considered to protect reputations:

Can they hurt your brand?

While a brand can set guidelines for an influencer to follow, they can’t control an influencer’s every move. Finding the right influencer fit for your brand requires thorough research, background checks, and ensuring that their portfolio of brand engagement align with the brand to avoid any confusion or damage.

2. Are they authentic?

An influencer’s followers trust that they share the same values and interests. A brand’s audience must see that the influencer partnership is credible and that they are not simply posting because of sponsorship.

3. Do they support your brand mission?

A chosen influencer must have the right status or position to suitably endorse a brand. For example, a brand whose mission is to reduce environmental impact cannot support an influencer who actively uses new plastic materials daily. Choose unwisely and it becomes less clear what your brand stands for.

Convert customers into advocates for your brand

Customer service and branding go hand in hand. Every point of contact a company has with customers has the potential to either build loyalty or create dissatisfaction. Again, think about the emotional connection you can build.

A great place your company should look at to find brand advocates is on social media. Every positive tag or comment can be turned into an opportunity to engage with a satisfied customer. Simply acknowledging them for leaving a positive review or comment could result in building a strong relationship. Social media engagement is critical to connecting with happy customers and turning any frustrated ones into potential brand advocates.

Personalizing customer experiences can also help to humanize a brand, boost customer satisfaction and ensure your brand is remembered. According to findings from Accenture, 9 out of 10 global consumers said that they are more likely to do business with brands that remember, recognize, and provide them with relevant recommendations and offers. Whether it’s remembering their usual requests, inviting them to exclusive event previews or recognizing them as VIP members, customers are more likely to make a repeat purchase when brands provide personalized experiences.

In conclusion

Today, the path to purchase is influenced by a multitude of stakeholders, and what influences customers goes beyond low prices or product features. Highlighting the social good your brand does in the world and amplifying this through employees, like-minded partners and credible voices can create positive engagements and customers-turned-advocates. As public advocacy becomes increasingly embedded in national agendas and policies, it is crucial to understand who is affected by the decisions and who has the power to advocate for positive outcomes – the stakeholders.

Brands that build emotional connections with their customers have an advantage when it comes to influencing purchasing decisions. This is true of any brand, even for companies and organizations that don’t market direct to consumers. Why? Because people are emotional beings.

Customers who share the values of a brand can become powerful advocates who recommend your products or services to others. They can generate organic word-of-mouth, help a brand become visible to larger audiences, and amplify brand voice ─ all of which can bring in more business.

But how do you strengthen that emotional connection? By successfully communicating core values in both words and actions. It requires investments in creating community, driving social good, storytelling and, at times, influencing public policy. The strongest brands foundations integrate brand and advocacy to influence customers. Where do you start, especially if this is new for your organization?

Connecting Brand and Advocacy

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MacAllen Media & Public Affairs