Brand Advocacy: Definition, Importance, and How to Build It

Here’s the hard truth: Brands can no longer rely solely on traditional advertising to win customers. Instead, they must cultivate relationships and inspire passionate advocacy from those both within and outside the company.

Brand advocacy is a powerful marketing strategy that leverages organic recommendations from loyal customers, employees, and influencers alike, and it is an integral part of any internal communication strategy.

This article will explore the fundamental principles of brand advocacy, its importance, who can be a brand advocate, and how companies can establish a successful brand advocacy program. We will also discuss real-world examples of successful advocacy programs and the key metrics to measure brand advocacy.

What is Brand Advocacy?

Brand advocacy is the organic promotion of a brand by individuals who genuinely support and endorse it. These ambassadors—whether customers, employees, or influencers—help amplify a brand’s message through word-of-mouth marketing, social media, and personal recommendations.

Brand advocacy is not the same thing as customer advocacy. Customer advocacy is an essential part of brand advocacy, but it is more limited in scope. Customer advocacy focuses primarily on satisfied customers recommending a brand. Brand advocacy, on the other hand, includes not just customers but also employees, influencers, and industry leaders who genuinely support and promote the brand.

Just how effective is brand advocacy? Well, when it comes to achieving communication objectives, word-of-mouth advocacy marketing remains one of the most trusted forms of promotion. In fact, a Nielsen survey found that 92 percent of people trusted recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of marketing. Meanwhile, another Semrush study found that 1 in 4 customers will completely avoid a business about which someone they know shares a negative story.

92 percent of people trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of marketing. Nielsen Survey

Why is Brand Advocacy Important?

Brand advocacy is important because it plays a crucial role in shaping a brand’s online reputation and driving long-term business success. It allows companies to build trust, enhance engagement, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Unlike traditional marketing strategies, brand advocates leverage organic and authentic recommendations, making it more impactful and cost-effective.

In fact, brand advocacy saves money that would have otherwise been spent on marketing or PR. Traditional advertising is costly and often perceived as intrusive. Brand advocacy, on the other hand, is a cost-effective and sustainable strategy that builds trust over time, due to the fact that people trust people they know more than they do marketing campaigns. As stated in the Nielsen study mentioned above, 9 out of 10 consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other type of advertising.

Those numbers are hard to argue with!

Who Can Be a Brand Advocate?

Brand advocacy isn’t limited to customers—it extends to employees and influencers as well. Anyone who has a positive association with a brand can be a potential brand advocate.

Customers

Your customers are natural brand advocates who can share their experiences through user-generated content, online reviews, and referrals. Encouraging satisfied customers to post testimonials or participate in referral programs can significantly boost brand awareness.

Your business can nurture customer advocacy by providing excellent service, engaging with them on social media, and creating loyalty programs.

Employees

Your employees are an invaluable asset in brand advocacy campaigns, too. When they share company news, job openings, or industry insights on social media, they not only amplify the brand’s message but also position themselves as thought leaders.

Engaged employees also contribute to a positive workplace culture, further strengthening the brand’s reputation. You can support employee advocacy through internal communication tools and employee recognition programs.

Influencers

Influencers can play a vital role in brand advocacy. While some may require payment for endorsements, organic brand advocacy occurs when public figures genuinely appreciate your brand and share their experiences without compensation.

The key is to build authentic relationships with influencers who align with your brand’s values and are willing to act as brand advocates. Partnering with influencers strategically can extend your brand’s reach and credibility.

The Benefits of Brand Advocacy

Investing in brand advocacy leads to numerous advantages that can significantly boost a brand’s visibility and reputation. When companies create strong employee advocacy programs, they enjoy higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, greater engagement, and an increased ability to attract new markets. Below are some of the key benefits of having a well-established brand advocacy program.

A well-executed brand advocacy program can offer multiple advantages:

Increased Brand Awareness and Credibility: Organic endorsements reach new audiences and enhance brand perception.
Higher Engagement and Social Proof: More shares, likes, and comments on social media lead to greater visibility and influence.
Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy: Customer and employee advocacy programs require less investment compared to paid advertising.
Impact on Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Retention: Brand advocates tend to be loyal customers who strengthen the brand’s long-term success.
Business Growth and New Market Penetration: Strong customer and employee advocacy can help brands enter new markets and attract new customers.

How to Build a Brand Advocacy Program in 7 Steps

To make advocacy successful, you need a structured approach. If you’re interested in getting an initiative off the ground at your company, you can follow these seven steps to build a scalable, engaging, and results-driven brand advocacy program that will be effective and actually last.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Before launching a brand advocacy program, clarify what you want to achieve. Are you focused on increasing brand awareness, boosting social media engagement, or driving referrals and conversions?

Here are some key goals to consider:

Brand Awareness: Expand your reach by encouraging advocates to share company updates, thought leadership content, and product launches.
Engagement & Trust: Position your brand as an industry leader by generating conversations around relevant topics.
Referrals & Lead Generation: Empower advocates to drive traffic to your website or recommend your products/services to their networks.

Having measurable goals helps define success and shape your advocacy strategy accordingly.

For a powerful example of how establishing goals can boost advocacy efforts, discover our case study for Expereo, a Sociabble client that took its advocacy program to the next level.

Step 2: Identify & Segment Your Advocates

Not all advocates are the same. Segmenting them allows you to tailor messaging and incentives effectively.

Here are three key groups of brand advocates:

Customers – Loyal customers who love your product and willingly share their positive experiences.
Employees – Your workforce is one of the most powerful and trusted advocacy channels.
Influencers & Partners – Industry leaders, content creators, or business partners who can help amplify your brand.

By categorizing advocates based on their relationship with your brand, you can craft specific engagement strategies for each group.

Step 3: Create a Simple and Engaging Advocacy Program

A great advocacy program should be easy to understand, easy to join, and easy to participate in.

Simplify Onboarding – Reduce friction by providing a clear step-by-step guide on how advocates can participate.
Enable One-Click Sharing – Platforms like Sociabble allow employees and customers to share approved brand content seamlessly.

Create Thematic Campaigns – Tie advocacy efforts to trending topics, company milestones, or social causes to keep participation exciting.

The simpler and more engaging the experience, the higher the participation rate.

Step 4: Provide Value & Incentives to Advocates

For advocacy to thrive, your advocates should feel appreciated and valued. Offering meaningful incentives encourages long-term participation.

Some incentive ideas include:

Loyalty Programs – Reward advocates with points or status upgrades for consistent engagement.
Early Access to Products – Provide VIP access to new products, exclusive beta tests, or insider information.
Exclusive Perks & Rewards – Feature top advocates in your newsletter, website, or events. Programs like Sociabble Trees even let advocates contribute to social causes, increasing engagement through meaningful rewards.

The goal is to create incentives that go beyond financial rewards and offer experiences that build a sense of belonging and purpose.

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful tools in advocacy marketing. Encouraging advocates to create and share content boosts authenticity and credibility.

Ways to drive UGC engagement:

Create Shareable Moments – Ask advocates to post about their experiences with your brand, whether it’s an event, product launch, or company initiative.
Leverage Hashtags – Encourage a unique brand hashtag to make tracking and visibility easier.
Run UGC Contests – Reward advocates who generate the most engaging or creative content.

A brand advocacy program thrives when there is a constant flow of fresh, authentic content from real advocates.

Step 6: Train Employees to Become Advocates

Your employees are often your most trusted and influential brand advocates. However, they need proper training and tools to amplify your message effectively.

Provide Social Media Training – Educate employees on best practices for sharing content professionally while staying authentic.
Offer Pre-Approved Content – Use a tool like Sociabble to give employees a library of shareable content, eliminating hesitation about what they can post.
Use Gamification – Engage employees with leaderboards, challenges, and rewards to make advocacy fun and rewarding.

When employees feel confident and supported, they become more active brand ambassadors, driving greater reach and engagement.

For a real-world example of how effective this technique can be, discover our case study for Allianz, a company that partnered with Sociabble to turn its workforce into effective brand advocates.

Step 7: Track & Optimize Performance Over Time

Like any marketing initiative, a brand advocacy program should be measured and optimized for maximum impact.

Key metrics to track:

Engagement Rate – How often are advocates sharing and interacting with content?
Reach & Impressions – How much exposure is your advocacy program generating?
Conversion & Referral Rates – Are advocacy efforts driving actual leads or sales?

Use analytics to refine your approach, test new engagement strategies, and continually optimize for better results.

Strategies to Drive Brand Advocacy

Building an effective brand advocacy program requires implementing strategic initiatives that foster engagement and encourage brand advocates to spread the word. Below are some of the most effective strategies to establish and sustain a thriving brand advocacy ecosystem.

To sustain a successful advocacy initiative, implement these strategies:

1. Deliver Exceptional Customer Experiences

Ensure top-notch service and support to create memorable interactions with existing customers that encourage them to become brand advocates.

2. Leverage Employee Advocacy Programs

Encourage employees to share company news, industry insights, and product updates through structured employee advocacy initiatives.

3. Encourage Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Implement referral programs and incentivize customers to spread the word about their positive experiences.

4. Create Referral & Reward Programs

Develop structured referral programs that reward customers and employees for promoting the brand.

Monitor brand mentions, engage with customers, and respond to feedback to show appreciation for brand advocates.

6. Partner with Influencers & Industry Leaders

Establish relationships with social media influencers who genuinely align with the brand to enhance credibility and create brand advocates.

7. Utilize Gamification & Community-Building Efforts

Introduce fun challenges, contests, and gamified experiences to encourage participation in advocacy efforts.

Examples of Successful Brand Advocacy Programs

Many leading brands have successfully implemented brand advocacy programs to amplify their message and engage their audiences. Here are a few brand advocacy examples, illustrating how top companies have leveraged advocacy to drive business growth and brand loyalty.

Adidas: Customer Loyalty & Membership Perks

Adidas has successfully built a customer advocacy program through its loyalty initiative, Adidas Creators Club. Members earn points for purchases, social media engagement, and product reviews, while also becoming part of a community of fans. In return, they receive early access to new products, exclusive events, and personalized offers. This approach keeps customers engaged and incentivized to advocate for the brand.

Tesla: Word-of-Mouth Advocacy Without Paid Advertising

Tesla is one of the few brands that thrive almost exclusively on word-of-mouth marketing. Instead of traditional advertising, Tesla relies on its passionate customer base to promote the brand. By consistently delivering high-quality, innovative products and fostering a strong community, Tesla has built an organic advocacy network that drives sales without costly ad campaigns.

Starbucks: Employee & Customer Engagement Strategies

Starbucks has a well-rounded advocacy approach that includes both customers and employees. Through the Starbucks Rewards program, customers earn points for purchases and receive personalized rewards. On the employee side, Starbucks empowers its workforce to share company initiatives and community involvement, strengthening its brand presence on social media.

How to Measure Brand Advocacy Success

Building a strong brand advocacy program, however, is only half the battle—the real challenge lies in measuring its success. To ensure your efforts are driving real business impact, here are key metrics to track:

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS is one of the most effective ways to measure brand advocacy at scale. By asking customers a simple question—“How likely are you to recommend our brand to a friend or colleague?”—you can gauge overall brand sentiment. A high NPS indicates strong advocacy, while a low score signals areas for improvement. Tracking NPS trends over time helps assess the effectiveness of your advocacy initiatives.

Customer Referral Tracking

Loyal customers who actively refer others are some of the strongest brand advocates. Implementing a referral program with unique tracking codes or referral links allows you to measure how much of your new business comes from existing customers. High referral rates indicate strong advocacy and customer trust.

Brand advocates naturally amplify your message on social media. Monitoring key engagement metrics like shares, mentions, and user-generated content (UGC) provides insight into how frequently and authentically people are promoting your brand. A growing volume of organic advocacy signals a thriving community of brand supporters.

Employee Advocacy Engagement

Employees can be some of the most powerful brand advocates. Tracking their engagement with advocacy initiatives—such as how often they share company content, generate discussions, or create their own branded posts—helps measure internal brand enthusiasm. Metrics like click-through rates, impressions, and engagement levels on employee-shared content provide deeper insights into the success of your employee advocacy program.

Additionally, simple surveys, like those that can be created and sent easily with Sociabble, can offer insights into how employees feel about your company and how they are advocating for your brand.

Sales Impact from Brand Advocates

Brand advocacy isn’t just about awareness—it should also drive tangible business results. Analyzing how advocacy efforts influence sales, lead generation, or conversion rates can demonstrate their bottom-line impact. Metrics like revenue attributed to referrals, customer lifetime value (CLV) of advocates, and sales pipeline contributions from advocacy-driven interactions help quantify success.

Brand Sentiment Analysis

Beyond numbers, it’s crucial to understand the emotions behind brand advocacy. Sentiment analysis tools can assess online reviews, social media comments, and customer feedback to determine overall brand perception. A positive sentiment trend indicates that advocacy efforts are resonating, while negative sentiment can highlight areas that need attention.

By tracking these key metrics, brands can refine their advocacy strategies, optimize engagement, and maximize their impact on growth and reputation.

Conclusion: A Brand Advocacy Program is Part of a Complete Marketing & Communications Plan

Brand advocacy is a powerful communications and marketing strategy that fosters organic promotion, credibility, and long-term brand loyalty. As we’ve shown in this article, by defining clear goals, identifying brand advocates, implementing structured programs, and measuring results, brands can cultivate a dedicated community of supporters.

At Sociabble, we offer a platform that can streamline and enhance brand advocacy efforts, making it easier for businesses to leverage the power of organic engagement. We’ve already partnered with industry leaders like Coca-Cola CCEP, Primark, L’Occitane en Provence, and others to optimize their employee communications, and we’d love to discuss ways we can do the same for your organization.

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Published on 18 February 2025 Last update on 18 February 2025

What is Brand Advocacy and How to Build It?