Brand Advocates: Turning Enthusiastic Customers into a Powerful Marketing Force

Chapter 2

Not All Advocates Are Equal

Melody Overton (AKA “Starbucks Melody”) (see profile below) is a “Power Advocate” for Starbucks. Melody combines all three characteristics of a Power Advocate (see Figure 2.1).

1. Reach: She has thousands of followers on her blog and Twitter.

2. Frequency: She evangelizes Starbucks dozens of times each week online and offline.

3. Influence: Melody's advocacy gets people to take action including getting others to buy Starbucks products.

Figure 2.1 The Makings of a Power Advocate

Influence Matters Most

Some Advocates have more “stick” than others. When they recommend something, their friends buy it. Jennifer, a 17-year-old girl, has got stick. Whatever she recommends—smartphones, rap artists, clothes—her friends buy. Within her social network, she's a Pied Piper for brands.

You may have thousands of followers and rave about a particular brand or product. But if you don't get others to take action, you're not a Power Advocate. You're a zealot.

On the other hand, a Brand Advocate may only have a few dozen people total in his social network. But among his friends, he may wield enormous influence within a particular category of product or service.

Measuring Advocate Influence

Advocate influence is very hard to track in the offline world. But the online world is a different story. You can measure influence by tracking the number and type of actions ...