What are your Fans worth to YOU?

As a brand and social media specialist, it is expected of me in some sense that when I like or support a brand I will share their posts, product and ideas across social media. When I see something that piques my interest it either ends up here on my blog, or elsewhere on Twitter and Facebook. I try to reward and encourage brand accounts, especially those belonging to small businesses to keep their momentum building in their social space.

But there are other people out there, not like me, who don't actively look for opportunities to share and engage with brands. A lot of business owners who've yet to embrace the social sphere write the idea off entirely because they feel that a fan liking their page on Facebook or re-tweeting a post on their Twitter feed has no bearing on sales. Well I'm sorry, business owner, but you're WRONG. You're so so so wrong.

On Facebook alone, the basic act of a fan "liking" your business page is valued at $174.17.

That doesn't mean that you get $174.17 credited to your account every time someone likes your page (oh wouldn't that be nice?) but it does mean that the person taking action online equates to real-life sales offline.

"In the study, Syncapse observed more than 2,000 Facebook users who had liked or friended a brand. By analyzing dynamics such as product spending, loyalty, page recommendations, media value acquisition cost, and brand affinity, the company was able to determine that the average Facebook friend, or “fan,” was worth $174.17." (source)

 People who interact with your brand on a regular basis, promoting or sharing your activity are called Brand Evangelists. These people aren't paid or compensated in product for what they do, they're taking action because they truly stand behind your product and these people and their actions are invaluable.

Often Brand Evangelists are also social influencers, which means that when they engage with activity on social media it begins a domino effect of other people taking action. On sites like Facebook and Twitter, one social influencer's engagement can equal a LOT more engagement from their friends and friends of friends.

There is also an antithesis to the Brand Evangelist: The Negative Nelly!

Although Brand Evangelists are out there, promoting and sharing your products for no reason, when you're in the business of customer service you're far more likely to come across a Negative Nelly! These influencers can wreak havoc on your brand, especially when they aren't handled properly.

You have to remember, most people take action when they're unhappy before they'll take action for superior customer service. Most people will spend more time bashing poor service than uplifting those who gave them a positive experience. Anyone can be turned into a Negative Nelly with a poor meal or bad experience, but few will step up after having a great experience and share it with the world.

This is why nurturing and rewarding brand evangelists is so important! These people go out of their way to support your brand and you can do the same right back.

Running "Fan of The Month" contests, keeping track of quality engagement and rewarding your Brand Evangelists will only grow your community. Encouraging this behavior will in turn create more brand evangelists and allow your brand to grow online.

Here are some ways you can find and reward Brand Evangelists: 

• Find local bloggers and social media influencers with services like Klout for Business and send them free offers
• Hold community events and encourage social participation online; Find & reward the most active individuals
• Offer rewards for online reviews in spaces like Google Reviews, Yelp and Facebook (note: don't offer compensation FOR reviews, but encourage reviews and reward regardless of quality! Address negative reviews with complimentary product or services to try and change reviewer's experiences)
• Feature a "Fan of the Week" on your Social Media feeds, encourage competition with stories, ideas and creative content
• Keep track of your most active online fans and contact them privately to offer your appreciation and complimentary services for their activity!
• Hold online "meetups" and "twitter parties" where you offer free products for answering trivia questions correctly and for attending. Use hashtags to keep track of the conversations.
• Contests that encourage creative thinking & social sharing! (Ex: Families compete in a road trip competition and the family who gets the most votes at the end of the month wins a free car/camera etc.)

If you'd like to know more about Affiliate Marketing & Harnessing your Brand Evangelists, contact me!