Customer Advocacy Programs

In the realm of social media, what are called Customer Advocacy Programs are enacted by businesses as part of a broader engagement strategy. Their aim is to identify and recognize the most loyal and enthusiastic customers of a business and to empower and reward those customers so that—without being paid a salary—they promote the business, its products, and its services on the business's behalf and under its auspices. These are not secret programs, nor do they come with strings attached.

They are in the open. Businesses have clear motives for enacting these programs: They want the influence of passionate customers working for the business, and they want to harness the business's authentic voice in a space where credible recommendation seems to carry more weight than ever just because it’s a recommendation—a real tip from a friend or family member as opposed to a sales point made by a human or digital seller.