Every business should have a social or corporate advocacy. Having social advocacy is essential for employee retention and customer acquisition. When a business or brand exhibits a stand on relevant issues, employees and customers could relate to them. By having this connection, a business can start building relationships with their customers and employees and use them as instruments to spread awareness.
One of the ways to spread a good message is through digital advocacy. There are many strategies and tools available to conduct a successful digital advocacy campaign, such as a media sharing platform from https://www.greenfly.com. This article will help you navigate through the do’s and don’ts to have a successful digital advocacy campaign.
What Is A Digital Advocacy?
Digital Advocacy refers to the use of technologies to galvanize individuals towards a particular cause, be it a political campaign, corporate or social advocacy, or simply to get behind a new product. It’s an organized attempt to impact public opinion towards a specific cause or organization. Online tools such as digital campaign software, email campaigns, and social media can greatly influence the public perception of an organization. It can also make them appear likable.
Rules On Developing A Successful Digital Advocacy
You can grow your business through advocacy marketing. Running a digital advocacy campaign is quite similar to running an online marketing campaign. If you want to learn how to run a successful campaign online, you should follow these do’s and don’ts:
Don’t: Not Being Specific On Your Goals
Do: Goals Should Be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound
Many people think posting about a specific cause or advocacy on social media or sending out emails about business advocacies is enough to spread the message. However, if you want your digital advocacy to be successful, you need to develop a strategy based on SMART goals.
A clear understanding of what the goal is at all times helps keep you focused and working towards it. A SMART goal is an action-oriented and time-bound goal. This means that there should be measurable goals and an acceptable range of time for the process to be completed.
When it comes to your digital advocacy, you need to determine what you’re trying to accomplish. Do you need to do this to improve business or advocacy exposure? Do you want to get funds or donations for your drive? Do you want to influence government policy or change public perception? You need to be sure about why you’re doing this before you can draft an effective plan to spread the message of your advocacy.
Don’t: Not Defining Your Target Audience
Do: Identify Who You’re Trying To Influence
Most of the time, businesses would say that they want to influence everyone with their advocacy. However, like a concrete marketing plan, you should have a target audience. Having a target audience will improve your reach and allow you to better tailor your digital campaigns to appeal to them.
You should define your target audience as clearly as possible. You can categorize them by:
- Location
- Profession
- Age
- Gender
- Attitude regarding a specific cause
- Educational attainment
- What media do they consume
It’s better to have reliable data from consumer research or by interviewing a focus group.
Don’t: Not Monitoring Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Do: Use Intelligent Data To Optimize Your Campaign
The key to having a successful digital advocacy campaign is monitoring and measuring your KPIs and using this information to make the necessary adjustments to your strategies when needed. Your business must know who your supporters are and what actions they respond to. You can measure the success of your digital advocacy campaign through:
- Post Engagement – Social media platforms have built-in analytics to help marketers know the number of likes, shares, and engagements of a certain post. These numbers will indicate if more people are reacting to your campaigns.
- Website Traffic – You should always link your business website to your digital campaigns, whether it’s posted on social media or sent through emails. An increase in website traffic from these sources will indicate that your target audience responds to your campaigns.
- Website Bounce Rate – Looking at traffic alone isn’t enough; people have to stay longer on your website to fully understand your message.
- Brand Mentions – increasing your brand reach should be part of your goal. When there are people who mention your brand or business along with your advocacy on social media, it means that they also spread the word about your business. You can also use this as a strategy to gain useful insights into what people are saying about your brand and advocacy.
Final Thoughts
There are different digital marketing methods, and having a digital advocacy can easily set your business apart. Having a social advocacy makes you more relatable to your leads or prospective customers. Through advocacy, the public can easily affiliate with your brand—especially if they share the same sentiment or values. But to launch a successful digital advocacy campaign, your brand must set parameters to ensure that the message is clear, understandable, and effective.