Making brand leaders
WHETHER you’re a marketing agency, service provider or product developer, your industry is probably rife with competitors.
The daily struggle of trying to stay one step ahead with your online presence can be overwhelming. You know you need to be visible, but at the same time you don’t want your customers to think you’re presenting yourself as God’s gift to your industry. If you’re feeling the pressure, it might be time to focus on strategic, humble bragging instead!
Here are five ways you can leverage your clients as brand champions:
1. Don’t be afraid to name-drop
One of the biggest benefits of mentioning your premium clients in your digital content is that it creates a sense of trust. When potential customers see brands they recognise, they can conclude that if those brands can trust you, so can they. Couple this with a showcase of some of your best work as proof of what can come from that trust.
Award-winning South African marketing agency Pulling Power Media does this especially well and has created marketing animations for massive IPS, including Batman, Men in Black, Transformers and more. They post their artwork to their social channels, rather than just the client themselves.
2. Showcase how you break with tradition
Ogilvy are great at this, with their #Adoftheday hashtag. Whenever they have created something they are particularly proud of for its innovation for one of their clients, they post their own version of the ad or campaign to fit in with their style, showing off their innovation on their terms.
3. Get your staff involved
If your staff are excited to be working on a particular product or brand, encourage them to track their progress so they may post about their work online after launch. If a client likes what they see, they may repost what an employee has posted, building social trust and helping to leverage your own brand in return.
4. Celebrate your clients’ victories
Show your clients that you have been proud to work with them. One of Pulling Power Media’s clients, Ocushield, which creates filters for harmful blue light for screens, recently featured on Dragon’s Den, competing receiving offers from two. Dragons.
The Pulling Power Media team posted the Dragon’s Den snippet to their own social media account, congratulating their client.
5. Simply say ‘Thank you’
This is possibly the best way to leverage your clients as brand champions. “A thank you goes a long way” is the ultimate understatement, and your clients, potential new clients and followers will more easily trust that you have their best interests at heart.
One way you can do this is to create a showreel at the end of each year, thanking your clients for making what you have done possible – like hiring more staff or beginning to grow a new department.