3 steps to creating your own advocate community

Do a quick search of #HagerGang on Twitter and you’ll see how powerful Hager’s customer community really is.

This supplier of products and services for electrical installations founded the community when one of its customers coined the phrase on Twitter, and it’s now blossomed into an award-winning community that has helped to recover stolen goods and put customers in touch with Hager products in their area.​

We spoke to content marketing executive David Evans to find out his tips on how to create your own advocate community.

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@hageruk Another quality Hager product fitted. #HagerGang pic.twitter.com/VlKYv1peuq

— RT Electrical (@RTElectrical) August 18, 2017

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1. Have conversations with your customers

Speak to them about what drives them, their challenges and ambitions, and shape your content around that. Show how you can relate, understand and empathise.

Hager regularly runs competitions (such as 'installation of the month' and '#HagerHoliday') to drive engagement among their customers, even giving away gifts in the form of branded t-shirts and caps, which are then incorporated into the aforementioned contests – spreading its brand reach far and wide over social media.

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We will have our Install of the Month later this week.

Who will be the chosen one for August? #HagerGang pic.twitter.com/hzt4QKFM8o

— Hager Ltd. (@hageruk) August 29, 2017

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2. Think about who’s sharing your content

You might have customer advocates without realising it. Look through your data and see who’s sharing your content, who’s replying to your tweets and who’s opening your newsletters. These customers
are already promoting your work; it’s time to find out who they are and introduce them to your community.

While most individual social platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter possess their own surface level analytics portals, paid content analysis tools such as BuzzSumo or Sprout Social provide a much deeper level of insight into who's sharing your content.

3. Be an advocate

A great way of getting your customers engaged with your community is by being an advocate of theirs. Ask them to write a piece for your website or even a review of one of your products. Promote their skills and knowledge to your audience. In turn, these advocates will continue to shout out about your business.

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