The Importance of Brand Advocacy in Fashion Retail

So you have a brand, you have a product, and you have a solid group of loyal customers. In order to expand, you may need some brand advocates. Brand advocates are people who promote and share positive feedback about a brand, without monetary compensation.

People trust brand advocates more than they trust brand influencers. According to convinceandconvert.com, a business consulting firm, 18% of consumers trust influencers while a whopping 92% trust brand advocates.

People trust their friends and family. Consumers are very aware of the fact that brand influencers get paid. This makes what they say a little bit less trustworthy. Knowing that Scott Disick got paid a ton of money for this post might turn consumers off, feeling that they can not trust that those are his real opinions. If a friend or a friend-of-a-friend posted the same photo without compensation, and with a positive caption about how much they love the jacket, consumers may be more willing to trust their opinion.

Social Media can nurture these relationships. Some companies know exactly how to utilize social media to make brand advocates feel like they want to keep posting about the brand, but some are not so great at it. Here are some ways that fashion companies maintain a relationship with brand advocates. For example, Fashion Nova (@fashionnova) is widely known for its A list celebrity influencers. However, they also do a good job of acquiring many brand advocates through getting consumers to post pictures of what they purchase. The company gives the incentive that they may be reposted to the brand's page. Another company that does well is Nasty Gal (@nastygal). The brand uses a technique that gets the followers that they have already acquired to comment and tag their friends on the @nastygal page. In posts like this, the company gives customers the chance to win money if they tag a certain number of friends and follow their account. This helps the brand reach new followers, while the followers advocate for the brand on their behalf, because the person who is tagged will likely click on the page and may think 'hey, she likes the brand enough to follow. I'll follow too and maybe I'll even purchase something'.

Of course, every marketing effort needs to match the brand's personality and image. For this reason, every brand needs a different strategy and will get brand advocates in different ways.