The power of partner advocacy

Customers and employees aren’t the only people who can use their social channels to promote your company; partners have a role to play as well. And, your partners will already be invested as your success is theirs too.

Your channel partners – your suppliers, technology partners, consultants, resellers and distributors, and agents – are all part of your brand building ecosystem. According to social media expert Neil Schaffer, partner advocates can influence purchasing decisions among their network, and aid in bolstering the reputation of your brand in different markets.

Their very role as partner demonstrates that they advocate your company. And, it’s also in their best interests to ‘sell’ for you, as research shows social selling has been proven to increase total company revenue by 16% (Socxo).

So, how do you leverage your advocacy program to include your top channel partners?  

For me, there are three principles to incorporate into your partner advocacy program:

Reward your partners for being advocates 

Your employees and customers appreciate an incentive for essentially doing you a favour, so why should partners be any different? The incentive you offer partners is likely to differ, but the concept remains the same.

Help and reward your partners to create customer advocates

Having an advocacy program in place means you’re in a position to help your partners establish customer advocacy and build their brand reputation.

Be an advocate for your top partners

Partnership is a two-way street and one of the most valuable ways to reward your partners is to become advocates for them. If you can leverage social media tools to create a multiplier advocacy effect out through your partner channel, it will help you and your partners generate more leads.  

Origin Blurbs helps you leverage the power of your partners’ social networks to drive increased product awareness, positive peer recommendations, and effective lead generation.

The platform makes relevant, shareable information related to your products and services available to your partners, helping them not only stay updated about your offerings, but also giving them the confidence to market them well.