While I was recording my first podcast, it occurred to me that I can’t always expect someone to learn from my experience shared over 15-30 minutes in the first go and let them search for my specific episode each time. My audio lessons and interactions are designed to spark innovation and zeal within you, and to provide you with opportunities to learn. However, a blog is a platform that allows you to delve deeper into topics that extend beyond the podcast. In this absolute fast paced world, I decided I need to give you my content a place to thrive and stay alive whenever you need it… so while my podcast is my unfiltered playbook, the real behind-the scenes of what’s it like to build something from nothing, my blog is a step ahead of reshaping my experience into a practical list of takeaways you can now bookmark, share and revisit all in one place.
So consider this a two-for-one series that takes you into my journey, where you listen to nuance and context and then also lean into a distilled guide that you can act on. Are you ready to learn how to launch an advocacy program without breaking your organization’s vault or your brain? Let’s dive in…
I assume you have heard 15 minutes of my experience on the podcast, and are building a program of your own… Well, first and foremost, you don’t need a big shiny wallet to create an impact. If you are starting from scratch (and from stinginess), here are ten ways to turn your big idea into a thriving community, without spending a cent.
1. Start With Stories, Not Software
Fact check– you do not need a platform to begin your advocacy program. What you need are genuine stories that need a voice. Talk to the happiest customers, jot down their wins, and meet your sales and CS teams to know who is shining, who is not. Use Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Notion, or even a plain old spreadsheet as your “advocacy hub” in the early days. Create a list of five to ten activities you can introduce your potential advocates to, but ask them to pick just three they are most passionate about. The data you collect is what will define the future of your manually-run advocacy program.
2. Recruit Your Founding Advocates
Be honest with yourself and your customers. Forget expensive databases, you already have LinkedIn, your CRM exports, and your customer success teams to begin with. Reach out to the top ten accounts and users who show up for your organization’s webinars, events, social posts, or connect with your CS team members and talk about the best accounts. Start by letting them know that you want to make them early adopters to the program, and their experience, story, and passion are the rewarding bit. Trust me, they won’t mind volunteering for a few activities.
3. Use LinkedIn As Your Stage
Before sharing activities with them, make LinkedIn your best friend and share the spotlight by tagging customers on your list and highlighting their work. While you initiate the first conversations on whether they want to be advocates, ask them what they love the most about the product or service you offer. Let them know it could be featured over social and then do it… Yes, nothing builds goodwill faster than free visibility and a spotlight that truly matters.
4. Make Video Calls Your Content Studio
If you lack big technology at your workplace, that shouldn’t stop you from taking bold steps. If you need testimonials or thought leadership snippets, schedule a short Zoom/Teams/ whichever video conferencing you use in-house and hit record. Transcribe your recordings and slice up content for case studies, testimonials, and social clips. You can be free, effective, and personal simply by exploring options that your company’s compliance and security allows you to… It’s a blessing to think out of the box sometimes.
5. Make Form Fills Your Best Friend
If you are keen to go on calls, make notes while assessing potential advocates, and still show up savvy? Once you decide to go beyond the ten advocates, check what motivates your advocates via a personalized advocacy form. The world is your oyster. Reach out to your marketing folks, create landing pages, and you might get lucky using Marketo, HubSpot, or a survey on Google Forms to arrange the data you desire. Make your landing page and form interesting and ask about their interests, willingness to join panels, or desire for exclusive previews. These thoughtful questions can truly shape the trajectory of your entire advocacy playbook.
6. Curate, Don’t Overcreate
Based on the list of activities you share with advocates and seek how often they plan on being part of that activity, you already have advocates producing content. From blogs to podcasts, LinkedIn posts to Reference calls, you will get a lot of the boxes checked. Instead of producing everything from scratch, curate and amplify their brilliance. Collaborate with your graphic team or hone your design skills with Canva, create the desired messaging, and get the ball rolling.
7. Build a Community Without Fancy Platforms
From Slack to closed LinkedIn groups, you can pilot a small advocacy community effortlessly. While you are still small, the group’s goal is to be conversational and give your advocates reasons to show up. You can begin by sharing exclusive insights or even behind-the-scenes previews. This is the best time to make the product marketing crew your best friend and even collaborate with beta/UX UI survey teams.
8. Reward With Recognition, Not Swag
Sure, who doesn’t love branded hoodies, but compared to recognition? Well, recognition and appreciation go a long way. Shout-outs in your newsletters, a customer spotlight in your blogs, or inviting them to co-host webinars can be great ways to reward your advocates. Remember, long-lasting advocacy is fueled by pride and admiration, never prizes.
9. Pilot Programs Beat Perfection
Don’t stress yourself to achieve perfection in every little initiative you take. And certainly don’t wait until you have every playbook, reward structure, or fancy dashboard in place. Run a mini-pilot with a handful of advocates. Test what works, adjust per need, and scale later. It’s better to launch and land than to never take off at all.
10. Lean Into Free Tools for Sanity
Talk to your tech team (if you have one) or go over the right channels to get permission to use free tools. Planning can surely feel overwhelming without a system. From Trello to Airtable, or even a free version of Asana, can help organize advocates, track asks, and keep your brain from spiraling into a sticky-note mode.
As I wrap this blog and pick up the leash to take Figo on a walk, I want you to pick up on your ideas and put them down on paper… I have done it a few times now, so I can truly vouch that to start an advocacy program, budget is not the issue… the lack of belief and the will to listen is what defines its success. When you begin with free tools, innovation at its brim, and customers that are willing to connect to your purpose, you create something that money can’t pull– it’s trust. Build your program small, amplify smartly, and soon enough, you’ll be surprised how the budget will come knocking on your door.
