Scale is a useful concept for understanding a "brand advocate's" influence. Sites like Klout track the online influence of advocates. Yet online influence must correlate with real world respectability and the objectivity of the advocate, and it is here where advocacy comes up short.
The Credibility Gap
The biggest problem with "brand advocates" is that you can pay them to say nice things about you. Even Jimmy Wales thinks this is stupid . Sadly, some brands today remain gullible or fall for genuine traps like brand journalism which can easily veer into something they once called advertorial .
Low Value Love
Algorithms are advanced enough to weed real influence from “paid influence” (i.e. buying social followers on fiverr and others). But things get tricky when upt to 30% (or much more) of a following can be non-human. The additional trouble with the human advocates without "real-world” reach is that their online following which may or may not consist of high value followers. And it is simply impossible to gauge if they are being paid to post, comment or advocate.
High Value Connections
In short, not all online advocates are created equally. That is why ABGD creates strong connections with respectable anlaysts, editors and opinion makers with influence that stretches far beyond the web. We’d rather overlook a "Mommy Blogger" with a fickle following than a Media Luminary with a rolodex of real human contacts.
If you want know more about the different types of brand advocates, such as they are, click here . For more on the earned media you can get from Media Luminaries in the national press visit www.buzzthatbrands.com
