Introduction 

At the heart of great marketing is one simple idea: people trust people. This fact is driving the rapid adoption of brand ambassadors. But what is a brand ambassador exactly? How do they differ from influencers, and why are businesses investing so heavily in ambassador programs? 

This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of brand ambassadors, including their responsibilities, the value they contribute, and a comparative analysis with influencers. Explore ambassadors’ crucial role and discover insights into establishing your Ambassador Program to enhance engagement and return on investment (ROI). 

Brand Ambassador Meaning 

A brand ambassador represents and actively promotes a brand, product, or service in a way that feels authentic and credible. These individuals embody the company’s values and mission, acting as an extension of the brand. 

While the term may conjure an image of a celebrity pitching products, most brand ambassadors are everyday individuals, people like loyal customers and employees. What sets them apart is their genuine belief in the brand, which makes their advocacy feel natural rather than transactional. 

Responsibilities of a Brand Ambassador 

The specific tasks vary depending on the brand, but the typical responsibilities of a brand ambassador include: 

• Promoting Products: Sharing experiences with brand products or services via social media, reviews, or direct recommendations.

• Engaging on Social Media: Tagging the brand, using campaign hashtags, and creating User-generated Content (UGC) to amplify the brand’s message.

• Representing at Events: Attending brand-hosted events, trade shows, or pop-ups to interact with customers and provide a human face to the brand.

• Providing Valuable Feedback: Acting as a bridge between the company and its audience, relaying customer insights to improve products or services. 

Successful ambassadors are characterized by their alignment with the brand’s image and values. Their authenticity is the secret ingredient that fuels strong connections with their audience. 

Mobilize and activate your brand ambassador relationships and secure long-term impact with emotional brand loyalty.

The Job of a Brand Ambassador 

Why Alignment Is Key 

A brand ambassador isn’t just a person holding a product. They are chosen because their personality aligns with the brand’s ethos. Whether you’re promoting eco-conscious coffee or athletic wear, the ambassador must resonate with your target market. 

For instance:

• Patagonia ambassadors are deeply involved in environmental advocacy, reflecting the company’s sustainability mission.

• Lululemon relies on fitness instructors who actively lead healthy lifestyles, making them credible advocates for athletic apparel. 

Activities 

Their tasks often involve in-person interactions, such as attending local meetups, and digital engagement, such as spreading awareness through Instagram or TikTok. This job consists of a blend of creativity and communication. Key qualities include reliability, excellent communication skills, and a genuine passion for the brand. 

How Do Brands Use a Brand Ambassador? 

Done right, brand ambassadors can transform a company’s marketing efforts. Here’s how brands leverage ambassadors to maximize ROI: 

Authentic Advocacy Through UGC 

Brands like Starbucks and Glossier encourage ambassadors to create authentic content showcasing real-world product usage. This User-generated Content resonates because it feels organic, not overly rehearsed.  72% of consumers believe customer reviews and testimonials are more credible than branded content. 

Exclusive Campaigns & Experiences 

To engage audiences, brands often feature ambassadors in exclusive campaigns or launch events. For instance, Adidas worked with ambassadors to launch limited-edition sneakers, creating buzz among their communities. 

Community Building 

Some of the most successful Ambassador Programs focus on promotion and fostering a sense of community. By creating VIP ambassador clubs or private online forums, brands give ambassadors an insider experience, incentivizing deeper loyalty. Think Nike’s exclusive running clubs or Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community. 

How to Become a Brand Ambassador 

Curious about pursuing this role? Here are the steps to becoming a successful brand ambassador: 

Building Your Personal Brand 

• Find Your Niche: Focus on a couple of passions, whether it’s fitness, travel, or sustainable living. Align your interests with brands you’d love to represent. 
• Be Active on Social Media: Create authentic, high-quality posts that engage your audience. Consistency is key! 
• Engage with Potential Brands: Interact with companies you admire by tagging them in posts or using their campaign hashtags. 

Develop Key Skills 

Strong communication skills, creativity, and a knack for storytelling will make you stand out. Brands look for ambassadors who can turn casual conversations into compelling brand moments. 

Apply for Programs 

Many brands have dedicated ambassador applications on their websites. For example, Red Bull’s Student Brand Manager Program recruits college students to promote their products on campus. 

Ambassadors vs. Influencers 

While brand ambassadors and influencers may seem similar, the two roles differ significantly. 

Brands may choose influencers over ambassadors (or vice versa) based on goals. Influencers are ideal for quick visibility, while ambassadors build sustained trust and loyalty over time. 

What Words or Language Do Brand Ambassadors Use? 

Key Messaging Traits 

Ambassadors are trained to be authentic, engaging, and brand-aligned in their messaging. Successful ambassadors avoid jargon or hard selling—they focus on storytelling. Here are some examples:

• Relatable Tone: Sharing personal anecdotes about using a product (e.g., “This cleanser fits perfectly into my busy morning routine!”). 
• Calls to Action: Encouraging followers to try products (“Use my code for 20% off!”). 
• Consistent Branding: Incorporating branded hashtags or slogans. 

Benefits of Implementing an Ambassador Program 

The return on investment (ROI) from ambassador programs is remarkable. Let’s highlight some advantages for brands:

Authenticity Drives Trust 

With 93% of marketers agreeing that customer-created content outperforms branded messaging, investing in ambassadors yields genuine, relatable marketing content. 

Cost-efficiency 

Compared to large-scale advertising campaigns, ambassador programs are cost-effective, offering long-term branding benefits for a fraction of the cost. 

Community Engagement 

Featuring ambassadors help build a tight-knit Community Powered Marketing approach, fostering loyalty and advocacy. 

UGC and Boosted Sales 

76% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase due to peer recommendations or ambassador content. 

Unlock the Power of Brand Ambassadors 

Brand ambassadors are no longer optional but essential in the modern marketing arsenal. Blending authenticity, creativity, and community amplifies brand trust and drives loyalty. 

For marketers, now is the time to leverage ambassadors effectively. Define your brand’s messaging, recruit passionate advocates, and watch the meaningful connections (and ROI) grow. 

Are you looking to drive long-term loyalty through Ambassador Programs? It’s time to cultivate partnerships that add authentic voices to your marketing strategy. The coffee is brewing, and the next big ambassador opportunity awaits. Schedule a demo and start cultivating lasting relationships with a Brand Ambassador Community.

The post What is a Brand Ambassador? appeared first on TINT.

With a decline in traditional social media usage and the rise of dedicated online brand communities, 2024 provided a wealth of insights on building authentic, lasting connections with your audience. We’re reviewing our thoughts and predictions from the start of the year. Let’s dig in.

In Case You Missed It: Read our 2024 State of Community Powered Marketing here.

Traditional Social Media Is Losing Its Shine 

Oxford University Press has named brain rot the word of the year. The days of endlessly scrolling major social media platforms are fading. A GWI study shows that global social media usage has declined since 2022. Add to this Gartner’s prediction that by 2025, 50% of consumers will significantly reduce their use of traditional platforms due to quality concerns, and it becomes clear that brands can no longer rely solely on these channels to engage their audience. 

Add the looming deadline for TikTok’s forced sale in the United States, and you’ve got a perfect storm of unenthused users. 

What’s replacing the Instagram selfies and TikTok dances? Private, interest-based communities where consumers can interact more meaningfully—with each other and brands.  

Fun Fact: Brain Rot isn’t a new term. The first recorded use of the term was in Henry David Thoreau’s pivotal book Walden. He writes, “While England endeavors to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”

The Rise of Private Online Communities 

Consumers are flocking to spaces where their voices are heard (and listened to). Research from Community Roundtable revealed that 78% of consumers prefer connecting with brands through dedicated online communities rather than engaging via traditional social media. 

Why are these communities so valuable? They offer richer interactions, allowing members to engage in meaningful discussions beyond shallow exchanges. This sense of belonging can’t be replicated on social media feeds. In these communities, members can share their stories, network with like-minded individuals, and receive support, all of which contribute to a stronger community bond… and a stronger connection to the brand that facilitates this network.

This shift towards community-focused platforms gives brands an opportunity to rebuild customer trust. These communities empower brands to showcase their commitment to their customers, unlike the pay-to-play social platforms of old, where authentic connection often feels diluted by advertising and algorithms. 

Connection Wins Over Followers 

Community engagement isn’t just a warm-and-fuzzy exercise in public relations. It delivers tangible benefits for brands. Edelman’s survey found that 67% of consumers feel more connected to brands that foster community engagement than those that rely on social media campaigns.

A connected customer is a loyal customer, and guess what? They’re also likely to buy. HubSpot’s research showed that 77% of consumers are willing to make purchases directly from an online brand community. Authenticity and connection are driving real ROI. 

The End of Influencer Dominance 

Sorry to the influencers reading this, but this wasn’t your year. Influencer Marketing Hub’s benchmark report finds that 71% of marketers say traditional influencer campaigns are becoming less effective. Today’s consumers are prioritizing authenticity above all else, which means your local micro-influencer might have a better shot at delivering trust than a big-name celebrity with sponsored posts galore. 

That’s not to say influencer marketing is totally dead. It’s just evolving, smaller followings, greater community endorsement, and trust-building over time are where it’s headed. 

Navigating AI’s Growing Impact 

Generative AI made waves this year and it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 60% of Chief Marketing Officers will adopt safeguards to combat the risks of deceptive or low-quality AI output. 

For brands, getting ahead means harnessing AI responsibly. Pair AI tools with human oversight for activities like customer support, content personalization, and data analysis. And stay transparent. Consumers value brands that disclose how they’re using tech to enhance—not replace—authentic interactions. 

The Power of Listening 

Want to inspire customer loyalty? Start by listening. The Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that 97% of consumers feel motivated to stay loyal and purchase more often from brands that actively listen to their feedback. 

Creating space for this two-way dialogue through review systems, forums, or community Q&As solidifies trust and boosts brand affinity. These engaged customers are more likely to become your brand’s advocates. 

Community-Driven Content Multiplies Your Reach 

User-generated content (UGC) doesn’t just drive engagement—it drives action. Here’s the proof:

• A BrightLocal report shows that 90% of consumers are more inclined to leave reviews when they feel part of a community. 
• According to Hootsuite, 68% of community members create content about the brands they engage with. 

This type of content also works harder for your brand. Re-shared customer reviews and testimonials don’t just feel more authentic; they are more authentic. That authenticity builds trust, echoed in increased shares, clicks, and purchases. 

Co-Creation Beats Traditional Marketing 

One of the strongest trends in 2024 was brands collaborating with their consumers. A study in Marketing Week highlighted co-creation as a powerful alternative to traditional campaigns. Brands that involve their communities in decision-making—whether brainstorming product ideas or creating ad campaigns, cultivate a sense of ownership and loyalty among their consumers. 

Barriers to Emotional Connections 

Despite the importance of emotional resonance, brands face growing challenges in this area. A McKinsey study revealed that economic pressure has led many consumers to prioritize price over loyalty. This doesn’t mean emotional engagement is obsolete; it just means it needs to evolve alongside changing consumer realities. 

Brands must pair emotional connections with practical value. Offer clarity and reassurance about how your product provides the best bang for their buck and aligns with their values. 

Preview of the State of Community Powered Marketing 2025 

Here’s what needs to stay top of mind as you plan for next year:

• Engagement First: Invest in private, interest-based communities for deeper customer ties. 
• Authenticity Over Hype: Prioritize real connections, user-generated content, and meaningful advocacy. 
• Balance AI and Human Interaction: Use AI to streamline processes, but don’t lose the personal touch. 
• Be Transparent and Inclusive: Build trust by listening to your community and co-creating wherever possible. 

And that’s our Community Powered Marketing Recap 2024! Need help navigating the evolving marketing landscape? We’re here to help. Whether it’s building your first branded community or understanding the latest UGC trends, we’ve got the expertise to keep your strategy ahead of the curve. Chat with a TINT Community Specialist today. 

The post Wrapped: Community Powered Marketing Recap 2024 appeared first on TINT.

What is the Voice of the Customer?

Defining VOC

The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is the structured process of capturing your customers’ needs, expectations, and experiences. It involves gathering data and insights directly from your customers to better understand their perspectives and preferences. This feedback loop is essential for identifying gaps in your products or services and aligning them with customer expectations.

The Role of VOC

VOC is pivotal in the customer experience journey—from initial awareness to post-purchase support. Listening to your customers allows you to tailor marketing strategies, improve product features, and enhance customer service. A strong VOC strategy ensures that every interaction with your brand is informed by customer insights, leading to more satisfying experiences.

Key Components of VOC

Capturing the Voice of the Customer involves several elements, including needs, wants, feedback on quality, service, delivery, and even brand perceptions. Understanding these components helps businesses refine their offerings and exceed customer expectations consistently.

The Four Key “Voices” in an Organization

Voice of the Customer (VOC)

The Voice of the Customer (VOC) should be the primary driver of decisions, particularly for customer-facing processes. By focusing on VOC, businesses can ensure that their strategies align with customer needs and desires, ultimately leading to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. Listening to customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and social media interactions provides invaluable insights into what customers truly want, allowing companies to tailor their products and services accordingly.

Voice of the Business (VOB)

The Voice of the Business (VOB) represents internal priorities such as revenue goals, profit margins, and growth objectives. Balancing VOB with VOC is essential to meet business goals while maintaining customer satisfaction. Businesses must consider their financial and operational goals, ensuring they do not overshadow or conflict with the needs of their customers. A well-balanced approach helps companies to thrive in competitive markets while fostering long-term customer relationships.

Voice of the Employee (VOE)

Employee insights can significantly enhance customer experience by improving satisfaction and productivity. Engaged employees who feel valued and heard are more likely to deliver exceptional service, directly impacting customer loyalty. It is important for businesses to create an environment where employees can share their experiences and suggestions. This can lead to innovative solutions and improvements in service delivery, ultimately benefiting the end customer.

EGC is an integral part of VOE. Find a refresher in our Guide to Employee-Generated Content. 

Voice of the Process (VOP)

The Voice of the Process (VOP) encompasses operational and procedural perspectives that help align resources, streamline workflows, and deliver on VOC promises. Ensuring that processes support customer-focused initiatives is critical to organizational success. By continuously evaluating and refining processes, businesses can reduce inefficiencies, enhance quality, and provide better customer service. This alignment is crucial for meeting customer expectations and maintaining a competitive edge.

Balancing the Voices

Balancing all voices, with VOC at the center, is crucial to achieving success. While conflicts may arise between different voices, prioritizing VOC ensures that strategic decisions are customer-centric and aligned with market demands. Businesses must create a harmonious balance where VOC guides the decision-making process while considering the company’s and employees’ needs and processes’ needs and perspectives. This approach meets internal and external expectations and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and customer excellence.

Who Is the Customer? Internal vs. External Customers

External Customers

External customers are the direct recipients of your product or service and are considered the primary source of revenue for your business. They can include individuals, businesses, or any entity that purchases and uses your offerings. Understanding their needs, preferences, and feedback is crucial for achieving business success, as it helps tailor products and services to meet their expectations and build lasting relationships.

Internal Customers

Internal customers refer to colleagues, teams, or organizational departments that depend on your work to accomplish their tasks. For instance, the marketing team might rely on the design team to create promotional materials, or the sales team may require support from customer service to address client inquiries. Recognizing the importance of internal customers can improve internal workflows and processes, resulting in a more efficient organization and an enhanced experience for external customers.

Stakeholders vs. Customers

Stakeholders are individuals or groups with a vested interest in the company, such as investors, employees, or board members. While they are essential to the business’s success, they are not always the direct recipients of the product or service. Distinguishing between stakeholders and customers allows for a more focused approach to delivering exceptional customer experiences, as it directs efforts toward understanding and fulfilling the needs of those who actually use the products or services.

Why This Distinction Matters

Understanding the distinction between internal and external customers is vital for improving organizational communication and efficiency. It ensures that every team member is aligned with the overall objectives and can contribute effectively to the company’s goals. By recognizing internal and external customers’ unique needs and roles, businesses can enhance satisfaction, foster a positive work environment, and drive overall success.

How to Collect VOC Data Effectively

Direct Methods

Surveys

Designing effective surveys is crucial for capturing comprehensive customer needs. The process involves crafting a set of well-thought-out questions that cover various aspects of the customer experience. These surveys can be distributed through multiple channels, such as email, online forms, or in person. Well-crafted questions ensure that you gather meaningful insights to inform strategic decisions and guide product development.

Product Sampling can distribute items at scale to potential customers and collect data to drive insights. Learn how. 

Interviews

One-on-one interviews provide nuanced insights that might be overlooked in broader, less personal methods. These interviews can either be structured, with a predetermined set of questions, or unstructured, allowing the conversation to flow more naturally. They allow for in-depth exploration of customer experiences, expectations, and specific feedback on your product or service. Interviews can uncover detailed information that surveys might miss.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are valuable for gathering diverse perspectives from a selected group of participants. These sessions encourage open discussions that can reveal hidden insights, trends, and a variety of viewpoints. The moderator plays a crucial role in guiding the conversation to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to share their thoughts. Observations from focus groups can lead to valuable insights into customer perceptions and potential areas for innovation.

TINT helps brands make better decisions by tapping into consumer insights. Learn more.

Indirect Methods

Customer Service Data

Analyzing interactions with your support team can uncover common pain points and areas for improvement within your service or product offerings. This data is invaluable for enhancing customer satisfaction, as it helps identify frequent issues and customer struggles. By addressing these, you can improve the overall customer experience.

Complaint Data

Tracking and analyzing complaints allows you to identify recurring issues and address them proactively, which can prevent potential customer churn. Complaints often provide unfiltered feedback that can highlight gaps in your offerings. Regularly analyzing these complaints can reveal systemic problems that need immediate attention and resolution.

Social Listening

Social media platforms provide unfiltered customer feedback, offering real-time insights into their feelings and perceptions about your brand. You can monitor mentions, hashtags, and direct feedback through social listening to better understand customer sentiment. This method is handy for capturing the immediate reactions of customers and staying ahead of emerging trends in customer opinions.

Monitoring UGC can help brands track consumer sentiment, competitors, and discover valuable keywords. Here’s our guide to UGC for Social Listening.

Internal Methods

Sales Reps and Frontline Employees

Employees who interact directly with customers, such as sales representatives and frontline staff, can offer unique insights into unmet needs and customer preferences. Regularly collecting feedback from your team allows you to understand the challenges they face and the opportunities they see in the market. Their first-hand experience can be invaluable in shaping strategies that align with customer expectations.

Existing Company Data

Leveraging existing data such as sales figures, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), customer demographics, and other internal metrics can highlight customer satisfaction trends and areas that require improvement. Analyzing this data can reveal patterns and correlations that might not be immediately evident, helping to inform data-driven decisions.

Choosing the Right Method

Selecting the appropriate Voice of the Customer (VOC) collection method depends on factors like budget, timing, and the depth of data needed. A well-rounded approach often includes a mix of direct, indirect, and internal methods to understand customer needs and preferences comprehensively. Balancing these methods ensures you capture a wide range of insights, leading to more informed decision-making and effective strategies.

Benefits of Understanding and Acting on VOC

Building Customer Loyalty

Voice of the Customer (VOC) strategies align product offerings with customer needs, creating a solid foundation for fostering loyalty and nurturing long-term relationships. By consistently delivering value, businesses can ensure customers feel heard and appreciated, encouraging repeat business and advocacy.

Competitive Advantage

VOC insights provide a significant edge over competitors by responding quickly to rapidly changing consumer needs. Companies that effectively leverage this information can anticipate market trends and adapt accordingly, positioning themselves as leaders in their industry.

Product/Service Improvements

VOC serves as a guide for product and service enhancements, ensuring they better match customer expectations. Businesses can drive satisfaction and retention by actively incorporating customer feedback, increasing profitability and brand loyalty.

Enhanced Communication

Understanding VOC helps streamline messaging across all channels, reducing miscommunication and improving overall customer engagement. Effective communication ensures that customers receive clear, consistent, and relevant information, enhancing their overall experience with the brand.

Reduced Churn

Listening attentively to customers and acting on their feedback reduces dissatisfaction, preventing business loss and significantly increasing retention rates. By addressing customer concerns proactively, companies can minimize churn and build a more stable, loyal customer base.

Why VOC Collection Can Be Challenging

Data Overload

Managing and analyzing vast amounts of customer data can be overwhelming for businesses, especially as the volume of information grows exponentially. Implementing effective strategies to organize, categorize, and prioritize data is essential for extracting actionable insights that drive decision-making and improve customer experiences.

Conflicting Voices

The Voice of the Customer (VOC) may sometimes conflict with other essential voices within a business, such as financial considerations or operational constraints, leading to tough decisions. Balancing these diverse interests is crucial for effective decision-making, ensuring that customer needs are addressed without compromising other critical business objectives.

Bias in Data Collection

Potential biases in survey design, such as leading questions or self-selection in feedback processes, can skew results, leading to inaccurate conclusions. Ensuring diverse and representative samples is key to obtaining reliable data. This involves careful planning of data collection methods and continuous evaluation to minimize bias and enhance the validity of findings.

Resource Constraints

Small or mid-sized businesses often face resource constraints and may lack dedicated VOC resources, such as specialized personnel or advanced analytical tools. Leveraging technology, such as automation and AI, and prioritizing key insights can help these businesses overcome challenges and achieve meaningful outcomes from their VOC initiatives.

Best Practices for Implementing VOC Insights

Ask Directly and Regularly

Frequently soliciting customer feedback is crucial for staying aligned with their expectations and ensuring their evolving needs are met promptly. This can be done through surveys, interviews, or direct communication channels.

Set Clear, Measurable VOC Goals

Defining actionable and measurable Voice of the Customer (VOC) metrics is essential for guiding strategic decisions. These metrics help track progress, identify improvement areas, and ensure customer satisfaction remains a top priority.

Use Multiple Channels

Employing a multi-channel approach provides a comprehensive view of customer sentiments and preferences. This can include online surveys, social media platforms, customer service interactions, and feedback forms, ensuring no valuable insights are overlooked.

Train Teams on VOC

Educating employees about the importance of VOC fosters alignment across departments. It enhances collaboration by ensuring all team members understand how customer feedback impacts their roles and the organization’s success.

Monitor VOC Trends

By tracking changes in VOC over time, businesses can better adapt to evolving customer needs and expectations. This ongoing monitoring helps spot trends, identify shifts in customer preferences, and enable proactive adjustments to business strategies.

Aligning VOC with Product Development

Voice of the Customer (VOC) informs research and development cycles. By gathering and analyzing customer feedback, businesses can ensure that new products and features align with their target audience’s evolving expectations and desires. This approach meets customer needs and reduces the risk of product mismatches in the market.

Customer-Centric Marketing

VOC insights play a significant role in enhancing marketing efforts. By understanding customer preferences and pain points, companies can refine their targeting and messaging strategies, crafting marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with their audience. This customer-centric approach helps in building stronger connections and improving brand loyalty.

Improving Customer Support

VOC is a valuable tool for guiding support strategies within an organization. By leveraging customer feedback, businesses can identify areas needing improvement in their support processes, leading to quicker resolutions and enhanced customer experiences. This focus on customer satisfaction can significantly boost retention rates and promote positive word-of-mouth.

Performance Metrics

Integrating VOC insights with key performance metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) offers a comprehensive view of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This alignment allows businesses to track performance over time and continuously make data-driven decisions to enhance customer experience.

Related Concepts and Tools

Critical to Quality (CTQ)

Critical to Quality (CTQ) elements define quality from the customer’s perspective. Understanding CTQ is essential for guiding quality improvement efforts and ensuring that products and services meet or exceed customer expectations.

Survey Design Best Practices

Creating effective surveys is crucial for capturing meaningful VOC insights. Adhering to best practices, such as asking clear and concise questions and ensuring a smooth user experience, helps gather accurate and actionable data to drive organizational improvements.

Tools for VOC

Various tools are available to manage and analyze VOC data effectively. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, survey software, and customer journey analytics platforms provide businesses with the means to collect, organize, and interpret customer feedback, leading to more informed decisions.

Making VOC Your Strategic Advantage

Summary of Key Points

Voice of the Customer (VOC) fosters strong customer relationships and drives overall business success. By embedding VOC insights into all facets of an organization, from product development to marketing and customer support, businesses can ensure a customer-centric approach that meets customer needs and expectations, ultimately leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

Final Thought

VOC is not a one-time effort; it’s a continuous journey. Leading companies that listen and adapt to VOC set themselves apart in competitive markets. Start auditing your VOC efforts today to foster stronger customer relationships and achieve lasting success. Top brands use TINT to connect with their customers and create communities of brand advocates. Learn more.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) introduced a new rule (16 CFR Part 465) targeting fake reviews and testimonials, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing battle against deceptive marketing practices. The rule addresses fake or false consumer reviews, testimonials, and related deceptive practices that have become increasingly prevalent as more shoppers buy online rather than in stores.

This rule arrives at a critical time, with consumer reviews impacting an estimated $1.461 trillion in annual sales. That means that fake reviews lead consumers to lose as much as $0.12 for every dollar spent.

The implications of this rule are vast, affecting businesses across all industries that rely on consumer reviews and testimonials to influence purchasing decisions. Marketers must reassess their strategies and comply before penalty notices go out at $50,120 per violation.

Understanding the FTC’s New Rule

The FTC’s rule is designed to eliminate deceptive practices related to reviews and testimonials, ensuring that consumers receive accurate information when making purchase decisions. 

Key provisions of the rule include:

Prohibition on Fake Reviews and Testimonials: Businesses are now explicitly prohibited from creating, purchasing, or disseminating fake reviews and testimonials. This includes reviews written by individuals who did not actually use the product or service. This includes reviews or testimonials falsely attributed to real customers or celebrities.

Insider Reviews and Undisclosed Relationships: The rule prohibits reviews written by a company’s officers, employees, or their immediate relatives unless there is a clear and conspicuous disclosure of their relationship to the company. This provision addresses insider reviews that can mislead consumers about the impartiality of the feedback.

Misleading Review Websites and Suppression Tactics: The rule also targets businesses that manipulate review platforms, including those that suppress negative reviews or present fake aggregate ratings (such as star ratings). It ensures that review sites and platforms display accurate and unbiased consumer feedback.

Civil Penalties and Deterrence: The rule introduces civil penalties for violations, giving the FTC a powerful tool to enforce compliance. The FTC aims to deter businesses from engaging in deceptive review practices by imposing financial consequences. As mentioned, civil penalties from the FTC are currently assigned at $50,120 per violation, increasing yearly. 

Why This Rule Matters

Consumer reviews play a critical role in the decision-making process. Studies show that consumers increasingly rely on online reviews to assess product quality, make comparisons, and decide whether to purchase. The FTC’s new rule is designed to protect consumers by ensuring that the information they rely on is truthful and reliable.

Beyond consumer protection, this rule is a game-changer for businesses. The FTC estimates that deceptive practices related to reviews have eroded consumer trust, leading to suboptimal purchasing decisions and reducing overall consumer welfare. The FTC aims to restore transparency and confidence in the marketplace by enforcing stricter regulations, ultimately benefiting consumers and honest businesses.

What Marketers Should Do

Marketers must take proactive steps to ensure compliance and maintain consumer trust. Here’s what you should do:

Audit Your Review Practices: Conduct a thorough audit of your current review and testimonial practices. Ensure that all reviews on your site or associated platforms are authentic and that no fake reviews or manipulated ratings are present. This includes reviewing any third-party services used to manage reviews.

Disclose Relationships: If employees, family members, or anyone with a financial connection to your business provides a review, ensure that their relationship is clearly and conspicuously disclosed. Transparency is critical to maintaining trust and staying compliant.

Avoid Review Gating and Suppression: Do not engage in practices that selectively solicit positive reviews or suppress negative ones. Encourage genuine feedback from all customers and present it in an unbiased manner. This approach builds credibility and can lead to long-term benefits.

Educate Your Team: Ensure your marketing, legal, and compliance teams know the new rule and its implications. Training employees on best practices for collecting and displaying reviews can help prevent unintentional violations.

In Closing

Transparency and authenticity are more critical than ever. Using trusted review management and Community Powered Marketing software keeps your brand’s reviews genuine, transparent, and aligned with the latest regulations. TINT helps you harness the power of real customer voices, driving authentic engagement while safeguarding your brand’s reputation. Learn more about TINT’s ratings and reviews solution.

The post FTC’s New Rule on Fake Reviews: What It Means for Marketers appeared first on TINT.

Customer reviews are more crucial than ever, but many marketers don’t know the proper ways how to ask for a review. Reviews significantly influence a company’s reputation, consumer trust, and search engine visibility. 79.69% of consumers look at ratings and reviews before making a purchase. Potential customers trust peer feedback more than brand marketing, making it essential to manage and leverage customer reviews effectively.

Yet, 62.5% of marketers struggled to maintain a pipeline of fresh reviews.

Positive reviews not only build a strong reputation but also improve SEO. Search engines prioritize user-valued content, boosting rankings and driving more organic traffic. This can lead to higher conversion rates and increased sales.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the importance of customer reviews for businesses, their impact on reputation and SEO, and practical tips for encouraging positive customer feedback.

The State of Community Powered Marketing explores ratings and reviews, user-generated content, and the challenges of marketers. Read the full report.

Why Asking for Reviews is Crucial

Customer reviews are crucial for the success of a business. They provide direct insight into customer perceptions, offering valuable feedback on areas of strength and areas for improvement. Positive reviews build credibility and trust, influencing purchasing decisions. 72% of consumers believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by customers are more credible than the brand talking about their products, relying on the experiences of others. This trust in peer opinions shows the importance of maintaining a positive review profile.

Customer reviews, a type of UGC, impact credibility and influence a brand’s visibility and search engine ranking. Positive reviews increase placement in local search results and review sites, expanding a brand’s reach. Additionally, positive testimonials and ratings increase conversion rates, leading to more customers. This positive sentiment drives immediate sales and encourages repeat business and referrals, creating a cycle of growth and engagement, all built on Community Powered Marketing.

Negative reviews, while potentially damaging, can provide valuable insights into areas for improvement. They highlight specific shortcomings related to product quality, customer service, or logistical issues. Addressing these criticisms and making necessary adjustments show a business’s commitment to customer satisfaction.

Best Practices for Asking for Reviews

Timing is Crucial

When it comes to asking for reviews, timing is everything. The best time to request feedback is immediately after a positive customer interaction. This could be right after a purchase, a customer service experience, or the delivery of a product. Catching customers when their positive experience is fresh in their minds increases the likelihood of receiving detailed and enthusiastic reviews. Avoid asking for reviews during busy periods or immediately following a complaint or negative interaction.

Choosing the Right Channel

Selecting the appropriate channel to ask for reviews can significantly impact the response rate. Email is a popular choice due to its flexibility and the ability to include direct links to review platforms. SMS is another effective channel that offers immediacy and high open rates. For a more personal touch, in-person requests can be very effective, especially in a retail or service environment. Additionally, leveraging digital communities or social media platforms can help tap into a wider audience. Tailor your approach based on where your customers are most active and comfortable.

TINT Ratings & Reviews makes it easy for you to collect, monitor, respond, repurpose, and display authentic customer feedback.

Crafting the Message: Politeness and Non-Intrusiveness

Being polite and non-intrusive is key when requesting reviews. Always start by expressing gratitude for the customer’s business. Personalize your message to make the customer feel valued and important. For example, using their name and referencing their purchase can make the request more engaging. Keep the request brief and straightforward, clearly stating why their feedback is valuable. Avoid overwhelming customers with long messages or multiple requests, as this can lead to annoyance and a negative response.

Facilitating the Review Process

Making it easy for customers to leave reviews is essential. Provide direct links to review sites and include step-by-step instructions. Some customers may not be familiar with the review process, so simplifying it can increase their chances of following through. If asking in person, consider providing a card with a QR code that takes them directly to the review page. The easier you make it, the more likely customers will take the time to share their feedback.

Expressing Gratitude and Follow-Up

After a customer leaves a review, whether positive or negative, always follow up with a thank you. Acknowledging their effort shows that you value their opinion and are committed to improving their experience. 

For positive reviews, a simple thank-you note can strengthen the customer relationship. For negative reviews, addressing their concerns promptly and professionally demonstrates your dedication to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. 

Additionally, periodically follow up with satisfied customers to encourage them to update their reviews or leave additional feedback as their experience with your brand grows.

Read More Tips for Building An Effective Review Generation Strategy.

Using Brand Communities for Reviews

Using brand communities to garner product reviews effectively activates loyal customers eager to advocate for your brand. Engaging these communities through personalized activities, surveys, and robust discussion boards helps build a strong connection with your audience. By doing so, you can encourage members to share their positive experiences and write reviews, which is essential for attracting new customers and maintaining a fresh, authentic online presence.

One way to leverage your brand community is by initiating personalized digital product sampling. By targeting community members who align closely with your ideal consumer profile, you can increase the likelihood of receiving genuine and positive reviews. Additionally, fostering an environment where consumers feel valued and heard encourages them to provide ongoing feedback. For instance, creating spaces within the community where members can comfortably share their opinions and experiences can lead to a steady stream of evergreen product reviews. This approach drives new conversions and builds long-term loyalty and trust among your consumer base.

TINT helps you create your own brand community to mobilize, activate, and scale engagement that promotes lasting business impact.

Handling Negative Reviews and Feedback

It’s important to respond to negative reviews in order to maintain and improve your brand’s reputation. A thoughtful and professional response can help lessen the impact of a bad review and may even turn dissatisfied customers into loyal ones. Start by addressing the reviewer personally to show that you value and take their feedback seriously. If possible, use the reviewer’s name to make the response more personalized, demonstrating genuine concern. Begin by thanking the reviewer for their feedback, regardless of its nature, as this shows appreciation for their time and effort in providing insights.

Take responsibility for the customer’s negative experience, regardless of how uncommon the issue was. Avoid making excuses; instead, focus on how the feedback will be used to improve future experiences. Provide a way to make amends, such as by offering contact information for further discussion, to demonstrate commitment to resolving the issue. This approach helps address the immediate concern and signals to potential customers that your business is responsive and cares about customer satisfaction. 

Remember, you’re not just replying to a negative review. You’re replying to anyone who can see that negative review, particularly in highly visible locations like Google Reviews, Yelp, and social media placements. The goal is to solve the specific problem, rebuild trust, and demonstrate your dedication to customer service.

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Asking for Reviews

Avoiding improperly incentivized reviews is crucial for maintaining brand integrity and FTC compliance. Start by sourcing authentic customer reviews through direct outreach, social media, or in-person events, and label them as incentivized. Balance rewards to avoid attracting fake reviews and never pay outright for reviews, as it discourages honesty and trust. Instead, offer product samples, discounts, or promo codes in exchange for genuine feedback. Avoid incentivizing Google reviews, as it can lead to fines, lower search rankings, review removal, and harm to your brand’s reputation.

Federal Trade Commission Perspective

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the American Federal agency responsible for truth and transparency in marketing. According to their guide for Featuring Online Customer Reviews, “FTC staff believes that, whatever your business model may be, you should be transparent about your review-related practices and should pay attention to several basic principles that derive from Section 5 of the FTC Act. Doing so is important for establishing consumer trust and avoiding potentially deceptive conduct.”

The FTC is focusing on the practice of incentivizing reviews. Offering free products or payments in exchange for reviews isn’t necessarily unethical or unlawful if done transparently and in line with FTC guidelines. The key is to make clear to consumers when a review has been incentivized, ensuring that it doesn’t mislead potential buyers. Many brands are now turning to brand communities to navigate these guidelines effectively. By building engaged and compliant communities, brands can foster genuine interactions, manage influence, and ensure their ratings and reviews are authentic and trustworthy. This approach helps brands stay within the bounds of the law while enhancing their connection with customers.

Launch Your Review Strategy

Reviews can make or break an online advocacy strategy. They enhance your brand’s credibility, boost SEO, and provide invaluable insights for continuous improvement. By strategically asking for reviews and leveraging brand communities, you can ensure a steady flow of authentic feedback that drives growth and engagement. Remember, the key to effective review generation is balancing incentives with transparency and maintaining ethical practices to build lasting customer trust.

You know how to ask for a review. Now, you’re ready to harness the power of customer feedback. TINT can help you build a robust review generation strategy that fuels your brand’s growth. Get started today.

The post How to Ask for a Review appeared first on TINT.

Yes, you can quickly launch TINT social walls to display and aggregate content from social media at near real-time speeds. However, savvy commencement producers know that with a little planning, your graduation social wall can attract more content, drive social engagement, and be an integral part of a large digital experience. 

These are the top five ways to create a great graduation social experience with TINT Social Displays. 

Pre-Seed Social Content

The doors open at your graduation, families start streaming in, and your social display only has a few pictures. You want to have a great display at the start of the event. But there can sometimes be a bit of inertia to get content flowing. Think of ways to start populating your social display in the hours or days before commencement begins. 

Here are a few of our favorites. 

Graduation Photo Galleries

Start by having graduates submit their graduation photos in a contest or gallery using TINT Experience Builder. Experience Builder is an intuitive WYSIWYG web creator, meaning that anyone with some basic copy, visual assets, and 20 minutes can quickly launch dynamic web pages that drive participation in social and UGC experiences. 

Student Influencer Campaign

So many students aspire to be or are already influencers. Lean on those audiences by launching a student influencer campaign to get images, video, audio, and other content. TINT Authentic Influencer tools make collecting, monitoring, responding to, and repurposing content easy. Beyond the impact on your social display, student influencer content can be invaluable as a resource for marketing teams supporting organizational functions like admissions, alumni relations, and student life. 

Graduation Backstage

Graduations are exciting moments for students, but the waiting in staging areas can be incredibly stressful (and honestly, boring.) Wait time can be especially long at large graduations. Have graduates submit photos of themselves getting ready or in the waiting/staging area. This ensures great early content on the screen, encouraging further participation during the ceremony. It is also a great way to occupy people while they wait for their time for the procession to the final location.

Make it Easy to Participate

Commencements bring all sorts of people together. Make it easy to submit by creating multiple avenues for sharing content. The easiest ways are things like Instagram mentions or hashtags. Then, you can get creative. Our event customers have had great results using text-to-screen, allowing people without social media to participate. 

Use TINT’s Content Technology to seamlessly ingest and display content from social media platforms and other digital channels. 

Popular channels for graduation include:

• Instagram
• Text / SMS
• Website Add-A-Post
• X (Previously Twitter)
• Email
• TikTok
• Slack

TINT integrates with top marketing and technology platforms, including event management systems like Bizzabo and CVENT. Tech-aware users can use our Zapier integration to connect TINT to other systems outside of our existing technology partnerships. 

Put It In Print (and everywhere)

You have your social display on the big screen, a scrolling call to action sharing post instructions. But graduations are busy, distracting affairs. Take the guesswork out of participating and include social wall participation instructions in the print program. Go further and add signage in common areas with QR codes that lead to a public upload page. Have your social team share the best content on your owned channels to encourage others to post for their five minutes of glory. Making people aware of how to be part of a collective digital social experience is half the battle. 

Go beyond the Big Screen

Most venues have secondary screens. Pushing TINT displays to other monitors, screens, projections, and websites is easy (and free). Surrounding attendees and graduates with this layer of digital experience can make every moment of the graduation, even the often long lulls, memorable. 

TINT Goes Everywhere

• Embed a social display on the graduation information page
• Add social displays to screens throughout the venue.
• Add a social crawl to the bottom of the video or other live content. 
• Push social content to screens across campus using your in-house signage solution. 

Mix It Up

TINTmix is our multimedia solution, which is included in every graduation event package. It is designed to empower event producers to quickly and easily launch multimedia experiences that incorporate attendee-created content. 

With TINTmix, you can easily go from a live social display to pre-recorded video to static cards. This more dynamic visual experience has been a great driver of action and a great way to recognize sponsors, partners, and collaborators. 

Many events use this as “visual hold music.” Events have a natural pacing, and even the best-run graduations will have the occasional lull. TINTmix provides a visually engaging display that can be pushed throughout a venue to encourage participation, recognize stakeholders, and buy time in case of unexpected delays. 

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TINT has worked with top educational institutions worldwide for over a decade to drive digital engagement and make commencements more social. We’d love to help you too. Chat with our event specialists and get special pricing on your graduation social experience.

The post 5 Ways to Create a Better Graduation Social Experience appeared first on TINT.

Artificial Intelligence

It should be no surprise that Artificial Intelligence is one of the top trends to watch in 2024. It has been a hot topic since ChatGPT went mainstream last year. Paul Roetzer of the Marketing AI Institute describes 2023 as the year organizations piloted AI for individual practice, but 2024 will be the year that organizations seek to implement business-wide AI policies and practices.

Many event organizations are still in the piloting stage. There are several likely reasons for the slower adoption of technology. 

First, many organizations are still in some form of recovery from pandemic lockdowns. Their events may be back in full swing, but they may still be struggling to restore budgets, assets, and (most importantly) talented staffing. The lockdowns saw a slew of early retirements and experienced events professionals changing industries. Thankfully, the industry has stabilized. However, this reduction in professional tenure has put many organizations behind the curve on technology adoption. 

Second, legacy events, particularly those put on by non-profits and municipalities, tend to adopt technology at a much slower pace. For-profit and smaller, agile event teams can quickly test new tools. Cities, non-profits, educational institutions, and large event organizations have inertia they must overcome to bring in new ideas or technologies. The piloting phase may only be starting for these groups, or they may need a longer runway to test before they can fully deploy a technology pilot. 

Lastly, budgets are tighter than ever. The broader travel, tourism, hospitality, and events industry still faces significant spending volatility. This has led many industry leaders to clamp down and tighten budgets in case of a “true” recession or other form of economic downtown. This leaves little room for experimentation beyond the free or freemium AI tools available on the market. There will be more adoption as existing software solutions incorporate AI into their products since this will create access to the technology without requiring additional investment. 

We’ll see event organizations using AI for a broad set of tasks as they overcome these challenges. Expect AI adoption to start with lower-hanging fruit like social media, marketing, and documentation. Those who have moved past initial piloting will soon use specialized tools for more exacting functions like risk management, volunteer management, operations, and emergency planning. 

TINT has the industry-first best-in-class suite of social UGC search, discovery, and curation tools powered by machine learning and our advanced AI.

Next-Level Placemaking

We’ve been discussing placemaking since early 2020. Pre-pandemic, Placemaking as an experiential design strategy was taking root in mainstream practice. Now, in a post-lockdown world, Placemaking is more vital than ever, particularly when it is enabled by technology. Consumers have endless options for educational content, with most of it available without them leaving their homes. Events’ unique value is turning a space into a “place.” 

2024 will see the three main principals of Placemaking continue to guide how experience designers create more memorable events. Spaces should be more than utilitarian. They should promote the event’s goals at every turn, using infrastructure and technology to balance business and social needs. 

Under the placemaking umbrella are three concepts that will see particular focus:

Human-Centered Design

Events are only successful when they’re attended. The best practice is to start with an audience and attendee persona, then build for that person. Human-centered design (HCD) initially started as an industrial and product design philosophy, but it was quickly been adopted by event and hospitality professionals. 

HCD requires every step of the event planning process to reflect on that ideal attendee and determine what is desirable, feasible, and viable. Every element, from large-scale art, food, stages, venues, and performers, should have a direct relationship and impact on the human experience of the event. 

Constant Communication Loops

Attendee feedback is useful for improving future events, but why wait? Open, constant communication functions allow event organizers to make changes and remedy issues on the fly. This can be a daunting prospect for seasoned event professionals. But with more competition for attention and tighter consumer budgets, attendees may not give you a second chance to do right. 

Events often have plans to escalate attendee complaints when they’re made to a volunteer or staff member. However, organizations should seek to capture feedback through social and digital channels and act upon it. Effective social listening is a low-friction place to start since many tools with a variety of functionalities exist across price points.

It isn’t enough to listen and take action; events must also respond. Attendees and stakeholders are likelier to provide specific, actionable feedback when they know it will be acted upon. Communication begets communication, and having a constant communication loop establishes a powerful sense of trust within the event.

Sustainable Practices

Event associations like MPI, PCMA, and IFEA have been spotlighting the importance of sustainability as an event management trend for years. Attendees want to see events reducing their carbon footprint and ecological impact. The casual attendee also understands what actions reduce impacts rather than performative efforts that don’t do much beyond being highly visible. 

Things like using recycled materials, reducing waste, and removing wasteful practices like paper schedules are now the baseline. Attendees also want to know that technology used for presentations, like projectors and digital signage, is ethically used and disposed of to reduce the amount of e-waste heading to landfills. 

Event technology firms are also exploring how to offset the carbon footprint of the servers used to keep their software running. 

Smarter Event Logistics

Routing and Advancing are well-known processes in the music festival industry. Both focus on moving talent across distances in the fastest, most efficient way possible. The growing popularity of the roadshow event format, and similarly executed “conferences in a box”, can find efficiencies by implementing routing techniques. Moving materials between a home base and a sequence of venues can be incredibly expensive. 

Event professionals and field marketers are now thinking about expedient ways to keep the wheels rolling on their mobile formats. Some may succeed with legacy or more traditional routing infrastructure like event warehousing or venue dryage services. 

Software solutions, like Sendoso, are adding a layer of technology to make routing and warehousing easier to execute by subscribing to their subscription service. 

Chatbots

Chatbots are nothing new, but with the launch of the GPT Store, highly responsive, high-quality conversational AI trained on your own data can quickly be launched with a few hours of planning and data enrichment. Well-designed chatbots could save time and staffing capacity across a variety of functions. 

At the event, particularly large or widely distributed activations, many customer service elements such as help desks, registration, and information booths are outsourced to third-party staffing. The chatbot can be the event expert in everyone’s pocket, accessible by attendees, staff, vendors, and other event stakeholders. This increases the speed and accuracy of information distributed. It will also reduce the training or pre-work expectations on staff, allowing more time to be spent on important training like emergency response or critical systems.

As more integrations launch for the GPT Store, conversational AI chatbots will proliferate across other channels. With open APIs and an ecosystem of chatbot tools already in place, social media is a sensible next step. Verbal AI tools can allow different audiences to speak to a digital receptionist powered by these advanced chatbots. 

Chatbots, AI-powered and otherwise, are primed to free up significant amounts of time for event professionals. 

Creator Corps

We’ve been beating the drum of authenticity for over a decade, and we’re happy that it has become part of mainstream marketing practice. There was a strong separation between the types of externally created content in the past. Influencers of all sizes, Creators, UGC creators, community content, and organic UGC were essentially rivals for focus and budget. 

Now, externally-created content has been brought together under the umbrella of the greater digital community. Job titles and roles have yet to be reorganized to reflect this, but we’re seeing movement in community and social media roles growing ever closer together. 

Last year, we interviewed Cyle Perez, Director of Public Relations. He spoke about creating a “Creator Corps,” a hybrid community that would create opportunities for influencers and creators of all stripes. Similar experiments have been started across various hospitality, travel, and tourism brands. It is only a matter of time for events, particularly ongoing event series, to establish collective long-term digital creator partnerships. 

Event Communities

Communities and events have a harmonious relationship. The best events have vibrant communities behind them, whether literal communities using events for quality of life or tourism or communities of practice that attend business events to grow as professionals. Communities are often deeply associated with their flagship events. People thinking of New York City may find some of the first mental touchpoints being the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop or Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

There are also micro-communities within the events themselves. Events require the contributions of sponsors, exhibitors, vendors, staff, volunteers, and external stakeholders. Many events have activated these internal communities using social platforms for over a decade. It isn’t uncommon for events to have dedicated private Facebook groups or discord servers for their various teams. 

With the continued march of Gen Z into the workforce, older social platforms no longer provide the same common access. Organizations are finding that their Facebook groups are slowing in growth as younger professionals exit the platform or, quite simply, never have accounts to begin with.

There have been moves to bridge that gap in the business events world using communications platforms like Discord and Slack. But the synchronous nature of these platforms makes them less than ideal places. They are good forums for discussion, but not necessarily the dissemination of vital event information and perspective that has been achieved in the past by more traditional event communities on established platforms. 

This has led forward thinkers to launch owned online communities, safe from the whims of social platforms and with the control of information and access firmly within the organization’s grasp. Expect those efforts to trickle down into more traditional consumer events after the wider adoption of platforms earlier in the year. 

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2024 will be a year of emerging technologies, AI disruption, and general volatility due to changing tides in socio-political landscapes. But one thing is certain: people still seek sincere, authentic connections with similarly-minded people and the brands they love. 

Ready to talk event social AI, owned communities, or pilot event carbon offsets? Schedule time with our events experts today.

The post Six 2024 Event Technology and Social Trends to Watch appeared first on TINT.

The statistics on this list represent the culmination of over a year’s worth of research, with other supporting data included for context.

Online communities have become pivotal for facilitating authentic interactions. Marketers face challenges navigating between owned channels and social media. The evolution of community-building resources empowers digital practitioners to have greater ownership and purpose rather than solely relying on the influence of external platforms.

Community is more than a buzzword

Cultivating and managing a digital community has become an entire field of practice, with full-time roles, advanced certifications, and senior leadership allocating budget to the practice. Research from Gartner indicates that consumers are starting to pull back on social media platforms, driving organizations to launch owned brand communities to maintain that deep digital connection.

• 76.6% of consumers wish their favorite brands had a community.
• 27.5% of marketers own a dedicated online brand community distinct from social media and 19.5% are building one now. 16.0% of marketers who don’t have one wish they did.
• 59.5% of marketers are concerned about losing access to their brand’s fans on social media due to an algorithm change.
• 40.9% of consumers say their involvement in online communities will increase in 2024. That’s an increase of 9% year over year.
• 67.4% of consumers feel more connected through community than social.

Brands are a reflection of the consumer

People want to buy from a brand that reflects their worldview. Marketers need to move beyond the superficial use of the term “community” and focus on understanding the meaningful impact of community-driven strategies. Our report unearths the dynamics influencing consumer spending, loyalty, and intent, each affecting how people connect and relate to a brand.

• 69.2% of consumers believe the brands they buy reflect who they are and are important to how they want to be perceived .
  • 77.5% of consumers are incredibly/very loyal to their favorite brands… but 42.4% are very likely to try competitors to those favorite brands.
• 73.6% of consumers are more likely to purchase more frequently because of an online brand community – an increase of 8% over 2022.

Building community powered Feedback Loops

Owned Brand communities play a significant role in powering feedback loops. Consumers want to share their voice and perspective with brands. Communities provide a discrete but public forum for ongoing feedback. But communication must go both ways. Consumers want to know that the brand is listening and responding to their perspectives.

• 88.1% of consumers believe it’s important to have two-way dialogue with brands so they can share feedback and opinions.
• 97.3% of consumers are motivated to be loyal and purchase more frequently when a brand listens to their opinions and feedback.
• 74.5% of marketers agree it’s important to have two-way communication with consumers, but 1 in 4 believe their brand’s two-way consumer communication is weak.
• 88.0% of consumers are motivated when a brand makes them feel involved, like they are part of a team.

Consumer Insights Drive Action

The brands that engage, listen, and respond are able to discover a treasure trove of valuable information specific to their organization.  These insights can drive product creation, marketing campaigns, and generate vital User-Generated Content like ratings and reviews that support in-store and eCommerce sales.

• The top way marketers use or plan to use online communities is to collect consumer opinions (51.0%), amplify other marketing initiatives (45.0%), and grow loyalty (41.0%).
• 67.5% of marketers believe community-building is important to creating emotional loyalty.
• 70.0% of marketers feel community-building is important to customer retention.
• 42.0% of marketers feel they don’t have cost and time efficient approaches to obtain all of the consumer insights they need for their brand.

Challenges of Data and Hyper-Personalization

Community-centric marketing creates direct consumer relationships, serving as the bond that creates enduring brand loyalty. But brands must also deliver on their commitments to hyper-personalized experiences and responsible management of user data.

• 39.1% feel a brand’s community provides more personalized, tailored, and relevant experiences than its social media account.
• 58.5% of marketers struggle to get consumers to provide zero party data.
• 54.0% of marketers struggle to keep consumer data up-to-date for effective personalization.
• 93.4% of consumers are more comfortable sharing their data if they know what it’s being used for.
• 91.3% of consumers share their data in exchange for unique experiences and offers.
• 74.0% of consumers feel brands fall short of providing personalized experiences.
• 67.2% of consumers are disappointed when they share their data and the brand doesn’t do anything with it.

Loyalty and Advocacy are in the spotlight

As we predicted, marketers have faced challenges in building brand loyalty and advocacy in the constantly accelerating world of digital and social. Brand communities have emerged as the ultimate bridge between purchase and loyalty. Community members are more likely to leave reviews, provide feedback, and make future purchases. The future will see owned communities continue to shape the landscape of brand-consumer relationships.

• 40.1% of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to a favorite brand because of engaging with it in an online brand community.
• In the past year, marketers top 3 challenges were in securing authentic advocacy.
  • 64.5% struggled to secure a large volume video/stories UGC
  • 62.5% struggled to maintain a pipeline of fresh reviews
  • 62.0% struggled to secure high quality video/stories UGC
• 81.5% of community members identify as advocates.
• 68.0% of consumers are likely to create videos about brands because they belong to a community – an increase of 74% increase over 2022.
• 91.0% of consumers are more likely to leave a review because they belong to a community – an increase of 22% over 2022.

Brand Communities Drive Revenue

Communities support brands across departments, from marketing to product to retailing. But, perhaps the most important validator, is the fact that established brand communities are drivers of revenue. Leadership always wants to know how initiatives affect the bottom line, and community members are more likely to purchase, make additional purchases, and keep a business top of mind.

• 81.6% of consumers are more likely to purchase new product varieties because of an online brand community.
• 77.1% of consumers are likely to use an online community to purchase products.
• 68.5% of marketers are planning to prioritize community-building over the next 2 years.
• 78.2% of consumers say interacting with a brand’s online community makes that brand more “top of mind” when shopping.
• 68.7% of consumers prefer to purchase brands that they interact with in an online community.

2024 is the year of community powered marketing. More than a buzzword, or flashy growth hacking strategy, brand communities lay the foundation for long-term brand affinity and loyalty, while driving immediate revenue growth. Learn how TINT powers community initiatives for the world’s largest brands. Schedule a demo today.

The post Big List of Community Powered Marketing Stats appeared first on TINT.

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about the impact that artificial intelligence will have on the world. Some perspectives seem positive, with AI allowing professionals to do more with less, performing to never-before-seen levels of efficiency with a computer providing support along the way.  Other perspectives decry AI as the beginning of the end. These tools will eventually evolve into SkyNet, the omnipresent intelligence from the Terminator franchise bent on destroying humanity.  

I fall into the positive camp. As a marketer working across hospitality, tourism, and events, this technology holds great promise to allow me to work faster, take repetitive tasks off my plate, and take my creative efforts and syndicate them across mediums. 

Humans have many perspectives on what AI will do for this industry, but what does AI have to say? 

I asked ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, what it thought about events.  

“What effects will artificial intelligence have on the festivals and events industry?”

It expects to affect the industry by enhancing customer experience, increasing communication efficiency, automating event planning, analyzing data, and increasing accessibility.  

As with all current uses of the technology, some of these uses of ai for special events are aspirational. Many tools are in early iterations and require additional development before fully available (and affordable) to the masses. Until then, there are some places where event professionals can immediately start adding AI into the mix. 

Smarter Emails

Email communication is critical to event planning but can be incredibly time-consuming. Event organizers must email attendees, sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and more. As events get larger and more complex, the required segmentation within these groups creates even more emails to write.

While tools like CRMs have made the “bucketing” of emails into different sequences or drips easier, most email or database tools still require someone to do all the writing. This is where AI comes in. 

As AI gets more intelligent, it will be easier to feed in the event information and have artificial intelligence produce different iterations of content designed to make the most significant impact on their target audience. AI for special events will save hours of writing. Imagine uploading all the details of your event, then having AI generate email sequences designed to influence VIPs, family attendees, foodies, or other ticket types. With a few more clicks, you have sharable event guides for vendors and exhibitors. 

Specialized tools like Lavender.ai are already hitting the market, and some people in sales and sponsorship are seeing great results using them to write better outbound emails. These tools use AI to analyze data and generate personalized email content that resonates with recipients. This means that event organizers can spend less time writing emails and more time focusing on other projects.

Creating Teams

Volunteer and staff organizing is often a significant time sink. Volunteer A can only work certain hours on Saturdays, and Staffer B can’t stand for extended periods. Accommodating and creating meaningful experiences for your front-line service workers is instrumental to retention. Rather than having your staffing teams spend weeks trying to piece together, a smart AI-assisted tool can swiftly map out staffing areas, create schedules, build shifts, and match people to those spots.  This saves time and ensures that everyone is assigned to the right position.

But AI-assisted tools aren’t just limited to scheduling. Tools like Taskade take it a step further by mapping out a project and assigning staff based on skills and the order in which those skills must be applied. This feature streamlines the project management process, making it easier to visualize the work and create timelines or Gantt charts. As deadlines are met or missed, the tool will automatically update workflows, making it easier to manage the entire project.

Incorporating AI-assisted tools into event planning can significantly improve efficiency and save time, making accommodating the needs of volunteers and staff easier. 

Better Media Monitoring and Social Listening

Whether you realize it or not, AI has become essential for brands to monitor media coverage and social media conversations. With AI-assisted media monitoring and social listening, organizers can quickly and easily analyze data and gain valuable insights that can help them improve their events and increase safety.

AI can help event organizers by automatically collecting and analyzing data from various media sources, such as news articles, blog posts, and social media platforms. This data can be used to track the buzz around an event, monitor sentiment, and identify key influencers who can help promote the event. AI can also provide real-time notifications when specific keywords or topics related to the event are mentioned online, allowing organizers to respond quickly and engage with attendees and potential attendees.

TINT has deployed machine-learning-assisted automation to help large-scale events and brand activations work with the massive content creation machine that is a special event.  The AI learns what content should be shared across displays and social channels based on moderator input. It can analyze objects in images and look for logos. This improves the speed and efficiency of a social media manager. 

In the aftermath of Astroworld, one of the major recommendations was ongoing monitoring of social media and digital mentions of an event, including content from attendees, performers, and exhibitors. This information needs to be quickly analyzed, with the results made actionable by presenting it to event leadership. This can drastically reduce the time it could take for event safety teams to respond to incidents.  

Another benefit of AI-assisted media monitoring and social listening is the ability to identify patterns and trends in the data. By analyzing large amounts of data over time, AI can help event organizers identify what types of content resonate with their audience and which topics generate the most buzz. This information can be used to tailor event messaging and content to meet attendees’ needs and preferences better.

Thought Leadership

As IFEA members, we are the festivals and events industry leaders. We are often called upon to share perspectives on events and their impact on the world around us. This could be as editorials in our local newspaper, a letter from the director in the event program, or an article in IE, the business of international events. Writer’s block or struggle with eloquence can affect even the most experienced event professional. AI can help organize ideas, brainstorm new ones, and serve as an editor. 

AI is revolutionizing communication, organizing, and planning festivals and events. Expect to see even more innovative AI solutions to help us be more effective and efficient. AI for special events is the future. Are you ready to embrace these latest technologies? 

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TINT has created the advanced content AI: the most powerful engine to discover stunning content through visual search, UGC recommendation scoring, personalized content experiences, automated content analysis, and TINT Attention Score, a tool that lets you test and optimize your visual content before you publish. Learn more about our UGC AI tools. 

The post Festivals, Events, and AI appeared first on TINT.

See You At The Show

Imagine a world where every attendee, vendor, performer, and volunteer posts about your event months before the doors open. This is within reach if you proactively ask for participation. Don’t wait until people are at your event to encourage them to start sharing content.  

“See You At The Show” is a simple way to create a single set of attendee assets and take advantage of people’s excitement the moment they buy tickets. 

Modern ticketing platforms have countless integrations and ways to connect with marketing tools. As people buy tickets, they should be fed a drip of content that shares information about the event, upsells add-on experiences, and create opportunities for people to get involved on social media. 

Make it easier by automating the process. Create the social assets and make them available for download on a landing page. Then, automatically email “See You At The Show” after people purchase tickets. Send the first email soon after they buy to capture that post-purchase enthusiasm. Then send reminder emails later. 

You should also create social asset sets for performers, vendors, volunteers, and exhibitors to let people know they’re attending. Create an email workflow that begins once they enroll or commit to the event. Encourage them to post “See You at the Show” on their websites, newsletters, and social media. 

Sweet Memories

Events are temporary activations that create meaningful moments in time. Nostalgia evokes powerful memories. Use this psychological phenomenon to generate social engagement during the off-season. 

Launch a contest or submission form for people to submit their best festival or event memory. Ask for details and elaboration. Make sure to include a media release in the terms of service so your teams can use the asset beyond this Sweet Memories campaign.  As people submit, share great photos to drive additional participation. 

This is not only a way to stay active when an event is between seasons but also an excellent source of content that can be used in marketing efforts. An attendee may have snapped a perfect picture of a serendipitous moment. You never know what photos have been living in the deep archive of your attendee’s phones. With permission, these dynamic pieces of content can be used on social, digital, or even print placements. 

You can take it a step further and turn the photos into a museum or memory wall at the next event. Print out the pictures and create a programming area where people can see images, newspaper clippings, and old merchandise and watch videos submitted by past volunteers and staff.

TINT contests and media submission forms have powered campaigns across the world for leading brands. Talk to a social expert today and learn how you can launch a digital contest experience in less than 20 minutes with no coding required. 

Obligatory Consumption

Music, performance, or literary talent are significant draws for events of all types. Their celebrity status or renown will bring in people who want to see them in person. But what about people who may need to become more familiar with their works? 

Don’t discount this crowd. Create ways for them to consume media and provide feedback. 

Booking musical talent? Curate a Spotify playlist with their greatest hits. Asks fans to share their favorite song or memory. Intentionally leave off a fan favorite or deep cut. Fans will quickly point out the “error” and provide engaging social commentary. 

Booking acting talent for events like anime or comic cons? Create a movie or appearance playlist. IMDB is your friend for assembling a list of titles or episodes quickly. Include links or recommendations to where people can legally watch the actors’ performances. Ask for fan favorites. 

Literary talent is slowly becoming more popular at events. People want to meet the writers of their favorite novels, comic books, or poems. Make a list of recommended readings for that literary star. If they have a limited body of work, consider adding related works. 

Work with your local public library to make copies of their work available as part of a sponsored display. This display could also become a social contest, encouraging library visitors to take a picture with a book and use a hashtag. 

Pro Tips

There can be a learning curve when attending a new event, particularly one with a long history. There is an opportunity to generate and distribute content using the perspectives of your most seasoned attendees. 

Start with the question, “What advice would you give new attendees?” 

You can pre-seed responses with pro tips from staff and experienced volunteers. Then add in perspectives from your “power” attendees. 

This is also an opportunity to reinforce behaviors or expectations. If event elements are cash-only, this would be a great place to make that reminder. If attendees are expected to bring their own seat or umbrella, use this content style to reiterate that. By framing these helpful pointers as pro tips from experienced attendees, you can guide expectations without seeming aggressive or patronizing. 

You can also do research by looking back at posts from the previous year. A good event hashtag makes this search easier. Learn how to design a good event hashtag. 

Teaser with Reveal

Social content announcing annual themes, headliner talent, and unique programming often cause major strikes in traffic. Think about how you can build up to those announcements to increase your engagement and reach when you make the final announcement. 

Teaser with reveal is an easy way to get people excited and talking about your announcement. Start with a photo that encapsulates your announcement. This could be a picture of a band or performer, an illustration that alludes to a theme, or a blurred image of the unique programming area. 

Over the course of a week, upload a new version of the content with a little more revealed. This will let your audience guess the final announcement. Those comments and guesses will increase as you get closer to the final announcement. 

Use this in combination with a ticket tier increase. Earlybird sales can be difficult, especially if you have a new event or audience. Programming teasers show that you have major announcements on the way and encourage people to grab tickets early rather than waiting to see who is performing or exhibiting at the event. 

Always clear the teaser with the talent manager or booking agent to ensure you’re not violating their announcement terms or embargo on public communications. 

Canva is one of the easiest ways to design these teasers. With TINT and Canva, you can create stunning graphics using your rights-approved user-generated content. Learn more and connect your Canva to TINT today. 

Attendee Affiliate Codes

A recent favorite technique to generate pre-event engagement is automatically generating affiliate codes for every attendee who buys tickets. By designing and gamifying an affiliate referral program, you can turn even the most casual attendee into a ticket-selling machine. 

Provide a basic set of assets to empower your attendee affiliates to post their codes on their social feeds. Be sure to create assets of all sizes. While your organization may not be active on every platform, it is possible that you have attendees who are power-users or influencers on secondary or newly launched social networks. 

First spotted with ticketing tools like TIXR, attendee affiliate codes have been spotted on product roadmaps across the event technology ecosystem. Large-scale events require a technological solution to optimize the operation of the codes. 

Gamification should be meaningful and provide good prizes. Start small with things like tchotchkes, souvenirs, and event merchandise. As your attendee affiliate sells more tickets, then reimburse them for their own tickets, offer them a hotel stay, or give them additional VIP access.  

An additional benefit of this sort of program is that you can roll it out to your influencer and creator audiences.  If you do not have the staff capacity or the time to administer a separate influencer program, allow them to participate in this affiliate program to test the waters and see how well they perform as a traffic source. 

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Whether you’re driving pre-event social engagement or encouraging on-site participation, TINT is the event social technology company. From social walls to attendee engagement to social listening, TINT works with the world’s top events to enhance their activations.  Schedule time to talk to a TINT event specialist today. 

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