The time has come when we start realizing that no longer we can just go about improving our products and services and we have to unleash the power of our employees and customers to talk about us.

So the purpose of the public communication and marketing teams is to look for people who can speak for them and that can quiet a challenge and having clear guidelines on what is expected from them would the good starting step. Sometimes the challenge is that some companies have too many advocates (aka Apple, USAA etc.) and on the other sides some other companies getting even a few would be a big deal.

So, here are some steps to identify your advocates (or evangelists): -

1) Satisfied Customers

2) Active Online Bloggers and Participants

3) Love Your Brand – Even if not your customers (or most recent customers who have been wanting to be your customers)

4) Passionate Employees

5) Fans and Followers on Social Media Sites

6) Journalist Bloggers/Professionals

7) One of “Us”

8 ) Same Core Values – Very Critical

Once you have identified your evangelists, here are the next steps:

1) Create well-defined guidelines that they need to follow

2) Identify their channel of choice and create a reach-out contact/communication plan

3) Recruit Passionate employees to drive this effort

4) Engage people who challenge the status quo

5) Create environment that promotes out-of-box thinking

6) Identify and get other stakeholders and teams engaged in the process

7) Give freedom to evangelists to have their own personality in the conversations

8 ) Measure and Track results (inline with the defined objectives)

9) Learn and Adapt – Do not create a plan that is set in stone. Learn and listen to the people of the community and make it grow.