Brand Advocates

According to an article in DM News, brand advocates may not social network. Their information comes from a report from JupiterResearch. According to this report:

• Almost a quarter of online adults are considered influential advocates
• Most of these advocates spend more time researching and purchasing than spreading the word.

Question: How can these people be called advocates when they're spending hardly any time spreading the word?

“Brand advocates are very active at consuming content, and tend to be early adopters and savvy with social media, though they aren’t necessarily advocating in these places,” said Emily Riley, analyst at JupiterResearch. “They really need to be asked by their friends to advocate for a brand.”

If people aren't advocating for a brand, then they're not an advocate. A true advocate or brand evangelist will talk about the products or services they love no matter where they are.

I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to these studies. Sure, they can get very scientific and analytical. But in the end, I find them to be weather reports for people. Just like the weather, people are not always predictable. (except for voters)

I love this quote: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." – Benjamin Disraeli

The article was a real let down when politics were brought into this subject: “But if you tap into the issues that people care about, then you can get them to spread the message about the product,” Riley added. “Creating a campaign that associates your brand with an environmental issue can get people to feel passionate about your
product.”

Unfortunately, some people have made caring about the environment political. People are going to start feeling green with all of this non-sense. Consumers are going to buy products or services because of needs and wants, not because of the environment. If I buy a product and it winds up sucking, do you think I give a rat's behind if the company is "Green"?

I think this "Green" movement is a sham, and I find it disgusting. With all of the atrocities going on in the world, all of a sudden companies now have a heart for emissions? The first thing companies should be doing is making great products. Why are companies jumping on the green bandwagon? Is it so they get preferential treatment from some politicians?

I get nauseous when companies try to out-do each other when it comes to being "Green". I want businesses outdoing each other in business, not in environmental issues. Conservationists should be advocating for the environment. I need to buy a new truck. Do you think I'm going to research the truck and competition or research how eco-friendly each company is? People don't have the time for all of that. It's just not realistic. It's too bad they've tarnished the word green, it used to be one of my favorite colors.