Episode Summary
A strong company brand goes a long way to building trust with your ideal customers. And it helps you stand out when compared to other competitors.
But aren’t brands made up of people? If so, how can an evangelist help build your company’s brand?
In this episode of the Rep Your Brand podcast, our host Nick Bennett welcomes Will Aitken, a sales evangelist at Sales Feed and a content creator & event speaker at Vidyard. They chat about the role of an evangelist, why evangelists understand customers better, and how to use TikTok for brand building.
Guest Profile
- Name: Will Aitken
- What he does: He's a sales evangelist at Sales Feed and a content creator & event speaker at Vidyard.
- Company: Sales Feed
- Noteworthy: "To me, an evangelist is bringing a human into the brand. It's bringing a face and a voice for the brand. And I like to think of it almost like George Clooney and Nespresso. You think George Clooney, you think Nespresso."
Key Insights
- An evangelist brings the human element into the brand. Wondering what an evangelist can bring to your company's table? Here's what Will has to say. "Most evangelists these days have actually done the role of the persona they're selling to. And right now, a lot of it is revenue. I've seen it work for legal. I've seen it work a lot for developers as well. So often, these people are trusted voices in the space before they become an evangelist, and they connect with their customers at a level that a standard marketing team might have trouble doing."
- An evangelist understands the customer on a deeper level. There are endless ways an evangelist can contribute to a company's branding. Will explains, "I think the difference between what an evangelist can do and a standard content marketing team is they understand the customer on a much deeper level. There is a lot more resonance, and therefore, it's less corporate. So I think that, in general, knowing that you have someone on board who's doing things the right way builds that trust and builds that credibility. [...] I wouldn't take sales advice, or marketing advice from someone who has never done it. It's imposter. Not to say that there aren't bits of things we can learn from those people, but it's not their core; it's not their expertise. They haven't done it. So I think that's really where the difference comes in."
- TikTok is a great platform for brand building. It's safe to say that TikTok is here to stay. So, how can B2B companies use this platform for brand building? Will says, "I think TikTok is definitely a great place to grow a personal brand. And sometimes, when you're on LinkedIn, when you're on these other platforms — even corporate Twitter and Instagram — it can feel like you're in a little bit of a bubble. You see the same names every single day. You get a hundred likes on a post, but it's the same hundred people every single time. I think TikTok is a great place to break out of that because it's such a great platform for reach."
Episode Highlights
Create content for TikTok, then distribute it on other platforms
“The thing about TikTok is it’s very different from content elsewhere. A lot of B2B brands make the mistake of trying to make their content from YouTube webinars and LinkedIn podcasts fit on TikTok. Whereas that’s kind of the wrong way. You need to flip it on its head, create content for TikTok, and the way you understand what TikTok wants is by consuming a lot of content because then you’ll start to notice. Create the content for TikTok, and then, redistribute that short-form content everywhere.”
An evangelist can use their personal brand to enhance the brand of a company
“I think it’s almost like knotting the two together; so, the names become synonymous. And that way, every impression that you get, Alyce also gets it as a default, and all the while you’ll continue to grow. So if one day, let’s say, you and Alyce part ways, you come out with a great takeaway as well.”
Keep your credibility intact
“Most of our followers come from the educational stuff, and most of our engagement comes from the funny stuff. So, it’s almost like a little one, two situations, but it also keeps us credible because we’re giving really good, insightful advice, [and it’s] not just us because we’re sourcing that from across the community as well.”
