“A Brand Advocate is a highly-satisfied customer or other* who recommends their favorite brands and products without being paid to do so.” –Zuberance “As someone that’s a ‘fan’ of a brand & takes a sense of ownership in seeing it succeed by evangelizing it to others” –Mack Collier, Social Media Consultant, Author ofMackCollier.com “A volunteer marketer. A customer that proactively uses their time and their social capital to promote a company or cause.” –Jay Baer, Social Media Strategist, Author of Convince & Convert “I would say a brand advocate is willing to speak positive about a brand without much or any direct incentive.” –Sarah Essary, Edelman Digital, Author of Consuming PR “A brand advocate identifies with & supports your brand in her everyday interactions by dint of goodwill & natural affinity.” –JD Lasica, Social Media Strategist, Co-author ofSocialMedia.biz “Brand advocate: A person who not only buys from the brand but will act to protect, promote and help it.” –Augie Ray, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research Inc, Co-author of the Forrester Blog “A BA is someone who needs no incentive to tell others great things about you, and welcomes you making it easier for them to do so” –David Berkowitz, Senior Director at 360i, Author of Inside the Marketer’s Studio “Brand Advocate = A person who is willing to recommend a product/service to a friend without compensation.” –Travis Murdock, Edelman Digital, Author of Blog Love “Believes in the goodness of a company, tells others about the goodness of a company, and is loyal to a company in good times and bad times.” –John Moore, Author of Brand Autopsy “A person who loves your brand/product and tells others about it w/o incentives or recognition” –Michael Brito, Edelman Digital, Author of Social Media Blog

10 DEFINITIONS OF A “BRAND ADVOCATE”

Much like consumer brand advocates, employees as brand advocates can be seriously impactful in recruitment marketing.

Unlocking Your Employer Brand with One Simple Question

4 ways employee brand advocates help recruitment: They are complimentary and boost candidate referrals, the number one source of quality hires for most organizations They share experiences in naturally-occurring private networks, generating positive buzz for your employment brand in communities otherwise out of reach They answer questions about your culture and benefits, adding a credibility factor to your recruitment marketing messages They create free, authentic content for your brand – often posting photos and videos that help your company stand out

4 Ways Brand Advocates Help Employers Score Talent

With only a few days before SXSW, one of the most memorable festivals in tech, now’s the time to populate your calendar with every event, panel and party you want to attend while visting Austin, TX. By popular demand, Mashable is bringing back one of the biggest parties in Austin: the Mas…

Register Now for Mashable’s SXSWi House 2012

What happened to startups in 2011? E-commerce and mobile payments continued to grow, and group buying startup Groupon went public. Facebook, the biggest social network around, expanded in a huge way, announcing Timeline, frictionless sharing and a settlement (finally) with the FTC. It also swallowed up many promising startups, including group messaging service Beluga, social network-enhancing service Friend.ly and software company WhoGlue. The mixing of social gaming and mobile payments, social network alternatives to Facebook, consumer cloud storage and apps that actually make you feel productive (read: not like you’re just wasting more time online) came out on top as just a few of the most important startups of this year. This year’s top 10 startups list is a combination of companies that launched in 2011, and others that gained considerable attention. We chose these startups based on how they’ve changed or disrupted their niches and how they’ve influenced trends this year and for the year to come. They are listed in no particular order. Take a look after the jump.

Top 10 Startups of 2011

Julian with Iowa State Capital in back

Julian and Daddy on a beautiful night!

Discovery Toys Tent

Conversation with Daddy at Festival

Walk thru crowds on dad’s shoulders

Playing in the Discovery Toys tent.

Eating on the sidewalk downtown.

My 2-year-old Julian loved the Russian food, Perogies and Blintzes! Here he is enjoying the World Food Festival with his daddy. A frugal foodie’s delight—vendors offer $1 tastes or full plates for $5 or less. The cooks hail from Brazil, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Ecuador, Russia, Turkey, and other distant lands. You’ll have three days to eat your way around this world, so pace yourself.

2011 U.S. Cellular World Food Festival – October 7-9

The U.S. Cellular® World Food Festival is Des Moines’ premiere taste and entertainment event featuring international cuisine, live music and performing arts, cooking demonstrations, wine and craft beers, and a world marketplace.

http://www.facebook.com/worldfoodfestival

Flags from countries around the world

Steve and Sid in crowd at food festival

Tents for vendors at world food festival

Band playing at world food festival

People enjoying food at food festival

The U.S. Cellular® World Food Festival is Des Moines’ premiere taste and entertainment event featuring international cuisine, live music and performing arts, cooking demonstrations, wine and craft beers, and a world marketplace.

http://www.facebook.com/worldfoodfestival

Welcome to the World Food Festival 2011

Ukranian/Russian – Love the Blintzes!

Ethiopian – Loved the Spicy Wot!

Entering its seventh year in 2011, the U.S. Cellular® World Food Festival reigns as Des Moines’ premiere taste event. Unique to this taste event is its flavors. Restaurants and food vendors who specialize in small operations are the highlight of this great event – mom & pop kitchens churning out their family recipes.