How to take loyal customers and turn them into influencers
At the 2022 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods was photographed while taking a swing.
As usual, in the background is everyone recording the moment on their phones, but one man named Mark was enjoying the moment for himself.
He then went viral for holding a beer instead of a phone and @MichelobULTRA used this iconic photo for their marketing advantage.
Lucky for both Mark and the beer brand, the logo on his Michelob Ultra was perfectly facing the camera.
And within 48 hours, the brand:
- Made him their social spokesperson
- Gave him his own merch line
- Took him to the next PGA tour stop
Organic opportunities
Michelob Ultra immediately turned that iconic photo into a cinemagraph-style video with their line: "It's only worth it if you enjoy it."
It immediately became their most-shared social post in over a year and is now in their twitter bio.
Their new brand ambassador
Michelob Ultra then put ‘Beer Guy’ on a tee shirt.
And 24 hours later, it became the brand's top-grossing merch item of 2022.
And since he loves golf, Michelob Ultra invited him to the next PGA Tour stop just 6 days later as a spokesman.
He posed for pictures, chatted with fans, and hit that "it's only worth it if you enjoy it" tagline.
Between the organic pick-up and the Michelob’s amplification:
- 4.9 million earned media impressions
- 663k organic video views
- 30k organic social mentions
Most likely more than any paid influencer or celebrity can bring In.
Key takeaways for your brand
Reward your customers for supporting you.
They can make better UGC than any content creator. Your customers can connect with people easier and more naturally for promotion.
Some ways they can do that are:
- Putting a “wall of love” on your website with customer reviews to build social trust.
- Giving a special prize to a loyal customer and have them record their reaction.
- Making them an affiliate partner and giving them a percentage of each sale they bring.
So don’t be boring, reward your loyal customers.