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Our guest author says that a good advocacy program complements and powers up a brands content marketing plans.

First things first, this is a how to develop a brand advocacy strategy article. Not a why you should be thinking about a brand advocacy article.

So, I will keep it very short on the why.

Brand advocacy gives your content and your own (read: employees, partners, customers) people a powerful method to not just contribute to your marketing efforts, but also help them develop their own personal branding.

This is a fast growing and evolving method in your organic social media marketing stack. Think of it as a system of generating first-hand mark-ups from real people involved in your business and having a stake in it. A good brand advocacy program complements and powers up your content marketing plans.

Enough said about the why.

Lets move to the how, and the building blocks that you could use:

Brand advocacy is about people, and what they do with your messages and content. Employees are often the most powerful advocates for brands. Be it B2B or B2C. But defining and getting clarity on which employees are key to your program, is the core building block.

Just because you have 5,000 employees, does not mean all of them will be your key users. Identify which segment of your employees are relevant and how. Here are some questions to help you think and craft your user persona:

Who are already active on social media and generating engagement on their own? The social media channel you evaluate, will obviously be determined by your business.

Who amongst your employees, have a networking purpose? For example, if you are a B2B tech company, your team may be connected with its peers across social channels. This could be a good segment for employer branding and social hiring.

Are your sales, marketing and their leadership teams on social media platforms (from a business point of view)? If not, this could be your captive user base to train to use social media for business from their own accounts. Help them build their personal brands and they will give back visibility to your brand and business.

Is your leadership team and their first levels on social media already? Well, this is kind of a good place to start your brand advocacy program.

Focus on building relationships.

Business and brands are about relationships. And, that is not built by just transactional bonds. People think rationally, but bond emotionally. Therefore, creating engaged and personalised experiences with your key stakeholders through meaningful content, campaigns, interactions and dialogues, is the first solid building block to success.

Use research to find out what they are interested in, and then leverage your interactions to align your outcomes. It is what makes the program work.

Here are a few other concrete steps you can take to build relationships:

Gamification triggers desired behaviour in this case, advocacy. A tiered game framework that rewards quality as well as quantity of action on social networks. It serves as a tool to encourage users to participate and stay engaged.

Its a good practice to think of this as a points-based programme and then set up your system. Also, contests are among the best ways to gamify social advocacy. Execute different kinds for promotions and offers, specific content, best suggestion, etc. Mix contest posts with regular ones to build anticipation and ensure continued engagement.

Brand advocacy is an intricate and complicated program, given not just its nature, but also the number of stakeholders, players and viewers involved in it. To implement a successful program, therefore, you need two main components great content and a centralised platform that you can leverage to effortlessly manage input, planning, implementation and analysis at scale.

Once youve implemented the program, you need to track your numbers to check effectiveness and ROI. Ideally, you want a 360-degree view of the content youve put out across networks using the platform.

Measure and benchmark engagement as well as advocacy KPIs, and track likes, shares and reach metrics. Auto-generated traffic graphs are great for immediate analysis of live campaigns.

In a nutshell, define, design and manage your brand advocacy through a programme strategy, and it will work wonders for your organic social media initiatives.

(Ajit Narayan is CMO, Socxo, an advocacy platform for brands)

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Heres how a brand can develop an advocacy program - afaqs!

Donald Trump Jr., son of former US. President Donald Trump.Alex Wong/Getty Images

Donald Trump Jr. suggested the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade because Obama made fun of his father.

Obama poked fun at Trump for hyping the "birther" conspiracy theory at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Trump was reported to have been furious with Obama over the jokes.

Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme suggesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade directly resulted from then-President Barack Obama making fun of his father at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Trump Jr. posted a "domino effect" meme on Instagram with the caption "Fuck Around And Find Out!!!"

The meme featured the label "Roe v. Wade overruled," appearing to be the consequence of "Obama making fun of Trump at a dinner in 2011."

During the 2011 dinner, Obama famously poked fun at Donald Trump, who was in the audience, for his promotion of the racist "birther" conspiracy theory that Obama was not a United States citizen.

"Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald," Obama said of Trump.

"And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter - like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"

Obama also mocked Trump's role as host of the TV show Celebrity Apprentice, talking about a recent episode in which Trump chose which celebrity to fire over poor steakhouse cooking.

"These are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled," Obama said.

Around the time of the dinner, Trump had begun hinting at the possibility of running for president in 2012but ultimately did not.

Then-Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, who attended the dinner, wrote in a recent book that Trump was "beside himself with fury" after Obama's speech.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade, undoing nearly 50 years of legalized abortion nationwide.

Many in conservative circles directly credited Donald Trump with the ruling, as he appointed three supreme court justices during his presidency, all of whom voted to overturn the landmark abortion law.

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Donald Trump Jr. suggested Roe v. Wade was overturned as a direct result of Obama making fun of his father in 2011 - Yahoo News

Its a wonder I didnt bite off the tip of my tongue while waiting for a take-out order at an Attleboro restaurant last week.

After placing the order, Pattie and I took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. The 6 oclock news was just starting and the lead story was the Jan. 6 hearing held earlier that day.

I was sitting close enough to hear the woman to my left say to her husband, What a farce. With all the things wrong with this country, arent there more important things they can be doing?

Pattie knows I was about to say something and gave me a nudge as a signal to bite my tongue.

To her credit, what the woman said about this country was correct. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed by members of both political parties: the Supreme Court, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the high cost of gasoline, record inflation, mass shootings and, of course, the bitterness across the aisles of Congress.

Her conversation made it clear the woman was obviously one of the many on the right who viewed the mobs storming of the Capitol Building as nothing more than a tour group getting out of hand. After all, boys will by boys.

She probably thoughts the chants of Hang Mike Pence referred to a painting of the vice president and that its moving to a more prominent place in the building.

Im sure she also believes, like many of you reading this, that the former president played no role in what happened that day and that the far left did indeed steal the 2020 election from the greatest leader in this countrys history, while allowing other conservative candidates to gain seats in the House or Senate.

I ask those of you who agree with the woman seated next to me last week the same question I would have asked her had I not received a nudge:

Would you feel the same way if the president holding that rally had been Barack Obama?

Would you feel the same way if it had been Obama telling the crowd, We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore?

Would you feel the same way if the rally had been followed by thousands of Black Americans breaking into the Capitol, smashing windows and doors, assaulting police officers with flag poles, hockey sticks, fire extinguishers and bear spray?

The Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade broke as I writing that last paragraph. As Ive written on this page in the past, I am neither in favor of abortion or against it.

This wont be a popular opinion, but I do believe that the abortions that Massachusetts and the other states that allow them should be limited to only residents of those states.

Its not a reach to predict that states like Florida and Texas will sue the states that allowed and the doctors that performed abortions on their residents, even if the Supreme Court indicates otherwise. The women in those states who do not allow abortions need to either get involved to change their states laws or move to one more in line with their political views.

Am I the only one who is puzzled by one of the main reasons given when the Attleboro City Council rejected Mayor Paul Herouxs request to use a portion of the citys record amount of free cash to build a performing arts pavilion in Highland Park?

Fridays story by Sun Chronicle reporter George W. Rhodes cites the lack of a public hearing on the mayors request as one of the reasons why the request was voted down.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to hear both sides, Council President Jay DiLisio said during the meeting.

Im not an expert on the Attleboro City Charter, but I do know its the councils responsibility to schedule and hold public hearings and its fair to ask why they did not in this case.

I would hope the mayor and councilors do their homework before the subject is broached again. For example, I would like to know how much the city has spent on outdoor athletic facilities over the past few decades compared to those for the performing arts.

I suspect the totals arent even close.

Peter Gay is the executive director of North Attleborough Community Television Inc. North TV. The views expressed in his column are not necessarily those of North TV. Reach him at pgay@ northtv.net.

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Peter Gay: What if Obama had been behind Jan. 6? - The Sun Chronicle

Thomas Hoenig, the former Kansas City Federal Reserve president, weighs in, arguing that a 'recession is a fair call.'

The danger of the U.S. economy returning to a 1970s-style stagflation scenario is the highest it's been in decades, according to former President Barack Obama's top economic adviser.

Jason Furman, a Harvard University professor who previously served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, warned that an aggressive Federal Reserve, rising interest rates and persistently high inflation have raised the possibility of a period of stagnant economic growth and high consumer prices.

"It's a real risk," Furman said during an interview with FOX Business. "It's the biggest risk of stagflation we've had in a long time. But it's not a guarantee that the economy goes into recession. Consumers still have a lot of money. They're still spending. So there's still some hope for the U.S. economy."

Stagflation is the combination of slowed economic growth and high inflation, characterized by soaring consumer prices as well as high unemployment. The phenomenon ravaged the U.S. economy in the 1970s and early 1980s, as spiking oil prices, rising unemployment and easy monetary policy pushed the consumer price index as high as 14.8% in 1980, forcing Fed policymakers to raise interest rates to nearly 20% that year.

FED RAISES INTEREST RATE BY 75 BASIS POINTS IN HISTORIC MOVE TO FIGHT INFLATION

Jason Furman speaks during the National Association of Business Economics economic policy conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Inflation accelerated again in May, the government reported earlier this month, with the consumer price index, rising by 8.6%, much higher than economists expected. It marks the fastest pace of inflation since December 1981, underscoring just how strong inflationary pressures in the economy still are.

Scorching hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food, gasoline and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations.

The stock market has also suffered amid the backdrop of rising inflation and interest rate hikes with the S&P 500 down 20% this year.

As a result, the Federal Reserve is moving at the fastest pace in decades to tame consumer demand and bring inflation closer to its 2% target. Just last week, policymakers voted to raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the first time since 1994. The move puts the key benchmark federal funds rate between 1.50% and 1.75%, the highest since the pandemic began two years ago.

But the Fed's policies to hamper consumer demand and tame inflation are expected to slow the economy, with a growing number of Wall Street firms forecasting a recession in the next two years. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank have all raised the odds of a downturn in 2022 or 2023, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has conceded there's a real possibility of a recession.

"Its certainly a possibility," Powell told lawmakers Wednesday. "We are not trying to provoke and do not think we will need to provoke a recession, but we do think its absolutely essential that we restore price stability, really for the benefit of the labor market, as much as anything else."

POWELL CONCEDES FED MAY TRIGGER RECESSION, CALLS SOFT LANDING 'VERY CHALLENGING'

A man walks past the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, April 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie via / Getty Images)

Hiking interest rates tends to create higher rates on consumer and business loans, which slows the economy by forcing employers to cut back on spending. Mortgage rates are already approaching 6%, the highest since 2008, while some credit card issuers have raised their rates to 20%.

Furman said that he expects central bankers to finish the year with interest rates near 4% as they race to catch up with inflation. But consumers shouldn't expect to see prices fall right away, he said.

"It's going to take a while for inflation to come down," he said. "I think inflation will be high all year, and maybe some things will start to fall. Maybe car prices will fall. At some point gasoline prices will fall. We've had oil prices start to fall. That should show up in lower gasoline. But if you're asking about average prices as a whole, that could take some time."

Rampant inflation has become a major political liability for President Biden ahead of the November midterm elections, during which Democrats are expected to lose their already razor-thin majorities. Surveys show Americans see inflation as the biggest problem facing the country. And many households blame Biden for the price spikes.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Newsroom)

In response, the president has floated the possibility of temporarily suspending the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax, a move that would require action by Congress. It is intended to help consumers cope with higher prices at the pump amid a record surge in the cost of fuel, but Furman slammed the proposal as a "gimmick" that will do little to line households' pockets and will instead deliver a major windfall to oil companies.

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"To curb inflation, most of that is the job of the Federal Reserve," Furman said. He suggested the White House could instead explore smaller strategies like reducing the federal deficit, lifting tariffs, increasing efficiency in the shipping industry or making it easier to get a permit to be a truck driver in order to ease supply chain disruptions.

"Lots of small policies you can pursue," he said. "But the big tools, those are all in the hands of the Federal Reserve."

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Former Obama economist warns stagflation threat level is 'highest in a long time' - Fox Business

JOURNALIST Alex Wagner is set to replace Rachel Maddow on MSNBC's coveted 9pm slot.

Wagner is known for her work on CBS This Morning but her marriage to former White House chef Sam Kass is gaining attention with some calling them politics' new "it couple."

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"The Rachel Maddow" show has been a staple on MSNBC with Maddow as the network's most-watched star.

She will continue to host the show on Mondays and cover breaking news stories while Wagner takes over from Tuesday to Friday.

Wagner's roots in politics run deep. She grew up surrounded by the political world as her father worked on Ted Kennedy's 1980 presidential bid.

She began her journalism career at the Los Angeles music journal Ray Gun but quickly realized politics was where she belonged. After switching gears, she joined George Clooney's anti-genocide organization Not on Our Watch.

When asked about working with Wagner, Clooney told Vogue, Whether we had to testify in front of the UN Security Council or were stuck in a Land Rover for days on back roads in Chad, she was unflappable.

In perfect political fashion, she even met her now-husband, Sam Kass, at a White House Correspondent Dinner Party. Kass is also a well-known name in Washington as a fixture in the Obama Administration.

Kass met the Obamas in Chicago while Barack was a young senator and Michelle was the vice-president at the University of Chicago Medical Center. His presence became a staple in their family and it earned him a position at the White House.

Kass's work in the Obama Administration extended well beyond his duties as a personal chef. He was a senior advisor on nutrition policy, executive director for Michelle Obama's anti-childhood obesity campaign, and a critical component of the former first lady's Let's Move advocacy.

Kass is still active in spreading awareness of food politics. He appeared on a segment of Now This News last year about the urgency of fixing the world's food systems.

After their introduction from MSNBC commentator, Richard Wolffe, Kass was reportedly smitten.

They bonded over their love of the Washington Nationals, prompting Kass to persuade friend Edward Cohen, whose family is the principal owner of the Nationals, to open Nats Park for a private date.

The two were married in August of 2014. The Obamas were in attendance.

After they were married, Kass decided to step down from his position at the White House to spend more time with Wagner.

He said in his goodbye interview: "This has been the greatest job of my life and I assume will be the greatest job of my life. But I'm going to be with my wife. Once you're married you kind of need to be together."

Wagner and Kass have two sons together, Cy and Rafael. Cy was born in July 2017 and Rafael in April 2019.

Not only have their accolades generated attention from the public, but those who know them rave about their compatibility.

Vogue writer Jacob Weisberg observed: Its striking how they balance and reinforce each other.

Shes in the lead, sparkling with stories; he hangs back, gruffly handsome, quick with a smile or laugh.

As Wagner moves up to host one of the most popular broadcast slots, the couple is sure to continue making headlines.

The political duo has shown to be one on the rise.

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Inside Alex Wagners marriage to Obamas former White House chef Sam Kass as shes tapped to replace Rache... - The US Sun