{"id":1872,"date":"2017-02-10T01:07:15","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T01:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/feverbee.staging.wpengine.com\/superusers\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2017-02-10T01:07:15","modified_gmt":"2017-02-10T01:07:15","slug":"terminology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/terminology\/","title":{"rendered":"Terminology"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"content standard\"><div><\/p>\n<p><aside class=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/10\/feverbee-logo-yellow-1.png\" width=\"116\" height=\"100\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\">Terminology<\/h1>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center\">Building Superuser\u00a0Programs That Succeed<\/h5>\n<p><\/aside><\/p>\n<p><article class=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Something we noticed while undertaking this research is the interchangeable way keywords are often used. It can all get a bit confusing. Before digging into the different types of programs, let\u2019s define our terms.<\/p>\n<p>Many brands have unique names for their programs. However, there are four terms that come up frequently when referring to the type of person the various programs target.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s examine those:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An<strong> advocate <\/strong>is someone who proactively defends, promotes and participates in the public conversation for an organization, brand or product in a positive way. They usually do this with no interference from the brand.<\/li>\n<li>An<strong> ambassador <\/strong>is a representative or promoter connected in some way to an organization, brand or product, usually with the goal of increasing brand awareness or sales.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ambassador programs like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lululemon.co.nz\/ambassadors\/_\/N-1z141lw\">Lululemon Ambassadors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.takescoop.com\/want-to-be-our-next-scoop-company-captain-371cdf0030ff#.jk04jdqoa\">Scoop Company Captains<\/a> are about spreading brand recognition and often focus on bringing in referrals or leads. They tend to incentivise members to encourage a specific behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Lululemon selects sportspeople with high public profiles as ambassadors and give them free clothing to wear at events which they host, or while working out. The primary objective is brand recognition.<\/p>\n<p>Scoop financially incentivise drivers to act as internal spokespeople for the car-pooling service within their workplace or location.<\/p>\n<p>Ambassador programs like the examples above can\u2019t be classified as (and for legal reasons shouldn\u2019t be referred to as) \u2018volunteer\u2019 programs because there are financial incentives.<br \/>\n<\/article><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"content flipped grey\"><div><\/p>\n<p><aside class=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"boxout warning\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxoutIcon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-content\/themes\/feverbee-superuser-microsite\/images\/boxout-icon-warning.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>There is some ambiguity around this type of program and the definition of the role. An advocate generally promotes an organization or brand of their own will. An ambassador is essentially an advocate acting as an extension of the organization. By creating a formal program, the organization can set expectations of activity and commitment.<sup>1<\/sup> The relationship and the motivations are different.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><\/aside><\/p>\n<p><article class=\"\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An<strong> influencer\u00a0<\/strong>is someone who leverages their profile or status to influence others through their personal and professional networks. They tend to be \u2018thought leaders\u2019 or \u2018tastemakers\u2019. In a formal influencer program this sharing happens almost exclusively over the person\u2019s social media profiles and networks.<\/li>\n<li>A<strong> top contributor<\/strong> (also known as a &#8220;superuser&#8221;)<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>is someone who stands out above their peers as having worked harder towards the group or organizational goal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Programs that leverage influencers and superusers fall into two broad categories \u2013 those based on rewarding past behavior and those with the aim of encouraging new behavior. If you are designing a program to support a well established community, you should choose the former. If your community is in the early stages of growth or will draw members who are new, choose the latter.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that these classifications are broad \u2013 many programs that follow the superuser or top contributor model use the word ambassador in their program name. This practice is confusing and is an important thing to consider when naming your own program. Be sure to include specific or descriptive language as an indicator of your program type.<\/p>\n<p><\/article><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"content standard\"><div><br \/>\n<aside class=\"\"><br \/>\n<div class=\"boxout\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxoutIcon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-content\/themes\/feverbee-superuser-microsite\/images\/boxout-icon-info.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cOur selection criteria is based on activity for the previous year. Once in the program, there are no further expectations. Ongoing engagement is encouraged but not mandatory.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dell EMC Elect<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><\/aside><\/p>\n<p><article class=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Superuser or top contributor programs usually focus on digital engagement. This may mean content creation or answering questions via forums or social channels. Some extend to in-person engagement such as hosting meetups or events.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases people apply to become members and have to meet expectations or achieve goals in order to stay. <a href=\"http:\/\/dish.allrecipes.com\/customer-service\/faq-allstars\/\">AllRecipes Allstars<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yelp.com\/elite\">Yelp Elite<\/a> are two examples of Super User programs with formalized applications and performance requirements.<\/p>\n<p>In others, like <a href=\"http:\/\/en.community.dell.com\/techcenter\/b\/techcenter\/archive\/2017\/03\/07\/dell-emc-elect-2017-nominations\">Dell EMC Elect<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/magento.com\/blog\/magento-news\/introducing-new-magento-community-initiative-magento-masters\">Magento Masters<\/a>, members are chosen based on the merits of their past activity and are retrospectively rewarded for that behavior.<\/p>\n<h3>Done right, superuser programs can solve many challenges. The first step on the road to success is deciding which kind of program will solve your challenge.<\/h3>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>Setting expectations needs to be done with caution in order to avoid illegalities surrounding employment law. See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superusers\/legal-considerations\/\">Legal Considerations<\/a> for more information.<br \/>\n<\/article><br \/>\n<\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"summary\"><div><article><h2>Summary<\/h2><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Decide between the two basic types of program \u2013 will yours reward past behavior or encourage new behavior?<\/li>\n<li>Advocacy or ambassadorial\/influencer programs are generally focused on marketing or sales based objectives.<\/li>\n<li>Superuser or top contributor programs are generally focused on engagement or content based objectives.<\/li>\n<li>Give your program a name that accurately reflects your goals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/article><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.feverbee.com\/superuser\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}