Webinars are a key way to build meaningful connections and develop lasting relationships, offering companies the opportunity to identify potential participants in person.At ON24, we help companies actively track customer engagement through webinars, something that often allows them to fast-track their advocacy programs by bringing products directly to the table for open review. Panel-based discussions are another key way of building on these relationships, with the invitation to participate in this type of event highly desirable for both companies and their employees – who are able to position themselves as experts within their marketplace.This tends to make webinars incredibly easy to design and run for a customer advocacy marketer. Generally speaking, they are conducted as: single contact sessions – where multiple users from the same company are brought together (something that can afford invaluable insights into overall account health); or employed as part of a wider customer advocacy program designed to identify the best individuals to work with from a selection of key companies.There are also a number of tactics you can take to build out a customer advocacy program.Advocate encouragement toolsInfluitive and CrowdVocate allow companies to build a dedicated customer community and introduce activities that will resonate with particular individuals the most. RO Innovation also offers the ability to develop customer voices with curated content, as well as tracking to prevent overuse.Gifting initiativesPrintfection helps you design and manage your SWAG in a memorable (and suitably tailored) way, spanning a number of customer touch points – including onboarding, as well as rewards for long-term loyalty. Loop and Tie works by enabling selected advocates to choose their own gift from a wide collection, while Tango Card sends customers e-gift cards for retail.Advocate review sitesIn case you didn’t get the memo, online recommendations really do count. This is evidenced by the latest Brightlocal survey from the US, which found that 93% of consumers aged between 35-54 always head online to read reviews. (In case you’re wondering, 82% of people said a negative review online would indeed put them off.) G2 Crowd, TrustRadius and Capterra offer potential customers the opportunity to search, compare and read online software buying guides – making them essential tools for nurturing advocacy.