Types of Brand Ambassadors
- Small business owners often prefer to be their own brand ambassadors.
- Bloggers or industry leaders already have authority in highly specialized fields.
- Current enthusiastic customers can be encouraged with a free product or discounts. Consider inviting them to events or trade shows. Peers are the most trusted by consumers.
- Some paid brand ambassadors have additional responsibilities, like staffing trade-show booths, attending events and meetings.
Ambassador programs
A brand ambassador program formalizes the relationship between you and the people who love your products or services. More specifically, it invites the best people to represent and promote your brand. While brand ambassador programs don’t have a standard duration, these relationships are generally more long-term. To build a lasting relationship, provide them with details about what is in the pipeline before public release, for example, new products or upgrades, promotions, events. Feedback from brand ambassadors before launch can help smooth out any bumps before launch.
Incentives keep them engaged. Cash attracts attention, but consider store credit, gift cards, freebies, and other items of value.
First Step: Build Relationships to Find Brand Ambassadors
Focus on what is being said about your brand online. Set up alerts relating to your brand and competitors’ brands. There are free and paid services that can notify you; read the article by Social Media Today for a good list.
- Respond to comments on your product’s blog and social media outlets.
- Make a list of any mention of your brand or market on social media and review platforms.
- Reinforce those already acting as brand ambassadors for you. Find them and keep in touch.
- Identify potential brand ambassadors. Start with your best, most loyal customers, and consider college students who are online and thrilled with free products.
- Use search tools to identify. For example: If your business sells refurbished medical equipment, you can search for bloggers who have written specifically about medical equipment and small hospitals. (Tip: Searching with “and” instead of “or” will narrow down your research results to bloggers who are truly in your niche.) Create a contact database of these folks so you can regularly communicate. Check this list of Tools to Find Mentions of your brand to locate potential brand ambassadors.
- Publish a brand ambassador application form allowing potential ambassadors to find you. Link the form in emails, pages on your website, or other social media outlets. Open-ended questions like why they use and like your product. How often and where will they be willing to share your product with their network help you assess their potential as an ambassador.
- Use applications to select informal ambassadors. An informal program invites almost anyone who loves your brand to join.
- Using a code or link, any customer can receive incentives for referrals.
- Applicants receive a code or link to share with friends and followers.
- High performers from this program can be converted to a more formal program
Brand Ambassador Hints
- Ensure the values of the brand ambassador align with your brand.
- Brand ambassador programs are an enhancement to your entire marketing strategy. They provide content and promotion; however, ambassadors will need exciting campaigns to share.
- Make sure you are active on the same platforms as your ambassadors so that you can engage in follower responses.
- Consider compensating brand ambassadors with a commission or additional discounts by providing unique affiliate links that track recent sales back to them. Tiered incentives offer more compensation for more sales.
- Most brand ambassadors have their own goals, i.e., financial, increase their following, increase their partnerships with businesses; use this to your advantage during discussions.
- Establish criteria and guidelines for your more formal brand ambassadors. Communicating via personal conversations, regular short emails, or a webinar series ensures the relationship’s details are clear.
- Respond in a reasonable time frame to brand ambassadors who reach out with questions, suggestions, or concerns.
- You’ll find tools for managing brand ambassador programs online. Regular thank yous, information, shout-outs, and feedback help keep your brand in ambassadors’ thoughts; consider using a program that helps you maintain regular contact.
- Ambassadors should be encouraged to mention your brand in an authentic, unscripted manner.
- Once you identify brand ambassador candidates, begin forming relationships with them. Follow them on social media, comment on some of their posts, and read how they engage with their followers. You can also repost some of their content and see if it resonates with your brand followers.
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