We have all seen them. The people all over TikTok and Instagram, promoting everything from detox teas, protein powder, teeth-whitening systems, and clothing brands.
For some of them, this is the byproduct of the dream shared by many millennials: becoming a social media brand ambassador.
For others, it’s all about building relationships and an exciting opportunity for the brand they love and admire.
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What exactly is a brand ambassador, and why do you need them to excel in your marketing efforts?
How to find the ideal social media ambassador that will fit your company?
What are the steps to develop an effective brand ambassador program?
It makes sense to clear up some definitions before you dive into answering all of the above questions, right?
What is a social media brand ambassador?
Simply said, a social media brand ambassador is a person with a large following count on social media platforms recruited by a brand to promote their product or service.
What is the difference between an influencer and a social media brand ambassador?
Great question!
A brand ambassador is the same as an influencer, right? Not exactly.
Yes, they are both individuals who work with companies to promote their products or services and get money, swag, or recognition in exchange, but there are some differences:
Influencer
- Represents a brand for a short period of time;
- Often paid per one piece of content;
- Focuses on advertising a specific product or service for a short time.
Brand Ambassador
- Part of long-term relationships with brands that they work with (for months, even years);
- Serves more as an extension of the marketing team;
- Have KPIs to hit, although they aren’t technically employed at the company.
What is a Brand Ambassador Program?
A brand ambassador program is developed to use the passion and enthusiasm of a brand’s most loyal customers by giving them the possibility to carry the brand’s message to consumers.
How to start a brand ambassador program from scratch
With the growing popularity of unfiltered social media content, brands are searching for satisfied customers who can advertise instead of them.
By rolling out an ambassador program, they can do precisely that.
But guess what? A successful program doesn’t happen by accident.
Here are 5 steps to establish a brand ambassador program on social media from the ground up:
1. Define your ambassador program goals
“Just because” is not a reason to start a brand ambassador program. Get some time to understand what you can get out of your program before you get started – build brand awareness, generate more sales, both?
2. Specify criteria for brand ambassadors
Here are some criteria to have in mind when picking social media ambassadors to reach out to:
- How long have they been your customer?
- How much do they engage with your brand?
- What is their engagement rate on social media?
- What is their follower count?
3. Create policies and guidelines
Brand ambassadors require less hand-holding, so you don’t need to craft all of their messages or micromanage them because they already understand your company and what you are trying to achieve.
Still, giving them a style guide and set of expectations is always a good start.
4. Promote and empower your ambassadors
Since we are talking about a long-term relationship, ensure that your ambassadors understand what’s in it for them by working with you (freebies, financial compensations, free promotion on your account, etc.)
5. Follow the progress of your program
Like everything else related to social media campaigns, you need to track your KPIs to see what’s working and what’s not, so you can improve your upcoming campaign.
How to recruit social media brand ambassadors
Now that you are familiar with how to kick-start your program let’s see some well-known places where you can look for potential brand ambassadors.
1. Search ambassadors by keywords in their social media bio
You can search manually or use a free tool that lets you find brand ambassadors by keywords they have in their Instagram bio.
No matter the niche you are in, our algorithm can identify the most suitable people with your targeted word in their bio with just a few clicks.
2. Find ambassadors from competitors’ fans
Consider this as a simple competitor’s research.
If you have been looking for a social media ambassador for a while but have not gotten any results, so why not take a look at your competitors’ most engaging social media followers?
You can do this manually or use our service to find more about the social media followers of your competitors and identify great leads for your ambassador program.
But that’s not all. Our platform can find publicly available emails from the fans of your biggest competitors, so you can reach them directly and convince them to convert to your side.
3. Identify ambassadors that are part of your email list
We developed a feature Discover to help you find the influencers interacting with your brand and invite them to collaborate. If you have an email list of subscribers or customers we can easily identify anyone with a social media presence. These people are your best shot for finding quality brand ambassadors that will spread the word about your products passionately.
If you want to scale your brand ambassador outreach, get in touch with our team and order a custom-made email list with thousands of brand ambassadors based on your specific targeting requirements.
Types of brand ambassador programs
There are 4 main types of brand ambassadors:
1. Affiliate brand ambassador program
This is between a brand and influencers or bloggers who function as affiliate marketers. They promote the brand and, in exchange, get a commission when a purchase is made via their affiliate link.
2. College brand ambassador program
It is a partnership between a brand and students where the brand leverages the students’ internal connections to raise brand awareness and increase sales among its peers.
These programs are perfect for brands whose target audience is still in college or university.
3. Word-of-mouth (referral marketing)
This is a less structured type of program where everyone who shows persistent loyalty to a brand can join this brand ambassador program.
The only requirement is to spread the word about the brand to their friends and families.
4. Requirement-driven brand ambassador program
This is all about completing particular actions for a brand within a specific time frame. Usually, requirement-driven brand ambassadors are influencers with many followers and high engagement rates.
Examples of Social Media Brand Ambassador Programs
How should you develop your brand ambassador program for the best results?
Here are some great examples to get inspired:
Examples of Social Media Brand Ambassador Programs
Yes! According to websites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and Payscale, the national average salary for a social media brand ambassador, ranges from $20.000 up to $58.000 per year.
If the brand ambassador is paid hourly, they can get between $10 and $16 per hour.
- Develop a cohesive brand identity by creating content around the same areas of interest. This shows consistency and authority within their community.
- Establish an audience, constant follower growth, connect with them and build engagement. Your following count is the first puzzle piece in making social influence.
- Let the brand know you are a good fit for them. To achieve this, ensure that the content you create resonates with the brands you are pitching.
Here are 5 main characteristics you should be looking for:
- Your brand ambassadors don’t need a marketing degree but a basic understanding of marketing’s core principles and the role of social media marketing in driving high-quality referrals.
- An established online presence and a highly-engaged network they can reach out to via social media networks, their blog, emails, or podcasts.
- A high level of professionalism is a must! Your brand ambassadors won’t be employed by your company, but these people will be representing your brand by talking about it, encouraging others to try your products and services, and influencing how their audience perceives your business.
- The right ambassadors shouldn’t only be passionate (and familiar with) your products or services, but they should also be skilled at making strong relationships with potential customers on your behalf.
- The ability to collect feedback based on their experience with your product or services, their conversations with your customers and competitors, and provide innovative insight based on it. This critical intelligence helps you improve your digital marketing strategy (and your business strategy in general).
To wrap up
It’s clear as day – brand ambassadors are a key part of the formula companies use to build a trustworthy brand identity and reach consumers consistently.
Social media ambassador programs can humanize your branding and build relationships with consumers in places where other strategies have failed.
So, why not give it a try?
If you are not confident that you can find the most relevant social media ambassadors for your brand, tools like Influencers Club can do the hard work for you.
Get in touch with us – we are happy to help!
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