More companies are turning to brand ambassador marketing as a way to grow their businesses and engage with their audiences. You’re probably reading this because you’re interested in starting your own brand ambassador marketing program. But what do you do when you’re starting out and feeling stuck? Keep reading this article for brand ambassador tips that help make the process easier!

In our previous article, we taught you how to create your own ambassador marketing program. This time we’re focusing on brand ambassador tips that you can use to improve your campaign.

Brand ambassador marketing is the key to reaching out to your target audience in the most sincere, authentic, and credible way possible.

Traditional advertising tactics have almost completely lost their effectiveness. We are constantly overwhelmed with commercial messages online, leaving consumers frustrated and unable to make a decision. This is why hundreds of thousands of consumers look to influencers and ambassadors for help when making buying decisions. Now, we rely on people like us for reliable and honest recommendations.

What is a brand ambassador?

A brand ambassador is anyone who represents and promotes your brand, product, event, or service to their network.

Anyone can be a brand ambassador, including celebrities or influencers. These brand ambassadors usually have a transactional partnership with brands, which means they are compensated or given products or services in exchange for representing the brand.

Brand ambassadors can also be people who adore the brands they represent. This includes devoted customers, passionate fans, or employees. These types of brand ambassadors are most likely unpaid but are willing to spread the word about your businesses to their network because they already love your brand.

Brand ambassadors use a word-of-mouth approach to refer people to the businesses they represent. They recommend and talk about the brand with their network in everyday conversations or on social media. This opens up possibilities for increasing brand recognition and sales.

Using brand ambassadors in your marketing strategy establishes credible, authentic, and highly successful marketing channels. Ambassadors promote your brand to a connected, engaged, and trusting audience. Having a handful of ambassadors broadens your company’s reach.

What is the difference between brand ambassadors and influencers?

Influencers and brand ambassadors have some similarities, but there are some nuances to take note of.

Influencers

Posting on social media or other platforms to promote a brand is usually part of an influencer’s responsibilities.

You’ll often see influencers promote and use products in their content. They’ll explain the benefits of the products and how the products function for a certain need or goal. It’s important to note that these posts aren’t entirely focused on a certain brand. Influencers may mention a brand in passing while they generate their regular content, but the brand won’t be the main focus.

In most cases, influencers include a few products or services from different brands in their content. Then they connect with their audience as directly as possible with the goal of persuading their audience to buy a product or service from a company.

Brand ambassadors

Brand ambassadors perform many of the same tasks as influencers. They interact and engage with their followers on social media and other platforms to promote a product that is tailored to their followers’ needs.

The biggest difference between the two is that brand ambassadors work directly and closely with a brand. They usually focus solely on one brand’s products.

Brand ambassadors tend to have more influence over a company’s marketing strategy because they are comparable to direct employees.

They might concentrate on a variety of long-term marketing strategies and continually come up with fresh ways to improve or showcase a product. This strategy contributes to the development of a more long-term campaign.

This isn’t to say that brand ambassadors can’t support a different brand. Brand ambassadors have the option to work for other brands once their contract expires or if they find another company they want to work with. All of this depends on the quality of a brand ambassador program and the rewards it offers to its employees.

Successful brand ambassador programs examples

 

We’ve compiled a list of the best brand ambassador marketing examples from a variety of industries. Here are 5 of the best brand ambassador marketing programs:

Lululemon

Lululemon may have pioneered the concept of brand ambassador marketing as we know it today. Their first store concept included collaborations with local health and wellness professionals in Canada. The same approach was eventually used across their whole worldwide retail network, encouraging customers to spend more time in shops and buy more merchandise.

This brand is certainly the best when it comes to building an online community. The sportswear brand recruits global leaders to try out new products, post them on social media, and solicit feedback from people in the locations they represent. This strategy allows Lululemon to keep watch of these communities, which then provides important input that helps the company develop and expand.

Brand ambassadors are now prominently displayed on the Lululemon website. They even have yearly events that honor ambassadors and their contributions to the brand. You can tell the brand cares for its brand ambassadors by publicizing their work, seminars, and charity contributions.

Lululemon’s use of brand ambassador marketing is a great strategy. They target health-conscious Instagram users, along with millions of other consumers across the world. The brand, which has no qualms with recruiting micro influencers – individuals with less than 50,000 followers – retains the local market approach that helped it become a multibillion-dollar corporation.

What makes their use of a brand ambassador successful?

Lululemon brand ambassadors produce relevant and relatable content. Their content revolves around realistic and human lifestyles, but with a healthy and trustworthy message. Through hashtags like #TheSweatLife, their audience can easily track how Lululemon apparel is used in everyday life.

When it comes to choosing trustworthy companies, Gen-Z customers look for genuine connections, community, and intimacy. While the Lulu team includes some of the most well-known Instagram influencers and professional athletes, its network also includes community leaders. These people form genuine bonds with young professionals, parents, ambitious athletes, and everyone in between.

Adobe Brand Ambassador Example

While most people associate Photoshop with celebrity face tuning, Adobe actually focuses on offering incredible software for designers, illustrators, and producers. These softwares are nowhere cheap, but they’ve established the standard for creative growth throughout the world in many ways.

As it continues to produce products for creators, Adobe has engaged in brand ambassador marketing with creative partners all around the world. Adobe ambassadors showcase how Adobe’s softwares and mobile applications add new depths to their work.

This brand has always honored its customers. Adobe releases software updates for its various platforms on a regular basis, and each one comes with a fresh welcome splash screen. Adobe has worked with genuine commercial artists and illustrators to develop those softwares from its start in the 1990s and they give credit to each person by name. Their customer-first philosophy has paid off, and they’ve survived a lot of competitors who are no longer in business.

Adobe ambassadors frequently teach classes, extending influence even further. From students to budding artists to major companies, Adobe provides everything users need to create and deliver outstanding digital experiences. The Adobe Creative Insider Program was intended to attract new consumers while keeping old ones happy. Ambassadors in the program teach both beginners and expert users in exchange for professional development resources to help them incorporate Adobe software into their own businesses.

What makes their use of a brand ambassador successful?

The Creative Insider ambassadors act as the middlemen between Adobe and its customers. Because Adobe is so huge, having people who can satisfy specific customer requests and requirements is critical to maintaining the community. They may also make sure that consumer input is received and acted upon by the business.

Adobe has a large presence on college campuses as well. They employ students from all across the country to help promote Adobe to the next generation of creatives. These student ambassadors organize training seminars, interact with their followers on social media, and set up free trials for a variety of on-campus groups. Adobe has effectively increased brand loyalty among Gen-Z users as a result of this initiative. They’ve shown how important such initiatives are in keeping a firm relevant across generations.

How Away Luggage Uses Pet Influencers

Away Luggage challenges and disrupts the traditional way of selling luggage. This luggage brand has conquered the market thanks to its sleek, minimalist design, interesting color choices, and integrated technology. It’s a formula for Millennial travel perfection! Especially when you combine it with a price point that’s lower than conventional luxury luggage brands.

Away started employing Instagram influencers early on. But they still kept going and increased the program in 2018 to keep up with the rising demand for lifestyle travel items. The brand features young, beautiful Millennials in metropolitan settings. Displaying elegance and adaptability, all while romanticizing the experience. Their use of brand ambassadors generates FOMO (fear of missing out), making us all want to plan our getaway with their stunning luggage.

How Beats By Dre Uses Brand Ambassadors

The world’s most well-known headphones brand didn’t start off that way. Beats by Dre employed high-profile counterculture celebrities and social media influencers from the very beginning. Beats was able to convince Millennial consumers to pay $400 for a set of headphones by presenting itself as a fresh competitor to conventional and less interesting brands. The avalanche of social media mentions, celebrity sightings, and music video appearances of the famous over ear headphones outstripped even early unfavorable reviews from audiophile blogs.

As if the endorsements weren’t enough, Beats By Dre also developed a brand ambassador program that encouraged innovation. They collaborated with brand ambassadors on special editions and color combinations. These limited-edition headphones became collectibles, boosting demand for the headphones even more. The special editions encouraged brand ambassadors to use their extensive networks to promote Beats by Dre. This fosters a sense of shared enthusiasm among their most influential spokespeople.

Despite the fact that this strategy is over a decade old, current businesses can still benefit from an increasingly flat supply chain that allows for quick prototyping and innovation to achieve the same thing faster and for less money.

Casper

Who would’ve thought a mattress company would make use of brand ambassadors, right? But lo and behold Casper! Casper relies on “sleep ambassadors” to spread the word as it sets out to disrupt an established industry. When the Casper team realized that conventional marketing and the mattress shop distributor model were flawed and outdated, they enlisted the help of young, hip brand ambassadors to create true, transparent content for YouTube and Instagram. These early reviewers piqued people’s interest in the brand. Effective digital marketing soon followed to convert viewers into consumers.

Casper expanded to exceed several competitors in two years, all while relying on mail-order products and tailored advertising to stay in the game. New brand ambassadors were being added along with new collaborations to reach out to a higher-income demographic. All international business and first-class American Airlines that lie flat seats received a custom branded Casper mattress. Along with the mattress, they received direct response vouchers in the amenity box. The bedding was then subsequently reviewed by travel influencers, placing Casper on a whole new level from its competitors.

Brand ambassador tips and best practices

Starting a brand ambassador program is a huge step toward increasing brand recognition. But creating campaigns that move the needle on sales requires careful planning. Here are the four best practices for brand ambassador marketing to ensure you get the best results. Do this whether you’re beginning from scratch or wanting to improve an existing program.

Create a strong social media strategy

Your brand will benefit greatly from a strong social media strategy. Brand awareness is important when it comes to expanding your audience, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to use social media to interact with both old and new consumers.

In the long run, social media is a wonderful way to raise brand recognition and revenue. Having brand ambassadors post about your product is one of the first steps to boosting your brand’s online exposure. Additionally, you can also incorporate social media influencers into your social media strategy. Your field marketing program will be considerably stronger if you add a handful of social media influencers with an existing social media presence.

You can also ask your employees to act as your brand ambassadors. Employees are the most knowledgeable about your product which is why they make excellent brand ambassadors. Start by encouraging your colleagues to post about your product once a week, and then increase the frequency during promotions or new launches. This will deepen the bond between your workers and your product while also presenting it to a wider audience. Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter are wonderful for keeping people connected. But they are even better for bringing prospective consumers to your company. Encouraging your employees to talk about your products on social media platforms gives you a trusted voice in many social circles.

Track your progress

Tracking progress, data, and analytics is essential for successful brand ambassador marketing. Keep track of how field activities affect your business. Take advantage of this data and continually improve your strategy! Adopting a data-driven strategy encourages brand ambassadors to reach their goals, as well as the company’s goals. They’ll be able to see how their actions influence your bottom line, which encourages your brand ambassadors to do their best. Using real-time data feedback improves your company’s overall productivity.

By reviewing the data, your team can reflect upon what’s working and what’s not working. Try softwares and applications built particularly for field teams to handle data, communication, and analytics.

We love working with companies that are focused on making their dollars make sense – want to talk to us about your marketing needs? Feel free to reach out!

Learn from your brand ambassadors

You can learn a lot from your brand ambassadors, especially if they’re part of a niche that’s within your ideal market. There’s a huge opportunity for you to learn what your target audience likes through your brand ambassadors. Ask them what posts their followers like the most, the comments they get on their posts, and even the messages their followers send. It’s not easy to introduce your brand to a community. Choosing candidates who are actively involved in their communities is the best solution to this challenge.

Choosing someone who is well-versed in their community’s culture will undoubtedly open up new doors. Not only because they know more people, but also because they have a better sense of how to market your company to their particular demographic.

Encourage honesty and creativity

Your brand ambassador program will be built around the goals and expectations you set for your brand ambassadors. If you want your program to stand out from your competition, then  encourage your ambassadors to come up with their own marketing ideas. This can be expressed in a variety of ways, but note that creating a sense of ownership among your brand ambassadors is critical to the program’s success.

Brand Ambassador Tips

Brand Ambassador Tips: Select the right people

Our first brand ambassador tip is all about choosing the right people to represent your brand.

While your ambassadors do not require a marketing degree, it’s critical that you offer them a thorough grasp of your brand’s ethos, beliefs, and the campaign’s targeted results. Discuss this early on in your interactions and have it documented to protect both sides.

It’s ideal to choose people to represent your brand that are well-versed in the products and services you deal with. Why? Because your ambassadors can’t truly support something they don’t believe in. Find people who are enthusiastic about your company.

Although it is easy to identify your top customers, not all will be appropriate for the job. Look for individuals that share your organization’s vision and purpose. Once you’ve narrowed down your list of possible brand ambassadors, choose the people that best fit your program. Do this by creating a list of must-have qualities that you feel are essential for the role.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Understand your ambassadors’ goals and align them with yours

Before you establish a brand ambassador program for your brand, consider your target audience. What vibe do you want to communicate to your consumers?

Your company’s values and beliefs will be a foundational aspect of your brand ambassador program, so it’s a good idea to clarify these values with potential brand ambassadors early on in the relationship. The standards and identity of your organization will help you determine who is most suited to represent you.

Aside from your own company values, it’s good to know the values of your prospective brand ambassadors as well. Ambassadors mirror their own brand through their channels and they tend to collaborate with brands with similar values. Learn all there is to know about a potential brand ambassador before asking them to represent your brand. Take a look at the usual content they post, and how your campaign will affect their online engagements.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Give value to your ambassadors and empower them

Our third brand ambassador tip requires a little bit of effort on your end. Establish a relationship with the ambassadors to learn about their expectations. As your ambassadors, each individual will have a distinct set of objectives in mind. Some may only be there for the goodies, while others will be there to improve their resumes, develop new skills, or even join your company. Understanding these motives can help predict the success of your brand ambassador program.

Your brand ambassadors should feel like partners of your business. You should provide your brand ambassadors with any resources needed to properly advertise your products and services. Additionally, you must have an organized and reliable system for communication between your team and your brand  ambassadors. Your brand ambassadors should have a dedicated team member to reach out to with questions at any time. You can also provide a platform for brand ambassadors to communicate with each other.

While not every campaign you design as a company will need ambassador involvement, it’s critical to keep any ambassadors you work with informed of any changes. If you build a long-term relationship with them and keep them informed about significant news or changes, they’ll always be prepared to answer any external queries and can represent your brand with authority and confidence in their other job. Building long-term connections with ambassadors enhances their loyalty to the company and lowers the chances of them working with competition.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Make it exclusive

Selecting the right ambassadors is important, but you also want to make sure the program maintains its high-quality appeal. It’s OK to tell potential applicants about the program, but make sure the selection process is more qualifications-based. Allowing anybody to be your ambassador reduces the importance of the program. It also raises the risk of having irresponsible and uncommitted ambassadors. As many buyers have learned, quantity does not imply quality.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Create a social media policy

As great as brand ambassador marketing is, there are some things to consider when asking people outside of your company to advertise your products or services.

Your ambassadors represent your brand. This means their actions have a direct influence on your company’s image. As a result, it’s important to make sure that anything they publish online is consistent with your company image. A social media policy is the best way to establish rules to help ambassadors understand the tone and message they should use, especially while promoting your business on social media.

That being said, you should find someone to oversee the your brand ambassador program. They can help you monitor your ambassadors’ content and duties.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Reward your ambassadors

There are some ambassadors who work for free, but rewarding and acknowledging their contributions goes a long way. Converting followers into customers takes skill and effort, so offering incentive to your brand ambassadors is a must. If you decide to compensate them, clearly communicate how they can earn the money. Compensate their efforts with a fixed amount or with other things such as discounts, free items, or gifts.

If you have ambassadors who are employees, motivate and encourage them with a few incentives. Let them know that the program is an opportunity to broaden their professional abilities and gain valuable skills, and reward good performance with promotions.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Cultivate and foster a strong community

This next brand ambassador tip is all about fostering a community. Doing this will cultivate a supportive environment where people can exchange thoughts and ideas. Form a group of ambassadors who can collaborate to help one another develop. The community serves as a resource for ambassadors in need of content inspiration. This will also give them a sense of belonging to something significant.

Other companies’ or notable influencers’ social media sites can also be good sources of followers for you and your community. Take a look at other sites to see where you can make a difference as a brand or company. React openly if someone mentions you or your brand. Show your presence and your readiness to communicate. This will improve your reputation and build community cohesiveness.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Think globally, but act locally

It’s great to target a worldwide market by operating on a local scale as larger communities will see your ambassadors’ impact in local communities.

This is why it’s important to emphasize your ambassadors doing good in their communities. Show them working to make a positive influence on a regular basis. Let your ambassadors upload videos of themselves using your product. Allow them to demonstrate how your products improved their lives. These videos will give your brand a favorable worldwide image.

Brand Ambassador Tips: Final thoughts

There are several reasons why you should integrate ambassador marketing in your marketing strategy. Brand ambassadors are honest in their support of your products and services because they believe in your brand.

They’ll tell their friends, relatives, and colleagues about your business. They’ll also help you build trusting relationships with your target market.

The keys to a successful brand ambassadorship include choosing the right program for your organization, putting together an effective plan, and empowering the brand ambassadors you choose to represent you.

Don’t be afraid to try! You’ll reap the benefits of ambassador marketing if you’re able to follow these brand ambassador tips and best practices.

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