How To Build A Successful Brand Ambassador Program

Do you know who are influencers among your existing customer base?

Do you know how to turn your customers into your brand ambassadors?

Would you like to tap into the influential power of your loyal customers, followers, and fans?

In this article, we will share what a brand ambassador program is, what creating a brand ambassador program entails, how it can benefit your company and how to find brand ambassadors. You will be equipped with know-hows and methods to grow new ambassadors, drive social buzz and generate revenue through incentivised ambassador marketing tasks, and track the ROI of your ambassador program.

In this article, we’ll show you:

• Who is a brand ambassador?
• Who can be your brand ambassador?

1. Customers
2. Employees
3. Students
4. Influencers
5. Industry Experts
6. Creators
7. Celebrities

• What  is a brand ambassador program?
• What are the benefits of a brand ambassador program?
• How to build a brand ambassador program?

1. Step 1: Set specific goals for your brand ambassador program
2. Step 2: Create a game-plan to implement your brand ambassador program
3. Step 3: Set up guideline and program page for your brand ambassadors 
4. Step 4: Promote the ambassador program
5. Step 5: Identify and choose the right brand ambassadors
6. Step 6: Build Relationships and Create Regular Campaign Activations
7. Step 7: Track, Measure and Optimize the Ambassador Program Effectiveness

Who is a brand ambassador?

Brand ambassador is the advocate for your business, representing your company culture and telling your brand story to the general public. 

According to Wikipedia, a brand ambassador is a person engaged by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values and ethics. The key element of brand ambassadors is their ability to use promotional strategies that will strengthen the customer-product-service relationship, influence a large audience to buy and consume more.

Who can be your brand ambassadors?

Customers: Loyal customers who always share about your brand and are genuine fans of your products. They already believe in your brand and buy from you and it makes them the perfect spokesperson for your company.

Employees: Your team can be insightful brand ambassadors because they have an inside scoop on the business. They know your brand culture and stories.

Students: If your customer base includes young students, campus ambassador programs might be perfect for you. There are brands that focus on student ambassador programs to collaborate with students on campus and boost sales.

Influencers: Social media influencers who genuinely love your brand can become brand ambassadors for your company. They extend your reach to your target audience, form a deeper relationship with your brand, and act as the face of your company. 

Industry Experts: Industry experts who have specific knowledge related to your industry can be a strong ambassador. Customers trust their advice and judgment because they are the thought leaders. Established brands seek the help of industry experts to build their credibility in the industry and educate consumers.

Creators: Social media creators who focus on creating unique content in your domains. Their expertise lies in being able to create, produce and publish original ideas. They may also influence and sell, and are increasingly seeking to monetize their value through content creation.

Celebrities: Celebrities draw public attention and they are magnets for the media. The right celebrity ambassador creates trust with consumers and improves a brand’s overall image. When engaging in a celebrity endorsement, the reputation that precedes the chosen celebrity is automatically transferred to the brand. Ideally, that means primarily positive associations are transferred to the associated brand.

What  is a brand ambassador program?

A brand ambassador program is a long-term partnership between your brand and customers who love your products or services.

By and large, brand ambassadors are friends and supporters of your brand. They promote your product on social media, recommend it to friends and family, and advocate for your values.

A brand ambassador program usually involves a simple contract that outlines the perks or rewards for the ambassador’s work and effort.

What are the benefits of a brand ambassador program?

Apart from driving direct sales and increasing brand awareness, brand ambassadors can provide additional benefits you can’t achieve through other marketing efforts.

• Brand ambassadors humanize your brand 
• Brand ambassadors create meaningful connections with consumers 
• Brand ambassadors increase your brand’s reach and visibility 
• Brand ambassadors increase your social media presence
• Brand ambassadors are creating quality content that help to promote your brand
• Brand ambassadors are building a community around your brand
• Brand ambassadors are building brand trust, brand love and brand credibility
• Brand ambassadors are helping your to save time and save money on marketing efforts
• Brand ambassadors allow you to gain direct access to targeted customers
• Brand ambassadors can increase your brand’s presence both online and offline.

How to build a brand ambassador program?

Step 1: Set specific goals for your brand ambassador program

• How many ambassadors you would like to recruit
• How much revenues you would like to generate through the program

Step 2: Create a game-plan to implement your brand ambassador program

• What tools do you need?
• What’s the budget you need to implement your brand ambassador program?
• How many brand ambassadors do you need to recruit on a monthly basis
• What activities do you want your brand ambassadors to participate in and what's the frequency?
• Which metrics are you going to track to evaluate your progress? 

Step 3: Set up guideline and program page for your brand ambassadors 

Create a landing page to receive inbound interest from potential ambassadors and save hours on managing the process manually.  Make a list of criteria for evaluating potential brand ambassadors and put them on your website. 

• Brand Description
• Brand Expectations
• FAQs
• Perks/Rewards
• Application Form

Step 4: Promote the ambassador program

• Setup a link to promote the ambassador program landing page on website and social media channel 
• Setup banner on website or mobile apps
• Create an email newsletter marketing campaign and blast the program to existing customers
• Notify the users about the program upon online purchase
• Include the program information in the email communications with customers
• Include a QRCode on the product packaging
  
  

Step 5: Identify and choose the right brand ambassadors

• Are they your existing customer or fan?
• Are they active on social media?
• How many social media followers do they have? 
• What type of personal brand voice they are carrying?
  What are their demographic and engagement rates on social media like?
• Have they engaged with your brand on social media already?

Step 6: Build Relationships and Create Regular Campaign Activations

Like any good relationship, constant communications are essential to maintain a good relationship. There are many ways you can engage your brand ambassadors, both online and offline.

• Provide product sampling for them to create content to be posted on social media
• Distribute vouchers or discount coupon code and provide affiliate links
• Distribute marketing materials where possible and relevant
• Provide free branded merchandise such as T-shirts etc
• Interview your brand ambassadors and build rapport
• Send them birthday gifts
• Invite them to virtual events and online events
• Invite them to the brand's Facebook group, whatsapp group or events
• Invite them to create product reviews
• Invite them to private events and appreciation events
• Invite them to product launch events

Step 7: Track, Measure and Optimize the Ambassador Program Effectiveness

Manage all of your creators and ambassadors to boost awareness and drive revenue. Track the content produced by each campaign activity. Measure the earned media values, earned media reach and earned media engagement. 

 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, to launch a successful brand ambassador program, you will need the right tools to help you with the recruitment, selection, maintenance and measurement.

Are You Ready To Launch Your Ambassador Program? 

StarNgage Pro can help you to kickstart your ambassador programs for free. 

 

Here’s a quick overview of StarNgage Pro:

Identify

Save hours of manual effort discovering who are the influencers within your existing customer database by leveraging on the influencers social media profiles matching.

Explore

Gain access to a massive database of creators to expand your ambassador community with credible creators who best represent your brand's image.

Recruit

Set up an ambassador program landing page and invite those who best match your ambassador marketing goals. Enroll your customers or influencers you have worked with to join your program.

Track

Manage all of your creators and ambassadors to boost awareness and drive revenue.

Sign up and start your brand ambassador program today!