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We’ve talked and talked and talked about UGC on our page, but did you know there’s a way to make it long-term?
This is essentially what brand ambassadors are – but we don’t want to spoil anything for you just yet! Keep on reading, and you’ll learn all about them:
(Yes, when we said this was the ultimate guide, we meant it.)
So, without further ado, let’s get right into it!
A brand ambassador is someone who represents and advocates your brand. You’ve surely seen examples of it all around – brands partner up with celebrities all the time. For example, Christiano Ronaldo works with Nike, Justin Bieber works with Beats by Dre, and Beyonce works with L’Oreal Paris.
https://www.instagram.com/sou_gi7/reel/C8m16WEK3Vt/b
But don’t worry; you don’t need that big of a budget to get into the brand ambassador game. A brand ambassador can be pretty much anyone with a platform – the main requirement is that they like your brand and like working with you.
You can either agree with them on a fixed salary or on some kind of an incentive program. This can be anything: products, discounts, access to events – whatever makes the most sense to you.
There are also different kinds of brand ambassadors:
So this means that having brand ambassadors isn’t reserved just for multi-billion dollar companies. Anyone can have an ambassador scaled to fit their needs & budget.
Admittedly, these two terms refer to very similar positions, but there are a few key differences between them:
The main role of a brand ambassador is to represent your brand, promote your products, and advocate for you whenever they get a chance.
But, what exactly their responsibilities will entail is something for you to decide – just like hiring any other type of employee.
Here’s a list of the most common ones so you know what to expect:
Even if it sounds simple, almost 90% of global consumers report that they trust customer recommendations! So, when your ambassador mentions your brand over coffee with friends or at an event, those people are more likely to become customers than if they saw your name on a paid ad.
This includes both online and offline events, ranging from webinars to trade shows. Their task there is to present your values & products and answer any questions other attendees might have.
We touched on this before – UGC is a very valuable tool in your digital marketing strategy. But, rather than having to find new creators for each campaign, an ambassador will be there to support you every step of the way. This can be done through social media posts, their website, or podcast appearances.
Can we link some UGC made by UGC Factory here?
A brand ambassador will help you boost engagement by being active online, answering your audience’s questions, and offering recommendations.
If you’re too busy to keep your finger on the pulse of what the audience thinks of your products, your ambassador can help you improve your marketing efforts by providing feedback – both their own and from their followers.
So, now you know a brand ambassador can do a lot for you – but how does any of it benefit you? To answer that question, we’re dedicating this section to the 4 biggest benefits of having a brand ambassador.
Here’s what they are:
Brand ambassadors can help you spread the word about your products and their features in a way that resonates with the audience. This is especially true if you partner up with industry experts. For example, many skincare brands opt to work with dermatologists to promote their products:
https://www.tiktok.com/@drspf/video/7453184761784241439
If your brand ambassador is someone from your niche (which they absolutely should be), then their target audience is your target audience, too. So, putting your brand in front of them will surely spark interest.
For example, many haircare brands choose to partner with beauty influencers:
https://www.tiktok.com/@vanilla_swirlxx/video/7416557304767679750?q=haircare%20products&t=1736033324668
Keeping consistent in your communication with the audience is crucial for creating and maintaining a sense of community. But, since you may not always have the time, it’s good to have a brand ambassador in your corner to share their thoughts, answer questions, and work as that word-of-mouth marketing we mentioned earlier.
The best thing about ambassadors is that they’re most commonly not motivated by money but by genuine love for the brand. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll do it for free, it just means this is a more cost-effective solution than hiring new UGC creators for every campaign.
It should go without saying that not all influencers charge the same. If you want to go big like Nike and hire a huge celebrity for the job, then you can expect to spend more. But, micro- and nano-influencers are sometimes willing to work for coupons or discounts rather than cash.
So far, we’ve covered what brand ambassadors are, how they differ from affiliates, what they can do for you, and why having such a person on your team can be highly beneficial.
Hopefully, you’re feeling convinced to take your first step into it. If you are, you’ll want to start by figuring out what makes a good brand ambassador good.
Let’s take a quick look at things to look out for before going into detail:
Can we add a visual (like a checklist) of the 10 items below?
This will probably come naturally since ambassadors are customers who already love your brand. This genuine affinity will shine through in their content and make them look more trustworthy.
This basically means that they need to be from your niche. Partnering with a chef won’t do you much good if you’re selling something unrelated, like perfumes or tech.
The ideal brand ambassador will be someone who stays on top of comments and responds to DMs.
Whatever your marketing strategy is, chances are it includes SMM, too. So, since you’ll want your brand ambassador to post about your products online, you’ll need someone who knows what they’re doing.
Anyone can go online and post cookie-cutter content to promote products. Brands that need ambassadors usually want something new and fresh from the deal, so look at the content they’ve previously posted and decide whether it’s something you like.
Macro-influencers are those that have between 500K and 1M followers, and micro-influencers are those that have between 10 and 100K.
It might seem intuitive to aim for the higher numbers, but this benchmark report by the Influencer Marketing Hub states that micro-influencers have an engagement rate of 15.04%, while macro-influencers have 10.53%.
Since an ambassador is someone who will advocate for your brand, their values and branding should align with yours.
This extends beyond just love for, for example, skincare or fashion – these values have to do with other things, such as sustainability, mental health, or any other ‘deeper’ values you want to reflect.
Communication is key – as is the case with any other partnership. So, your ambassador should be someone who accepts and gives constructive feedback and works with you to achieve shared goals.
Just like with any other employee, you want your brand ambassador to be somebody who takes their role seriously. They should be willing to do their best to play their part in your marketing strategy.
The whole point of having a brain ambassador is to have someone who will be there for the long term. This benefits them because you’ll be a stable source of income, but it also benefits the brand because showing the audience you’ve earned their loyalty builds trust.
Last but not least, we wanted to guide you through the whole process of finding your brand ambassador. Since this is someone you’ll (ideally) be working with for a long time, you want to carefully consider who you’re bringing on to the team.
The very first step is to define the ideal brand ambassador. On top of the general qualities we talked about, you need to add your personal goals to the list. This includes the goals for your campaign and narrower definitions of personal values and tone of voice.
After that, there are several routes you can take to find your match:
This is someone who has a large following in their specific region. They can be very valuable in that their content will be more relatable and their engagement more meaningful.
One huge benefit of taking this approach is that they already know the ins and outs of your brand and product. And, since they’re already working with you, it’s very likely that your values align. Plus – you won’t need to worry about communication.
If neither of those two ideas works for you, you can look at an external source.
Finding the ideal partner doesn’t have to be difficult, especially since there are specialized tools for the job available. An example of this would be UGC Factory, which specializes in working with DTC brands.
You can find brand ambassadors by looking at local micro-influencers or your own employees or by going through an influencer marketing tool.
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