A brand ambassador is a person to who a business or brand hires to represent the brand positively and productively in a way that the brand optimizes its reach, presence, and credibility in existing and new market segments.
Brand ambassador programs are considered quite effective and inevitable for the marketing and branding of a business. They incorporate the virality of word of mouth alongside the power of authority figures and influencers to target and convert more and more audiences.
Who is a Brand Ambassador?
Brand ambassador refers to a person who is hired to be the face of a company. Also known as a corporate ambassador, this person represents and promotes the company in media and the public in a positive light.
Usually, people of influence are asked to be brand ambassadors so that their association with the brand can increase brand awareness and sales. While movie stars and sports icons were the usual choices for brand ambassadors in the past, the advent of social media has seen the rise of influencers who have great engagement with their followers, and their opinions are trusted.
While that is the case for most B2C companies, employees of a company are likely to be used as brand ambassadors for B2B companies.
How to find the Right Brand Ambassadors
Brand ambassadors add two benefits through their promotions: trust and influence. But the trick is to find the exemplary ambassador to add the right spin to a brand’s marketing activities. It has shown that rather than putting up the face of an influential celebrity on every ad, customers are more inclined to buy if the ambassador is a trusted expert in the field or just a regular Joe. So, along with the correct platforms for promotion, picking the right person is also crucial. Here are some ways a company can pick the exemplary brand ambassador:
1. Start from your customers
There is no better way to instill trust in your products or services if not through the people who already love them and promote your brand through their own experience with the brand. More extensive outreach is guaranteed if the customers have a large social circle or followers on social platforms. Moreover, customers are always motivated to guide others to make similar purchases. It also adds to customer loyalty as they feel appreciated and seen.
2. Search through social media
Social media is a great platform that can connect brands with people who would love to engage in promotional activities. Other than social listening, there are also many software and tools at hand to find out who all love their products or want to be brand ambassadors.
3. Working with your employees
It could be fruitful to use an employee as your brand ambassador. They know their company inside out, are part of the processes that take place, and can communicate the values of the company to future customers reliably. Employees must feel motivated to stand up for their company and be proud of their contribution.
What is a brand ambassador program?
A brand ambassador program assists businesses or brands in standardizing the manner they work with individual ambassadors. You can opt for a brand ambassador program to formalize the relationship between your brand and the target audience.
With the help of such programs, you will also be able to invite the best people to represent and promote your brand. Different objectives that brand ambassador programs might fulfill are-
- Building brand awareness
- Driving conversions
- Boosting sales
For fulfilling these objectives, ambassadors actively promote your brand in their networks via online channels like social media platforms, blog posts, etc, or offline channels like trade shows, events, etc. Generally, they provide a perfect blend of both channels.
By using these programs, you will be able to enlist your top advocates to accomplish optimum marketing and advertising results.
Impacts of Using a Brand Ambassador Program
Gone are the days of traditional advertisements that involved significant expenses and time. Brand ambassador programs are stepping up the game as people trust genuine reviews of products, and the powers of word-of-mouth marketing help spread brand awareness. Some of the impacts created by brand ambassador programs are:
1. Building trust and transparency
Brand ambassadors help add a human touch to a company. This means they understand the concerns of audiences, help communicate company values and ideas to people, along with inspiring trust in their products or services. Brand ambassadors can share their authentic views of the company, products, customer support, employee behavior, etc., so add transparency to their promotional efforts, as well as aid in improving the company.
2. Cost-effective promotion
This method of promotion is way more cost-effective and yields more results than other marketing tactics. A personal bond is formed with ambassadors, along with new customers that are gain through their promotional activities. Free products, gift cards, or discount codes are great incentives to gain promotion without having to compensate with cash. Moreover, their continued promotion over time can build customer loyalty.
3. Creating dynamic content
Brand ambassadors are great for adding a much-needed change if things get too monotonous. Most brand ambassadors come with their style of promoting, so that helps add a different dimension to a brand’s content and promotional efforts. This can help an old school brand connect with younger audiences with more “hip” content and vice versa.
Wrap Up!
Brand ambassadors are personalities that add tremendous value to what may seem like desperate marketing claims. They can yield excellent results on sales even when a company is on a budget, as they are trusted, have significant reach, and are a perfect addition to any marketing or advertising strategy.
Nielsen’s report suggests that more than 9o% of consumers believe recommendations from family, friends, or credible faces far more in comparison to the brand’s direct messages. So, when recommendations come after a personal experience of the brand ambassadors, they are also rated as one of the most trusted sources of information.
Brand ambassadors promote your products authentically and empower you to have a credible market presence.
How important do you consider a brand ambassador as an influencer for a business? Share your views with us in the comment section below.
Pinky is an MBA in Marketing from the University of Mumbai. She loves helping people out in learning Marketing and sharing latest ideas and tactics for growing businesses.