Building An Ambassador Program

Building An Ambassador Program
Written by Olivia Ortego
The people who hold the most influencing power in the marketplace could surprise you.
Now more than ever, it is important to use your customers, your brand loyalists,
micro-influencers, and your employees for cost-effective marketing content and growing
your online presence.
Brand ambassador programs are growing in popularity due to their ability to reach a more
engaged audience on social media. But, brand ambassador programs take time to develop
and evolve and are not successful overnight.
Before starting you must consider, is your brand ready for a brand ambassador
program?
Not every brand is ready to build a brand ambassador program and should consider a few
factors before taking this next step…
Are you a brand with an existing online presence? Does your online audience regularly
share your product or brand already on their own? Is your existing audience already
regularly engaged on your social media channels? Are you prepared to put in time in
building a successful brand ambassador program?
If you’ve answered yes, then continue reading for the steps to building your own
personalized ambassador program.
For businesses wanting to start their first brand ambassador program, there are some key
questions to keep in mind:
How do I plan to recruit and select my brand ambassadors?
Do I plan to set any requirements around their social following, location, or online
activity?
What activity types do I plan to offer and how often will I require them to take part?
What types of rewards will I offer versus what will my ambassadors appreciate?
What amount in sales do I wish to generate from the program? (Consider your costs
versus your profit)
What are the main benefits I wish to achieve from building a brand ambassador program?
(Such as an increase in your social following and engagement, gaining User Generated
Content for other marketing efforts, etc.)
First, you must recruit

Recruiting your brand ambassadors can be done in many different ways. Utilize your
social media following. Create an eye-catching graphic to post across your social media
channels that others will identify with your brand. Include a brief description of your
program, why they would want to take part, and a direct link where they can quickly and
easily apply. Be sure to set a deadline for the application process to provide a sense of
urgency when they read about the program. This is a great way to catch the attention of
your pre-existing audience and gain the attention of others.
Next, consider creating a dedicated email campaign introducing your brand ambassador
program, how they can apply, and the rewards they gain to achieve by participating.
Cross-posting across your social media channels and your email audience will allow you
to reach both sets of people in a quick and easy manner. Don’t miss out on using the
resources that you already have access to!
If you are interested in widening your search for future brand ambassadors outside of our
pre-existing audience, then you can use a tool like Sprout Social. Sprout Social allows
you to narrow your search for potential brand ambassadors by searching for specific
terms and hashtags related to your brand.
Start off simple

When you are first starting your ambassador program, it is best to dedicate the majority
of your time executing and measuring rather than planning. Creating a plan would be a
waste of time. Your plan will inevitably change once you learn more about what works
and what does not for your program.
Starting with a simple program is important for both you and your ambassadors because
it will reduce anyone from becoming overwhelmed early on and deterred from
participating in the program.
Always ask for feedback
Many brand ambassador programs have grown to become successful because they asked
for input from their ambassadors. The best way to receive feedback, learn the types of
activities and rewards your ambassadors love, and any new activities they would like to
participate in in the future is by asking them.
Asking for feedback is easy! You could create a survey for each ambassador to fill out at
the beginning and end of their term or reward them for their feedback in the form of an
activity.
Gather each of the responses and consider them when making changes to your program
throughout each term. Allow each of their ambassadors to know that their voice is valued
and they will use it.
Always value the opinions provided to you because it will shape your program and help it
to grow. Again, successful brand ambassador programs take time and can’t be done
alone.
Provide opportunities to become involved

Activities are a necessary component of getting your ambassadors involved in the
program. Activities are not only important to them but also to you in receiving User
Generated Content for campaigns and advertisements.
Activities can be offered in many different forms, such as their engagement on your
social media accounts, referring their followers to follow your social media pages,
posting a story with your brand’s product and username tag, and more! It is important to
offer a variety of activity types to cater to your ambassadors.
Each of your ambassadors will be more likely to become and remain involved if they
have a wide selection of activities to choose from. A narrow set of activities could deter
your ambassadors from participating.
Updating your activities to correlate with upcoming holidays, product releases, or

promotional sales will allow them the opportunity to showcase their individualized
creativity and reduce repetitiveness in their postings. Think options, options, options
when creating activities for your ambassadors to take part in.
Reward your ambassadors
A key component for creating a successful brand ambassador program is through your
rewards. In order to receive the awesome User Generated Content you expect, you must
provide the awesome rewards. This will not only motivate each of your ambassadors but
also entice them to complete more activities and remain involved.
There isn’t only one type of reward that can be offered. Rewards can come in many
different types and forms. It's important to keep in mind what your ambassadors will love
and appreciate.
There are many different options that you can offer such as gift cards, free products,
monetary exchanges if it fits within your budget, or even a special shout-out on your
social media pages. Get creative and make your rewards unique to your program!
Rewards are meant to not only thank your ambassadors for their hard work but to show
them how much you appreciate their involvement. Just as activities will range in the
amount of time and work involved, so should your rewards.
Another option to consider is providing each ambassador with a unique referral link or
code. They can easily include their referral information in their postings, bios, and even
share them with friends.
When the link is used during a transaction, this will allow you to track the sales generated
by each ambassador and their audience. Generating referral sales for your brand is
another great way to broaden your audience and online presence.
Trust between your brand ambassador and their audience will continue to grow the more
often your brand ambassador posts about your brand and speaks about you to their
audience. As a result, they are more likely to convert their audience into long term
customers and build upon your brand loyalty.
Showcase your ambassadors

As mentioned before, a great way to reward your ambassadors is by shining the spotlight
on them to your audience. This is a great way to recognize them for their loyalty to the
program and also helps to make your brand more personable.
Showcasing your ambassadors can be done on any of your social media channels, such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and more!
Allowing your ambassadors to be recognized in your marketing and advertising

campaigns has more benefits than none. It will help to increase the authenticity of your
brand and cultivate a personable touch to your campaigns.
Your ambassador works to create awesome User Generated Content, so why not utilize it
to its fullest potential (and reduce your costs in the process)! You can easily carry over
your brand ambassador spotlights into your product pages.
Remember, recognizing your brand ambassadors is as important to them as it is to you!
Don’t miss out on this marketing opportunity that you’ve dedicated the time to build.
To reiterate, building a successful brand ambassador program does not happen overnight.
Take into consideration each of the suggestions written above when you are starting to
build your ambassador program.
Recruit your ambassadors using your social following. Term after term, you will continue
to grow from that select group into the widened audience you have taken the time to
build.
Start off simple and build upon that. There isn’t a plan that works for everyone so you
will have to learn what works for you and what does not.
Consistently ask for feedback. If you want to know what your brand ambassadors love,
what they hate, or what they would like to see, all you have to do is ask.
Provide the opportunities and they will respond.
Reward them for their efforts and they will remain loyal to your brand and to the
program.
Use these helpful tips to build your program and you will soon be on track to success!

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Building An Ambassador Program - Inbeat 2

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Written by Olivia Ortego

First, you must recruit

Start off simple

Provide opportunities to become involved

Updating your activities to correlate with upcoming holidays, product releases, or

Showcase your ambassadors

Allowing your ambassadors to be recognized in your marketing and advertising

Provide the opportunities and they will respond.

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