A social media brand ambassador is someone who can (and does) effectively promote your product, service or brand to their audience. Effectively, their primary goal is to drive customers, positive sentiment and brand awareness. Because they feel an authentic bond with it and wishes to spread the word about it.
There are many reasons to include your brand ambassadors in the general marketing strategy of your company:
- 74% of the users would trust a word of mouth referral for purchase (this grows up to 91% on the B2B scenario)
- People are more likely to stay loyal to a brand if it has been referred to them by someone close than by any other means.
- Buyers have a stronger bond with a brand if their friends and acquaintances share it.
- The lifetime value of referred clients is 16% higher.
- Customers are 4 times more likely to buy through word of mouth.
Ambassador marketing means creating a personal bond with your brand ambassadors, out of honesty, authenticity, trust, and inspiration. It is the word of mouth taken to the next level on the actual social media situation.
WHO ARE THEY?
There are two general types of ambassadors that you might want to consider when searching for your brand ambassadors:
- Internal: Employees, partners, investors, etc. They belong to the company or they have a direct relationship with it. The trust comes from the first-hand information they can provide about the products, services, and projects. They represent the culture and values of the company.
- External: Customers, users, and fans. They don’t belong directly to the organisation but they have direct contact with it. They have purchased or used the product, enjoyed service or seen its impact.
Additionally, you can also to hire paid ambassadors such as bloggers, influencers or celebrities. This type of ambassadors normally has a very big audience of followers and their trust comes from their celebrity status.
The type of ambassadors you need depends on your goals. For example, if you are trying to reach a global audience, it might be better to go with a celebrity. However, unless you are an NGO or social organization, it will be quite costly.
If you are looking for day-to-day recommendations and powerful word of mouth, your employees, fans, partners or clients are a great source of ambassadors. Of course, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can always work with different types of ambassadors for the different goals of your campaigns and create a mix of ambassadors that suits you best.
Once you know what kind of ambassadors you are looking for, there are many sources where you can start your search for them. The most common ones are your employees and client database, your social media channels, the web.
Your Employees:
Advertisment
The first place where you should look for ambassadors is in your own company. They know everything about the brand and they are probably willing to share their experience with the world. If they feel involved with the company they will be happy to ask other people to get involved as well.
Customers Database:
Take a look at your actual clients and identify the ones you know are enthusiastic about your brand. They will be willing to share their positive first-hand experience with your products and spread the favourable opinions.
Social Media Channels:
Your social media channels are full of fans and followers who really like your brand and might be happy to share your messages with their audiences.
Conclusion
- A brand ambassador is a person who represents your brand or product because they feel an authentic bond with it
- Ambassador marketing means creating a personal bond with your brand ambassadors, out of honesty, authenticity, trust, and inspiration.
- There are different types of ambassadors. You need to choose the ambassador mix that aligns better with your goals.
- The best sources to start to look for ambassadors are your employee and client databases, your social media channels and the web.