The Ultimate Guide to Brand Ambassadors: What They Are & Why You Need Them

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: 

• What they are,
• What they do,
• Why you need them,
• How they differ from brand affiliates,
• How to choose one, and
• Where to find one. 

(Yes, when we said this was the ultimate guide, we meant it.) 

So, without further ado, let’s get right into it!

What Are Brand Ambassadors? 

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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: 

• Celebrities,
• Influencers,
• Experts,
• Customers,
• Employees. 

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.

Brand Ambassadors vs. Brand Affiliates 

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Admittedly, these two terms refer to very similar positions, but there are a few key differences between them: 

• Role: the ambassadors’ main goal is to increase awareness and trust, and affiliates are there to attract new customers in exchange for a commission fee, 

• Compensation: affiliates usually work only for financial gain (the commission), whereas ambassadors can be paid via other goods, 

• Motivation: ambassadors usually partner with brands and become their ambassadors because they genuinely love and use the brand, 

• Mediums: affiliates usually only work online, and ambassadors often also attend in-person events to promote your products,

What Do Brand Ambassadors Do? 

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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:

Word of Mouth Marketing 

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.

Attending Events 

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.

User-Generated Content 

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?

Engagement 

A brand ambassador will help you boost engagement by being active online, answering your audience’s questions, and offering recommendations.

Offering Feedback 

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.

What Are the Benefits? 

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:

1. You’ll Build Your Credibility 

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

2. You’ll Gain Access to Your Target Audience 

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

3. You’ll Create a Community 

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.

4. You’ll Save Money & Increase ROI 

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.

How to Choose a Brand Ambassador 

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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?

1. Authenticity 

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.

2. Relevance 

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.

3. Engagement 

The ideal brand ambassador will be someone who stays on top of comments and responds to DMs.

4. Social Media Knowledge

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.

5. Creativity 

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.

6. Influence 

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%.

7. Alignment 

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.

8. Responsiveness 

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.

9. Drive 

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.

10. Commitment 

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.

Where Do I Find A Brand Ambassador? 

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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:

Find a Local Micro-Influencer 

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.

Look Through Your Employees 

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.

Use an Influencer Marketing Tool 

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.

Key Takeaways: The Ultimate Guide to Brand Ambassadors

• Brand ambassadors represent and advocate for your brand, building trust and awareness through genuine love for your product, 

• The difference between ambassadors and affiliates is that ambassadors work both online and offline to build trust and awareness, and affiliates focus on customer acquisition and typically only work only in the digital sphere, 

• The responsibilities of brand ambassadors include word-of-mouth marketing, attending events, creating UGC, interacting with audiences, providing feedback to improve marketing strategies and products, 

• The benefits of having a brand ambassador are: better credibility, access to a wider pool of your target audience, a better sense of community, and cost-effectiveness, 

• Qualities that make a great brand ambassador include authenticity, relevance to your niche, high engagement, social media knowledge, creativity, alignment with your brand values, strong communication and responsiveness, and long-term commitment, 

You can find brand ambassadors by looking at local micro-influencers or your own employees or by going through an influencer marketing tool.