Should Small Businesses Get a Brand Ambassador?

71% of marketers believe that brand ambassadors are the most effective form of influencer marketing. Ambassador programs are increasingly popular among businesses to generate interest in their brands. 

More and more people create Instagram and TikTok accounts. This creates a great opportunity to advertise your brand to millions of people around the globe. Social media influencers do not always need to be a brand ambassador. This can be anybody who advocates for your company and spreads positive feedback. 

What Is A Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a person who is the face of the brand. They discuss, review, and share your products positively. 

Brand ambassadors reach many customers. This allows you to gain a large client base and grow your brand. It’s also exponential. As your brand grows, more brand ambassadors may grow your customer base. 

A brand ambassador needs to be personable, reliable, friendly, and honest. This ensures people see their opinions as genuine. It can also help if the individual is popular or well-known to increase the exposure of your brand. Micro-influencers are greatif you sell niche products or services. 

Essentially, brand ambassadors influence people’s buying decisions. Brand ambassadors work alongside your company’s marketing campaigns to secure greater profits and gains. Sharing details, information, and new business ideas allows the ambassador to be aware of new information and products.

What Is A Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a plan of action. It promotes and sells a product or service. 

Here’s what you need to consider for a good marketing strategy:

• Who buys your products?
• What motivates consumers to buy your product?
• What is an affiliate network? How can you use it to your benefit?
• Who are your competitors? What do they do to achieve the same goals?
• How do you measure the success of your campaigns?

Answering these questions is the first step in moving towards an effective marketing strategy. Meanwhile, consider the type of marketing you would like to move forward with like the following ideas:

• Content marketing.
• Word of mouth.
• Social media marketing.
• Search engine optimization.
• B2C referral programs or B2B rewards programs.

Brand ambassadors may fulfill these marketing strategies. You can use their influence and social media presence for a variety of reasons. Some of these include releasing informative content, spreading messages through word of mouth, or improving SEO. 

3 Reasons To Have Brand Ambassadors

1. Trust and Brand Awareness

Firstly, many brand ambassadors are likely to have been working on gathering their following for a long time. It takes years for businesses to build trust with their audiences. They need to be reliable, considerate, and provide outstanding services.

One of the incredible benefits of investing in brand ambassadors is that the trust is already there. Your brand ambassadors have already built that trust with their audience. Customers trust what the people they follow say. As such, they may be likely to make purchases. Brand ambassadors should also have existing interest in your products and offerings.

2. Cost Effective

Many businesses like to work with micro-influencers. These influencers have a smaller target audience. However, the niche makes consumers more likely to buy a product that appeals to them. 

As the return on investment is so high, spending more money can reap a greater reward in terms of instant profits. A startup with less capital may invest in smaller influencers. These brand ambassadors can generate great income and create loyal customers who care about your company.

3. Improved Brand Image

Brand image is key when selling your product. Influencers are great at selling products or services in a way that doesn’t damage your brand image. When they direct a customer to an affiliate landing page it feels personal. Take the time to research your brand ambassadors.

Where Can You Find Brand Ambassadors?

Searching for a brand ambassador can be difficult. Here’s how to find the right ones for your company:

Find and use websites that are created for this job. I just searched ‘find brand ambassadors’ on google – there are a lot of options.

Look within your audience or company. You are likely to already have people who care about and support your brand, so go there first. It’s the closest and easiest place to start. 

Search socials. Using specific groups on Facebook or following particular people on Instagram can help. You can learn about the individual and their image and check whether you’d like to be associated with them first.

Launch a campaign to find a brand ambassador on your social media page or website. As the influencer and business benefits, many people want to get involved or run campaigns on their socials.

Why Brand Ambassadors Matter

Using brand ambassadors is an effective tool for marketing whether you are a small or large business. You can find niche influencers who have a dedicated following or use those who are much more well known to reach wide audiences. 

Brand image is so important nowadays, so it’s important to choose individuals with whom you are happy to represent your brand. You can do this internally and externally. 

The public is always being subjected to advertising campaigns from companies. Brand ambassadors help you stand out in a saturated world. People often feel more connected to influencers so use that to your advantage and supercharge your marketing strategies with this approach. 

Sam O’Brien is the Chief Marketing Officer for Affise—a Global SaaS Partner Marketing Solution. He is a growth marketing expert, with a product management and design background. Sam has a passion for innovation, growth, referral programs and marketing technology.