What Is a Brand Ambassador Program and Its Dazzling Benefits
The online retail arena has become intensely competitive over the past decade. Considering more than 20 million e-retailers are vying for attention, the struggle to establish a unique identity has never been more critical. In this context, many e-commerce retailers ask, what is a brand ambassador program, as they search for strategies to distinguish themselves from the crowd.
This question brings us to an insightful exploration of brand ambassador programs, their benefits, and how they serve as an innovative, trust-based approach to marketing that can help online retailers to stand out and connect deeply with their audience.
Brand ambassador programs
Welcome to the world of brand advocacy where genuine endorsement becomes a strategic cornerstone of your marketing blueprint. The entire purpose is to boost a company’s offerings by engaging people with significant social influence to act as their promoters. Both online and offline, these influencers can spread the word about your brand through community activities.
Beyond ordinary advertising
Think of a brand ambassador program as a community. Essentially, it brings together influential people who genuinely love your brand and promotes your offerings on various platforms. Moreover, such an approach is not just a clever ad tactic—it’s heartfelt promotion based on real experiences and pure enthusiasm.
Cultivating a passionate community
This program taps into the enthusiasm of people who are excited about your brand’s products or services. And it’s not just about happy customers. Content creators, team members, partners, and even suppliers who like your brand can join this group of supporters.
Tailored to your brand
Each program is unique, shaped by your distinct brand identity and objectives. Some may be extensive, leveraging large networks. On the other hand, some programs might be more focused and specific. Your strategic goals and company mission should dictate the type of imitative you create. Brand ambassador software, such as Roster, is invaluable for organization and management like Roster.
Flexible and budget friendly
Roster offers the freedom to shape your programs as you see fit. You can decide on the number of brand communities, choose the influencers you work with, set the goals of the programs, and determine the compensation you offer.
One great thing about this kind of program is its cost-effectiveness. Compared to traditional marketing methods, it’s a more budget-friendly and targeted approach. So, it’s not just a marketing move, but a strategic investment in long-term brand loyalty and growth.
Disrupting how brands market
As a subset of influencer marketing, advocate programs utilize influential people to promote a company’s products. Thousands of companies run such programs because the return on investment (ROI) is far higher than traditional forms of marketing and advertising. And we must add, the programs cost much less to run!
Why?
Programs are so successful because they use social networks that people already know and trust.
Also, these spokespeople are neither employees nor high-paid influencers. They aren’t pretenders. It’s real. Brand ambassadors are genuine buyers and users, which bakes in trust.
Take another typical, everyday experience. You’re in the market for a new brand of coffee. So you open your computer and search for “great coffee.” Google returns pages of ads and articles exploring seemingly endless options. Hours later, you are overwhelmed and bewildered. You sure wish you had an awesome cup of coffee.
When it comes to making decisions, people most often lean on the opinions of their family and friends. Yes, even if all those buddies are virtual acquaintances they’ve made online. Repeated research demonstrates that consumers place companies and advertisements near the bottom of their trust lists.
“Word of Mouth marketing impressions result in 5x more sales than a paid media impression, and people are 90% more likely to trust and buy from a brand recommended by a friend.” (Source)
Harnessing advocacy
Brand advocacy marketing is a potent tool in any marketer’s arsenal. It’s a highly effective, cost-friendly tactic to fortify customer loyalty, bolster brand visibility, and stimulate lead generation.
An advocacy program enables companies to discover and collaborate with individuals who hold sway over audiences, thus helping promote their offerings. By harnessing this influential prowess, businesses can carve a niche for themselves and make an impact on a grander scale.
Consumers are 4x more likely to buy when referred by a brand ambassador. (NIELSEN)
Such programs are also instrumental in acknowledging loyal customers and fostering relationships with potential patrons. Implemented correctly, a brand representative program could be a treasure trove for any marketer.
A win-win proposition
These programs create a win-win situation, acknowledging loyal customers while attracting potential ones. If executed correctly, such a program could become a goldmine for any marketer. It’s a smart, resource-saving tactic that allows you to leverage the reach of influencers without breaking the bank on expensive ad campaigns.
The following is an overview of program benefits.
Greater brand visibility
Brand representatives expand your reach, allowing your message to be heard by a broader audience. They can share your content and messages with more people, thereby enhancing your brand’s visibility.
Content-rich strategy
Brand enthusiasts enrich your content pool to showcase your brand. They create authentic, relatable content, forming a bridge between your brand and its audience. UGC and marketing material made by users helps bring brands and their fans closer, giving everyone a feeling of being part of a united and welcoming community.
Increased engagement
Brand evangelists build strong ties with your target demographic, leading to higher customer engagement. Customers feel connected to your brand, demonstrating increased loyalty.
Boosting loyalty
Advocacy programs cultivate trust between your brand and its customers. A positive experience instills a sense of loyalty in both existing and potential customers.
Improved reputation
Brand representative programs protect and elevate your brand’s reputation. Positive stories about your brand foster an authentic image, enhancing consumer trust.
Sales growth
Advocates can drive sales, conversions, and revenue growth. Advocates direct traffic to your website and social media channels, enhancing visibility and reach. Their endorsements influence followers to trust their recommendations and make purchases. Their followers are more likely to trust these suggestions and buy from you. Moreover, they help improve your bottom line by offering incentives and discount codes.
The power of ambassador programs
Companies can tailor initiatives to fit their goals. They can pick local influencers, digital personalities, or both, and decide the compensation, duties, and terms for their advocates.
Organizations benefit from these programs as they extend the company’s reach from a position of trust. It’s about engaging passionate individuals and inspiring them to spread the word about the brand. These individuals promote the brand in diverse ways, and are often rewarded for their word-of-mouth promotion.
How does this work? Engaging individuals who are passionate about a particular brand and its products or services to publicize them. The partnership between the company and the customer often lasts for years. Together they collaborate, introduce new products, review current offerings, and more.
Brand champions may promote the brand in a variety of ways, including:
- Social media
- Blogs
- Testimonials and reviews
- In-person events
- Product demos
- Content creation
- Affiliate marketing
- Podcasts and interviews
- Email campaigns
- Community engagement
Many advocates are compensated for their efforts and results. This may be in the form of a brand ambassador salary or in kind with merchandise or points.
83% of happy consumers are willing to recommend a service or product, only 29% do so. (TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY)
Hundreds of organizations use the Roster Platform to run their programs. Check out our case studies to see how brands such as Vooray, GoBe Kids, 1800contacts, and Blendtec target new audiences and grow revenue.
How to get started
An ambassador program is a trusted, effective way for companies to communicate their message to the public. The purpose or goal of many programs is to reach potential customers and make new connections.
So how does a company go about starting a successful brand ambassador program that delivers outstanding results?
1️⃣ Know your audience
Firstly, you need to identify your target audience. Understanding who you want to reach is a crucial step in developing a successful program.
2️⃣ Set your goals
Next, it’s time to lay out your strategy. Define clear goals and desired outcomes.
3️⃣ Start recruiting
Once your plan is in place, you’ll need to find people for your program. Check out this guide on how to find brand ambassadors for quick tips to get you started.
4️⃣ Set up an application process
To make the application process official, create a recruitment form . This will help you gather information about potential advocates.
5️⃣ Choose the right people
Now, it’s time to approve applicants and involve them in your brand’s activities. This step is essential – the right people who are enthusiastic about your brand and its products. You’ll find that existing customers often make excellent spokespeople.
6️⃣ Welcome participants
After recruitment, it’s time to welcome your ambassadors. You might want to create a welcome kit filled with branded merchandise, product samples, company literature, and brand guidelines. Your marketing team can put this together. Make sure everything relates to your brand and can be useful to helping new participants be successful. Even better, they can share and post about the items they receive!
7️⃣ Keep communication open
Next, maintain regular contact with your program members. For example, sending a monthly newsletter can keep them updated on future plans, new products, campaigns, and highlights from successful posts.
8️⃣ Track social media activity
Lastly, keep an eye on the social media activity. Tools such as Roster take care of capturing activities through social listening and the social feed. Plus, Roster monitors what posts are performing best on social media platforms, which posts should be shared with the community, and how many impressions each post receives.
By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to launching a brand ambassador program that benefits your company and helps you reach more potential customers. For an even deeper dive into this subject, you can explore the playbook linked below and the article on how to set up a brand ambassador program.
