Growing an ambassador program doesn’t just happen overnight. When recruiting new ambassadors make sure you explore all options. Look beyond the famous, popular and influential and seek out people that are truly loyal to your brand.
A majority of the public still believes that brand ambassadors should be celebrities that have millions of followers on social media. This common perspective is formed due to basic math; “If a celebrity endorses a brand then their millions of followers will be more inclined to purchase the brand’s products”.
Yes, it would be great to have a celebrity showcase your product, but is it truly worth the cost? I guess it depends on your brand’s image, the goals you have, and the audience you want to reach. Maybe it’s okay to pay these people from time to time but compensating them to be full-time ambassadors? I’ll let you be the judge.
Sure celebrities have millions of followers. But how many of those followers actually care about the celebrities they follow, know the celebrity personally or base their purchasing decisions off of their endorsement? The fact is, only 3% of people would actually consider purchasing a product in-store if it was endorsed by a celebrity!
Is this 3% worth the megabucks it would take to have a celebrity endorse your product? Imagine if you shelled out the same amount of money to a community of people that only had hundreds to thousands of followers.
Check out our ambassador program examples playbook to learn how brands are scaling their ambassador programs to thousands of participants, hundreds of thousands of pieces of UGC across Facebook, Instagram & Twitter & millions in measurable referral revenue.
The Rise Of The Micro-Influencer
These people make the best brand ambassadors. Why? Because micro-influencers are more connected with their followers than celebrities. Their hundreds to thousands of followers are their closest friends, acquaintances and family members that have been a part of their social media journey since the beginning.
THESE are the people you want to grow your program and they have the audience you want, an audience that trusts the speaker’s opinions, recommendations, and endorsements. According to a study by the Keller Fay Group, 82 % of consumers polled said they were highly likely to follow a recommendation made by a micro-influencer!
Stop and think about the people you have met in person and follow on social media. Do they have a million followers? Who would you likely base a purchasing decision on? Your closest friends promoting a product or Kim Kardashian posting a photo of the same product once?
Now, where can you find micro-influencers that truly love your brand? A great place to start is to search for your most avid customers that frequently purchase your products or services. Avid customers make great micro-influencers because, first, they’ve already established a relationship with the brand and, second, they’re more inclined to create authentic content in exchange for discounts and products. Loyal employees also make great ambassadors because they have knowledge of your products and also provide an authentic point of view about your brand.
Take this comment from Brad Fay Co-Founder of Keller Group into consideration.
“Many marketers today try to use celebrities as their influencer marketing solution, but they are missing out on a much bigger opportunity. Our research shows that real life influencers who are passionate about what they are recommending have significantly more buying conversations, and consumers are more likely to act on their recommendations”.
The Time is Now
Imagine growing your ambassador program with that community of micro-influencers I mentioned earlier. Your brand will now be promoted over multiple social media channels to your ambassador’s most loyal followers. By having ambassadors share authentic promotional content on social media, your brand could easily see an increase in social proof, allowing you to capture more frequent purchases, brand loyalty, and lifetime value.
If you continue down the same path of hunting down big time influencers and celebrities you’re wasting your time. Friends and family endorsements are more meaningful than that of a celebrity endorsement. According to HubSpot, 81% trust friends and families over what a business says.
Having a growing ambassador program also allows your brand to pave a solid foundation for customer success. Brand Ambassadors are the face of your brand from the beginning until the end of all customer lifecycles. They educate them about your products and provide an outlet to seek opinions, ask questions, and absorb new information about your brand.
Why not onboard and grow your ambassador program? It’s easy to keep them happy, you can compensate them with discounts and they’re always there to interact with customers and back your brand.
Conclusion
So is growing your ambassador program something that you’ve considered? What brand wouldn’t love the benefits of having real people create authentic content that drives social proof and lifetime value amongst friends, family, followers and potential customers? Remember, find your micro-influencers, avid customers, loyal employees and mobilize them to share your brand!
Learn more about how to start a successful ambassador program and scale to thousands of ambassadors with BrandChamp’s ambassador platform.
If you’re looking to grow your ambassador program and are in the market for a software to help, feel free to schedule a personalized BrandChamp demo today.
