Who is talking about your brand in 2023? If the only person spreading the word about your products or services is you, you may have a marketing problem.
An estimated 90% of consumers are more interested in businesses with word-of-mouth endorsements than businesses that are lacking any endorsements at all. Yes, online reviews can boost your sales, but there’s a more direct way to get brand endorsements in front of the right audience.
We’re talking about partnering with brand ambassadors. There are a ton of different ways that you can use and benefit from this form of word-of-mouth marketing. We’re here to shed light on all of them.
Read on to learn why you should start a brand ambassador program and what that might look like for your company.
What Is a Brand Ambassador?
A brand ambassador is someone who actually uses and loves your products or services. However, unlike your average customer, a brand ambassador shares their love of your business far and wide. They use the platforms at their disposal to get their audience interested in your brand in a natural and meaningful way.
Think of a satisfied customer that takes it upon themselves to leave you a positive online review. You’re not telling them what to say or how to promote your business, but their positive feedback leads more customers to trust your brand and invest in what you have to offer. Brand ambassadors similarly take charge of what they say about your brand, but they do so on a larger scale.
How Can Brand Ambassadors Promote Your Business?
Starting a brand ambassador program is pretty simple. All you need to do is start asking your loyal customers if they’re interested in sharing what they love about your brand in a public way, often in exchange for free or discounted products. Let’s take a quick look at what different brand ambassadors might do to help promote your business.
Online Brand Ambassadors
Many brand ambassadors do their promotional work online. They often have a loyal and trusting audience of their own, even if it’s only a few hundred or thousand people. They reach this audience on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Online brand ambassadors can make posts about your products or include your products in posts about their life, hobbies, or consumer needs. Together, you can decide if they’ll share these posts on their own social media pages, if you’ll share them on your business social media pages, or both. These posts aren’t ads, meaning the brand ambassador isn’t making a sales pitch, but they are expressing the value of your brand.
In-Person Brand Ambassadors
Believe it or not, brand ambassadors don’t exist exclusively online. Unlike social media influencers, some brand ambassadors embark in a guerilla-style form of marketing, hitting the streets to spread the word.
In-person brand ambassadors can participate in local events, hand out fliers, and even tell their friends and family members about your brand. Including brand ambassadors in your in-person grassroots marketing is a great way to build trust with the community. It shows that your customers are willing to back your business, not just the employees on your payroll.
Why Consider a Brand Ambassador Program?
Now that you know a little more about brand ambassadors and how they operate, it’s time to get to the good stuff. What’s so beneficial about having a brand ambassador program? Let’s take a look at three of the biggest benefits of partnering with brand ambassadors.
Mutually Beneficial Marketing
As we’ve mentioned already, brand ambassadors are people who already love your business. Rather than striking up a payment plan, many companies offer things like free products or early access to new products in exchange for brand ambassadorship. Your brand ambassadors were already willing to sing your praises, and now they can do so in exchange for products and swag.
Plus, brand ambassadorship lends to the authority of your brand and your brand ambassador. Acting as a brand ambassador can help an individual grow their own audience, build their resume, and gain new opportunities. In exchange, you have access to an effective marketing tool.
Increased Brand Awareness and Trust
Consumers aren’t just looking for reviews of a product before making a purchase. They also want to know that someone they trust has already tried it and loves it. Whether your brand ambassador has a huge online following or access to a small local community, they’re someone that has the trust of others.
Brand ambassadors offer increased brand awareness and trust all at once. Potential consumers become familiar with your brand thanks to word-of-mouth marketing. At the same time, they get to see your products or services in action in a positive way.
Cost-Effectiveness
Some businesses believe that brand ambassadors and influencers are interchangeable. However, there is a distinct difference. When you work with an influencer, you’re paying them anywhere between $200 and $100,000 to create a sponsored post—which social media users recognize as an ad.
Brand ambassadors don’t endorse your product because you’re paying them to do so. They endorse your product because they love it. Brand ambassador programs tend to cost less to yield comparable results, making them a cost-effective form of word-of-mouth marketing.
Take Charge of Your Grassroots Marketing in 2023
Is your business lacking endorsements? Have you neglected grassroots marketing in your 2023 marketing strategy? It’s time to make a change.
Thumbtack Bugle has helped thousands of businesses in San Francisco and surrounding areas to get the word out. We offer a complete street team experience, making and handing out flyers that are guaranteed to improve your word-of-mouth marketing. Like brand ambassadors, we partner with businesses we believe in.
Are you ready to learn more? Contact us today to find out how we can help.
