INFLUENCER MARKETING 101: AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS

An ambassador program is a unique influencer marketing program that allows a brand to partner with a select group of individuals over an extended period of time to help with the overall increase of brand awareness and sales. Unlike one-off collaborations, these programs ultimately form a deeper, long-term relationship by working with the brand and creating content month over month. Taking this approach is a great way for brands to reach a particular target audience and engage those niche communities that they otherwise may not be able to reach on their own. 

DIVERSE CASTING

Selecting a unique group of influencers is the first step in creating a successful ambassador program. Choose influencers whose values align with your brand. Look for individuals who have an authentic connection to your product or industry, as they will likely resonate better with their audience. The cast should also be a good mix of influencers who create various styles of content, as well as targeting those in the BIPOC community. 

• Different styles of creators will allow for a variety of content month over month, so be open to casting creators from different niches, such as beauty, lifestyle, wellness and think outside the box in terms of how you think a creator can produce compelling content for a brand based on their niche
• Casting BIPOC creators is great for showing representation within the space, and ensuring that all types of consumers feel represented through the brand's advertising and influencer efforts
• Influencers have cultivated loyal audiences who typically trust their recommendations more than the brand. By aligning with influencers who genuinely believe in your brand, you tap into this trust and ambassadors can share their experiences with your products or services in a way that feels genuine, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates.

SENSE OF FOMO

Ambassador programs are super unique in that they are a select and special group of creators specifically hand-picked and chosen to represent a brand for a long term partnership. Having said that, this special group of influencers are the only one’s representing the brand and no one else – which can ultimately create a sense of fomo. 

• The ambassadors chosen are a select group of individuals and having built that connect between the brand and their audience overtime, it feels almost like you’re joining an exclusive membership that no one else has access to
• Having the ambassadors post month over month, engaging with each other’s posts or even potentially creating content together down the line creates another sense of community in their own right
• And those following along, whether that’s other influencers, friends, and followers who see the brand partnership month over month will remember the content, the product, will wonder and wish that they could be part of this program one day

IN-PERSON TOUCHES

Create a sense of community among your ambassadors. Regularly engage with them, provide feedback, and celebrate their successes. This not only motivates them but also strengthens their connection to your brand. And having that human connection with your ambassadors is incredibly important in helping to strengthen that bond and relationship. At the end of the day, it’s a two-way relationship between the brand and the ambassadors representing them.

• Have a brand event coming up? Automatically add them to your guest list so that they have the additional opportunity to attend an event, meet you, your team, and each other so everyone gets to know each other on a more personal level
• Can’t meet in person? If they’re unable to attend your events take the time to schedule 1:1 meetings to ensure you get some face to face time and human connection
• These long term ambassador programs gives your brand a face – a face that connects audiences to a brand, so it’s important to uphold that on the brand side as well – to ensure that the ambassador also has a face that connect them to the brand

SURPRISE & DELIGHT

Having a long term program like this, allows for brands to really hone in on making the ambassadors feel special, important and ultimately the reason they were chosen to represent the brand in the first place. 

• Adding on to those in-person moments, throughout this program, a brand will (and should!) learn a lot about their ambassadors on a personal level and this is where surprise and delight comes in
• Their big 30 is coming up? Jet Setting in the next couple of weeks? Utilize these opportunities to surprise and delight them with a little gift to acknowledge them as partners
• Ambassadors will also more than likely start authentically posting more ad-value content, in comparison to a one-off program as these pieces and/or products begin to naturally integrate into their daily lives

CREATIVE FREEDOM

Creative freedom may not be a typical option for a one-off program, but having a longer partnership with content coming month over month can allow a brand to experiment and give more creative control over to the ambassadors. 

• Ambassador programs are typically for an extended period of time, which will allow creators to come up with concepts and content that may be outside their typically spectrum.
• This will allow ambassadors to potentially trying something different, something new and hop on those viral trending moments.
• Having creative freedom will also ensure that content isn’t repetitive or begin to look the “same” month over month, it will keep the brand fresh and relevant by having a diverse group of ambassadors create diverse pieces of content.

In conclusion, ambassador programs represent a significant opportunity for brands to cultivate genuine relationships with their audience. By investing in these long-term partnerships, you can enhance brand loyalty, drive engagement, and create a community around your products or services.