In an increasingly digital age, brand reputation can be uniquely developed in a streamlined manner. 

Saving Face with Brand Ambassadors

Brand ambassadors are the “face” of a brand, a compelling connection between a business and a consumer or a business with another organization. Through strategic representation of a brand in public, at formal events, and online, brand ambassadors increase sales and positive brand awareness.

The Changing Role of Brand Ambassadors

The role of a brand ambassador looks different in B2C and B2B spaces. However, certain trends have characterized the development of the position. Perhaps the most significant has been the switch from influencers and founders as ambassadors to “normal” people, or those without a substantial platform to influence social media followers.

Historically, brand ambassadors are most commonly affixed to B2C industries. Commonly, celebrities would act as influencers to endorse or be the “face” of a brand.

Below are some examples of popular celebrity endorsements:

·        Karlie Kloss had been a potent influencer for Victoria’s Secret, L’Oreal, and Swarovski brands for years.

·        From a young age, Tiger Woods was and continues to be sought after by major businesses, including General Motors and Nike.

·        Activist and producer George Clooney secured the position of brand ambassador for Omega and Nespresso.

A single endorsement from an influential celebrity often inspires thousands and even millions of fans to purchase a product or service.

However, in recent years, specialists who review purchasing habits and the results of marketing campaigns have noticed that consumers have begun to trust authentic and objective users – people like them.

Celebrity endorsements have not gone away, but the persona of an “influencer” has certainly evolved beyond only the rich and famous, now extending to trustworthy individuals and employees with a respectable network and charismatic personality. According to an Olapic survey, “76% of individuals surveyed say that they’re more likely to trust content shared by ‘normal’ people than content shared by brands.”

B2B Organizations

Historically, brand ambassadors for B2B industries have primarily been influential owners or executives, like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos.

However, many employees have recently embodied the role of “brand ambassador,” if not officially given the title. In professional settings, employees often have healthy networks, some social media presence, and trusted connections.

When writing about the benefit of a brand ambassador program to an organization, EveryoneSocial hit this point home:

“The relationships your employees have with their networks – which likely include prospective customers, leads, and hires – are stronger than any relationship the people in their networks may have with your brand.”

To put it frankly, consumers trust your employees more than they trust your brand, and organizations can capitalize on this trend.

How Could A Brand Ambassador Program Impact Your Organization?

Whether you are in the B2C or B2B space, employing a brand ambassador program – or optimizing an existing one – could significantly impact your organization. Brand ambassadors serve two primary purposes in the pursuit of brand development and sales.

#1. Outreach

Brand ambassadors reach new audiences. As mentioned, consumers trust consumers far more than brand-produced promotions. In fact, “92% of consumers trust recommendations from others, even people they don’t know, over branded content.” User-generated content, like reviews or recommendations on social media, are extremely impactful.

In B2B spaces, organizations can capitalize on their employees’ networks by establishing a brand ambassador program that rewards the employee. Employees in marketing, engineering, HR, sales are often best equipped. However, any employee who interacts with individuals outside the company can become a remarkably effective brand ambassador.

#2. Fulfilling PR Gaps

A brand ambassador is an unofficial PR specialist, filling a gap between the brand and the consumer. Ambassadors are the boots-on-the-ground salespeople, so to speak, teaching consumers or other businesses about a product or service, encouraging others to share about their experience with the product or service, and creating authentic, user-generated content. 

According to Marketing Dive, over 40% of social media users are connected to an influencer. Of those following an influencer, 34% have discovered a new product based on user-generated content alone. Social media platforms have made every consumer of your product or service a potential representative of your brand, as posting about a positive (or negative) experience with a product is increasingly common. 

Who Is Doing Brand Ambassador Programs Well? 

At Perspectiva, we often enjoy looking at organizations who are thriving. We collected a few examples of excellent brand ambassador programs below to demonstrate how effective this outreach strategy can be. 

Patagonia

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing and gear company with brand ambassadors on social media. Most of Patagonia’s reps share pictures of themselves on beautiful adventures, wearing any branded gear. 

Coupa

Coupa is a B2B software company with internal brand ambassadors. Coupa employees are encouraged to share about their message and product on social media and in their larger areas of influence. 

Adobe

Adobe is another company who encouraged employees to utilize their social influence to reach consumers where they are looking. 

Perspectiva: Promotional Marketing Done Right

At Perspectiva, we are a full-service marketing and promotional agency with four simple goals: elevate the brand, accelerate awareness, motivate sales, and have fun! We take your idea for a brand and transform it into an active business.

We have a team of trained ambassadors who help our customers reach their conversion goals – one of multiple cutting-edge marketing strategies designed to drive results.

Ready to get started? Contact us today, and a specialist will be in touch shortly!