What Does a Brand Ambassador Do?

Companies of all sizes use brand ambassadors. Budding startups tap into their friends and family, while big brands reach out to social media influencers and celebrities. Either way, brand ambassadors help with a major marketing tool: word of mouth. Ultimately, ambassadors are a brand’s most important customers.

The Brand Ambassador, Defined

Brand ambassadors are people who are truly passionate about your company. They positively represent your brand and dedicate themselves to talking about your product or service to anybody who’s in a position to gain something from it. They’re able to connect with and engage your audience, often through a strong online presence and a broad network of followers. Brand ambassadors may or may not be paid for their role, but they often enjoy perks like free products, swag or complimentary membership.

Combining PR Representatives with HR Personnel

Brand ambassadors are a unique blend of public relations and human resources roles. Brand ambassador jobs entail educating consumers about the brand and also providing customer service whenever possible. They have to be well-versed in the product or service they’re representing, as well as the company as a whole.

Attending Networking Events

Brand ambassadors help out when it’s impossible for you to be everywhere at once. Networking parties, trade shows and other events take up a lot of time and can even cost money to attend. Brand ambassadors can continue to spread the word about your brand when you’re tied up at an event and they can also attend an event for you as a representative of your company. If the ambassadors would be attending the event anyway, that’s even better. For example, if you want your company to have a presence at a sporting event, tap into your network of athletic brand ambassadors.

Delivering the Message

Brand ambassadors are able to bring a brand’s message to their audience via the best platform available. Not only does your audience need to be reached, but they have to be reached on a platform where they’re most influenced. For example, a brand that appeals mainly to Millennials will need brand ambassadors who are adept at social media. Millennials may signup for text message promotions, but if they’re more influenced by the blogs they read or by Twitter, that’s where the brand ambassadors should be connecting with them.

Providing Useful Feedback

In addition to representing your brand, ambassadors provide one of the best ways to glean information about your audience, company perception and competitors. Ambassadors can tell you what people are saying about your brand as well as what your competitors are doing. In order to get truthful insight, your ambassadors should feel comfortable telling you the truth and offering suggestions. Since the goal is to only choose ambassadors who want the best for your brand, you should feel like you can trust their feedback.

Brand Ambassadors vs. Spokespersons

While their roles seem similar at first, brand ambassadors are not spokespersons. They don’t simply get paid to promote your brand whether or not they believe in it. Spokespersons are often celebrities who the public instantly recognizes, but the celebrity doesn’t necessarily support the brand – sometimes they’re not even familiar with the company they’re promoting! Of course, this doesn’t mean a celebrity can’t also be a brand ambassador, but it’s important to recognize the distinct line between brand ambassadors and spokespersons.

The Traits that Make a Great Brand Ambassador

When brand ambassador agencies are searching for talent, they look for friendly, outgoing people who make a captivating first impression. Often, ambassadors love to perform, which is how they’re able to spread your brand name to the public. Additionally, brand ambassador jobs involve connecting to prospective buyers on a personal level, which means talking about the product or service in a way that shows customers how it will improve their lives. Possibly most important, ambassadors have to properly represent the brand image.

By working with brand ambassador agencies to create a program, you’ll connect with your target audience and leverage them to handle an important aspect of marketing for you. The best brand ambassadors know what their responsibilities are and understand how they’re a vital part of your marketing campaign.