PROGRAM

BY FOR@BRITTMICHAELIAN©2014 SOLUMA PRODUCTIONS LLC SMALL BUSINESSES & EMERGING BRANDS

BRAND AMBASSADOR BLUEPRINT

What is a brand ambassador program?

A social campaign designed to increase visibility & relationship with audience

Ambassadors can be employees or specific influencers with targeted audience

Ambassadors can receive compensation in the form of product, money or PR

brand ambassador program

How do you start a brand ambassador program?

Begin with a deep understanding of the brand’s core values & mission

Design campaign with specific and attainable goals that appeal to your target audience

Outline core actions and objectives with budget allocated for achieving goals

successful program foundation

Should you build a program with influencers or employee ambassadors?

influencers vs ambassadorsSocial media influencers have a large audience that consistently responds to their messaging

Influencers can be hired as independent contractors or work in exchange for product or PR

Employee ambassadors promote the brand on social platforms as part of their professional responsibilities within your company, but may not have the existing audience needed to reach campaign goals

How do you choose the right influencers?

influencersThe right influencers for your brand will align with your brand’s core values and campaign mission

Monitor social interactions of influencers for red flags (brand bashing, aggression, poor judgement)

Top influencers know their large audience, what they respond to and how to communicate with you

Emerging influencers know how to engage their audience but have less experience working with brands

Expect to pay a premium for experienced top influencers

How long is a brand ambassador program?

brand ambassador campaign lengthCampaigns can be a one-time shot or on-going

Length of campaign is directly related to goals

Campaigns can be 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 month commitments

Long term audience relationships are based on the know-like-trust factor which takes time to cultivate

The more moving parts there are to your campaign, the longer the ambassador program

What is the best way to approach influencers?

best way to reach out to influencersTop influencers are active and responsive on social platforms, usually where their audience is largest (you want to work with RESPONSIVE influencers)

Follow, retweet, share, like, comment on a few posts of influencer you’d like to connect with

Build a relationship for a few weeks to see how they interact and if their style is congruent with your brand

Send private message to them, ask if they would be open to a phone call to discuss collaboration

What do you discuss once you have an influencer on a call?

influencer collaboration callHave they worked with other brands? For how long? Was the collaboration successful? What are their business goals? (Do they align with yours?)

Are they looking for more brands to collaborate with? What do they like about your brand?

Do they charge to be a brand ambassador or are they open to product, exclusive invites or PR in exchange for ambassador services?

Would they be interested in talking more about participating in your brand ambassador program?

What comes after the brand ambassador saying YES?

brand ambassador agreement

Make sure they are a fan of your brand

Ask if they will be able to commit to the program for specified length of time and if they have any other commitments that will require their attention

Openly discuss program in detail, sharing clear expectations and goals, document in email

Once both parties agree that the ambassadorship is a good fit, have lawyer draft a legal document that clearly outlines scope of work, deadlines, compensation, ownership of content rights, how disputes will be solved, etc

What does the brand ambassador do?

ambassador responsibilities

Ambassadors share content that you provide or they create on specified social networks in order to build a community around your brand

For a higher price, ambassadors may write blog posts, host tweet chats, perform interviews on Google Hangouts, produce videos for YouTube or Instagram, make public appearances etc

Top influencers may provide reports that track results based on hashtags, impressions, views, likes, comments, etc

How do you get the most out of your brand ambassadors?

brand ambassador success

BE ORGANIZED! Make collaboration as easy as 1-2-3 for ambassadors

Create a social media editorial calendar with goals and objectives for the program (create shared doc where ambassadors can signal completed tasks)

Have regular conference calls with team, program satisfaction surveys and suggestion protocol

Bonus and incentive plans encourage ambassadors to go above and beyond scope of services

happy ambassadors =

better results

happy brand ambassadors

Feel valued, respected and appreciated by your brand (ie: don’t micromanage, let them shine)

Will come to you with new ideas for success

Will help provide insight and ideas when campaigns aren’t working as planned

Will be more likely to work with you in the future

Are more likely to connect you with other ambassadors and opportunities in the future

gratitude & incentivesThank brand ambassadors often with personal notes of thanks from team: flowers, gift cards, etc

Congratulate ambassadors for reaching personal goals and program goals

Build incentive program that allows high achieving ambassadors to receive additional compensation for goals outside of the scope of services

Make a BIG deal of ambassadors who receive incentives by sharing with other ambassadors to inspire them to do more and gain rewards in return

What can you expect to pay brand ambassadors?

brand ambassador compensationCompensation is relative and often a tricky subject

Many bloggers and brand advocates will work in exchange for access to new product, exclusive offers, event invites, social recognition etc

Emerging influencers have a smaller engaged audience and less brand experience - $150/ hr+

Experienced influencers with large, engaged audiences, have worked with brands in the past - $500/hr +

How do you use PR as a way to compensate brand ambassadors?

brand ambassador PR compensation

PR may be used as a negotiation tactic for ambassadors who typically work for compensation out of your budget range

Distribute press releases to annouce and profile each brand ambassador in your program

Pitch ambassadors for appearances on top shows where their brand/name benefits from the exposure as well (Today Show, GMA, news, etc)

Retweet, like, repost, comment, share brand ambassadors’ content with your audience

How do you know how many hours to hire brand ambassadors for a campaign?

brand ambassador time examples

1 hour Twitter or FB chat participation

1-2 hour to prepare for & promote tweet chat and 1 hour to host

1 hour to prepare for interview & 1 hour to host a Google Hangout

30 min to shoot a video to share on YouTube and 30 min - 2 hr to edit and share

1 hour to shoot a photo, edit, add keywords and share on Pinterest or Instagram

How do you prepare for problems that may arise during brand ambassador program?

brand ambassador troubleshooting

Prepare for problems up front when creating your brand ambassador program including PR disasters, ambassador breach of contract

Clearly outline what is expected of ambassadors throughout the terms of service including content creation and curation, when, where and how it should be shared, communication expectations, reputation management guidelines, termination clauses etc

Timely and respectful communication with ambassadors is essential for success

How do you track a brand ambassador program’s success?

brand ambassador program success

Program achieves goals set forth in mission statement

Goals may be: increased visibility, increased lead generation, elevation of brand by association with top influencers, increased PR opportunities, increased positive sentiment of brand, increase in social following...

Progress should be tracked along the way using hashtags, metrics tools, tracking of before, during and after campaign

Results may be achieved in unexpected areas

brand ambassador program success

Make each campaign about having fun!

You will make mistakes. Learn from them.

Success comes with doing. Don’t be afraid of failure.

Each campaign your brand activates will build the know-like-trust relationship with your audience.

Success comes with experience. The more campaigns you test, track and tweak, the better your results will be.

Are brand ambassador programs the best way to reach your goals?

brand ambassador goalsIf you are looking to build a community of raving fans on social media, a well-designed brand ambassador program allows you to leverage the existing audiences and reputations of influencers to reach your goals.

Still don’t know how to get started with your brand ambassador program?

Contact @BrittMichaelian

britt @ solumaproductions.comto inquire about

brand ambassador program consulting services