Brands that have a roster of influencers they work with regularly know how effective they can be at raising brand awareness, increasing engagement and growing sales. Seventy percent of brands think that ongoing ambassadorships are an effective form of influencer marketing.— TapInfluence Employing social media leaders on one-off campaigns fills important and specific marketing needs. But turning those who organically love your brand and have an online following into brand ambassadors, not randomly but through a structured program, will allow you to reap the benefits of their influence and affinity. Brand ambassadorships work. According to a TapInfluence study , 70 percent of brands think that ongoing ambassadorships are an effective form of influencer marketing—at times more effective than targeted campaigns including sponsored content, product reviews or brand mentions. Yet influencers report that only about half of brands want to utilize them for ambassador programs. For brands that want to differentiate themselves from their competitors, ambassador programs can be a highly effective marketing strategy. Benefits of Building an Army The idea of setting up a brand ambassador program may seem daunting from both a budget and time perspective. You must think of it as a long-term play, where its value will become more evident over time. In fact, if done right, it may be able to replace costlier marketing tactics that aren’t proving as effective. Here are some reasons why you should consider building an army of influencers: • Exposure: If you work in marketing, then you probably know about the “Rule of 7”—a potential customer needs to be exposed to your brand message a total of seven times before they take an action. If your brand ambassadors are singing the praises of your products or services across social media channels, those who follow them will potentially reach that frequency threshold much more quickly than they would through other channels. • Deeper relationships = deeper brand loyalty: The more you can engage your brand ambassadors and make them a part of your brand’s conversation, the more likely they are to advocate for you in an authentic way, even beyond your basic asks. This translates to increased trust from their audience and naturally generated exposure for your brand. • Win/win for you and the influencers: Your brand will establish more credibility by having an ongoing relationship with an influencer in your space. Likewise, your ambassadors receive a credibility boost by being aligned with a brand that their followers have a positive view of, endearing them even more to your brand. It’s important to remember that building and maintaining an army of influencers isn’t right for every brand. You may not have the budget or resources to do it well, or maybe it just doesn’t make sense for the product or service you offer. It’s important to make sure you embark on a new marketing channel because it fits with your brand strategy—not just because it’s the latest ‘hot’ marketing approach. More on Influencer Marketing: Create Compelling + Engaging Content with Influencers How to Hire Trustworthy Influencers How to Build an Army Once you’ve decided to build an influencer army, the first step isn’t to hop on an influencer platform and find people based on social following alone. No, the first step is to clearly define your criteria for a brand ambassador. That criteria looks different for every brand, but may include the following, in addition to the number of social media followers: • Expertise: Finding influencers who have experience or credentials in your industry can help to boost credibility. • Personality: Look for influencers who have a complementary persona and image to your brand. If your brand attributes are friendliness, boldness or upbeat nature, for example, you’ll want to find an influencer who portrays the same. • Brand Value Alignment: Is your brand conservative? Altruistic? Find advocates that align with ...![]()
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