Developing a brand ambassador strategy can be particularly useful for small and medium-sized enterprises, conveying a message that comes directly from below, fueled by the enthusiasm of users. Here’s how to plan it
A successful brand is increasingly considered an entity made up of people, the more valuable its philosophy is carried out by a community of enthusiastic users . In fact, it is precisely from people that it is essential to start today: every company should strive to give its customers such a positive and engaging experience that they are spontaneously led to share it. Creating a large group of brand ambassadors is one of the secrets for a valid communication strategy and effective, which has resonance on the web especially in the field of social media, and which is able to act as a sounding board to reach as many new leads as possible. Here are some tips on how to use a brand ambassador strategy in an optimal way, to increase visibility and brand awareness in a fluid and performing way.
Why use brand ambassadors in your strategy
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Before understanding why it is important to have a brand ambassador base that helps the company in conveying its messages, it is good to define who they are, the so-called ambassadors. These are customers whose authentic appreciation for the brand, for the company and for its products leads to a genuine sharing of their experience, through a spontaneous word of mouth. The word of mouth tool has infinite power in terms of marketing, and cannot be left at the mercy of the case: those who deal with communication in the company should be well aware of the logic that regulates it, and be able to orient it in favor of the objectives of business. Investing in these terms can bring great results, and an organized brand ambassador program is an extremely efficient weapon. It all boils down to the firm’s unpredictable ability to convince its satisfied customers to do free marketing for it .
The case of influencer marketing is different , although often the two strategies are confused: although similar in some details, an influence is not a brand ambassador, but a person paid to create content for the company on contract, having a powerful impact but short-term. The life of a brand ambassador is instead long-lasting and, although more difficult to manage, an ambassador strategy can be more effective in the long run. People today prefer to interact with other people , throughout their purchase process and increasingly large percentages of users declare they prefer brands that reflect their personality and their ideas, and that are as authentic as possible. What better thanCan an ambassador, spontaneous and sincere spokesperson for the company, approach an audience with these needs and speak to a similar audience with great results?
Implementing an ambassador program is now increasingly simple as well as scalable. Website and social media designed ad hoc and decisive declarations of values can easily stimulate a sense of belonging never possible before and the spontaneous recruitment of new ambassadors eager to spread the company’s voice. If this is combined with the opportunities offered by big data and modern market analysis tools, it is clear how excellent tools exist to identify potential ambassadors, talk to them with personalized messages and transform them into dynamic brand disseminators.
Strategies for building an effective brand ambassador strategy
Creating an active network of brand ambassadors requires effort in terms of time and energy, but it can really lead to excellent results. Let’s see some of the best tips together to structure a winning brand ambassador campaign.
Focus on customization and rarity
The moment a customer finds himself putting something of his into the creation of a product , be it his own imagination or his own artisan skills, he will inevitably feel in a special way tied to that realization. It is precisely what has made the fortune of brands like Ikea that has chosen customization and emotional relationship with the product with its strategic keys.
The same basic idea guides the possibility of product customization offered by numerous brands on their online sites, whether it be the color composition of a pair of shoes or the design of a jewel, the enthusiasm that the user invests in it leads him to identify strongly with the object created. He will have the feeling of having participated in the creation of his product, a unique and customized piece, and of being an active element of his customer journey, increasing valuable user-generated content.
It is an incredibly successful strategy, just like the one that aims at affirming not the uniqueness of the product, but its rarity. Creating a limited edition product is another way to obtain a unique and exclusive user experience, in which the customer who has won a unique piece of the brand will feel part of a restricted niche of privileged and will naturally be brought to love both the product and the brand in a personal way. Those who do not yet own the object will instead perceive a strong attraction, and a highly interesting scarcity situation .
Turning the product into an experience
Whether you offer products or services, emotionally engaging your target audience is one of the most appropriate moves you can take. A customer who buys an experience will be more passionate and satisfied, especially in today’s world where those who buy often do not only do it to get hold of a product, but to live the relative purchase process . Both online and offline, it is therefore essential to stimulate all the senses of the potential customer, as well as activate their curiosity and enthusiasm at 360 °: whether it is to use the best settings, music and perfumes in a physical store or perfect graphics, call captivating actions and exciting interactions within a website .
What matters in the social universe today is communicating and interacting , rather than promoting. Using social media effectively means creating connections and structuring high-value relationships, transmitting the principles on which the brand bases its corporate social responsibility through open and genuine dialogues with the public , as well as through interaction with partners, industry experts or potential customers interested in the brand.
An active and participating community is the most powerful one can create, a thriving environment in which brand ambassadors can step forward and grow thanks to the active support of the company and its marketing experts. Content studied and planned with care and a constant presence on the web are essential to liven up users and facilitate the sharing of experiences by ambassadors: word of mouth which triggers the fuse, but still spontaneous.
Customers, but also employees: the perfect ambassadors
Creating fertile ground for your customers to become ambassadors is something that is certainly worth working on, but what happens when employees also become ambassadors? It happens that their voice becomes a tool for spreading the corporate image with excellent performance: a network of internal ambassadors who know the brand better than anyone else and who promise its absolute quality and reliability.
Employees valued and involved in the company’s activities create a close-knit team, which recognizes itself in the company philosophy and is happy to feel its protagonist, and consequently to convey its satisfaction to the outside by improving the sales network and internal processes. Increasing the sense of belonging, keeping employees informed about the life of the brand, and encouraging them to express their opinion on social media can easily make a decisive change in brand awareness.
Collaborate with other realities: winning partnerships
A last tip to increase the spontaneous birth of brand ambassadors is to set up profitable collaborations with other brands and business realities , such as related or collateral businesses. In this way, the users of the two different brands create a cross mix of high added value, bringing the brand to the attention of those who do not yet know it, but are instead fans of the partner. Joining forces in cooperations of this type brings your brand into markets that you would not have reached otherwise , and offers potential new users to transform into close-knit brand ambassadors starting from a lookalike audience .
Skilfully mixing these five suggestions leads to limitless creative paths , capable of opening new horizons and providing multiple solutions within each brand ambassador strategy.
