Getting ambassadors for brands isn’t new. Even in the Wild West, saloon owners would have people promote their saloon. Often these men were employed by the saloon owner or got… How shall I say this… rewarded with a more basic human need. Anyway, getting ambassadors for brands has worked for a long time. In modern times, all of this still applies but the impact has massively increased with the help of technology.
Today, people can build their audiences from home through social media channels like Instagram, have a blog with huge traffic, or have their own successful YouTube channel. There have never been more opportunities to become an ambassador for brands. Everyone can become a brand ambassador through affiliate programs. The good brand deals are for a select few though, but it’s possible to eventually become one of them.
Most articles focus either on the ambassador’s or the brand’s side of things. We want you to have the best possible view on ambassadors for brands. That’s why we decided to show you how to get ambassadors for brands and how to find brands as potential ambassadors. Let’s start with the basics and work our way up.
What is a brand ambassador?
A brand ambassador is someone who endorses a brand. It helps the brand grow either through adding expertise or promotional values to the brand. With expertise, you can think of a car company binding a Formula One driver to the development of their new car. The unique perspective of the Formula One driver can lead to a better product. The second aspect is promotional values. In the end, a company wants to thrive by selling more. If you have a new audience to offer, then you have value to the brand. In any case, it's important to have an affinity with the brand you endorse. Otherwise, there is no way to authentically represent them.
Ambassadors for brands vs influencers
What’s the difference between ambassadors for brands and influencers? Influencers are mostly known as people with large followings on social media or other online platforms. Their followers trust them and therefore they can influence the behavior of their audience. Thus, they can function as ambassadors for brands because of this leverage.
An influencer can be an ambassador for brands but an ambassador doesn't have to be an influencer. Influencers have online leverage, but ambassadors for brands can also have leverage through other sources. For instance, celebrities have leverage because of their fame. Doctors have leverage through their expertise in a specific field.
How much do ambassadors for brands get paid?
That's entirely up to the brand. Some brands choose a commission-based reward e.g. 5% per sale for a retail product. By the way, if you want higher commissions, then I suggest you go either for software products or high-ticket items. Software products have often 30% commissions and high-ticket items are more interesting because 5% on $1000 is better than 5% on $10. Additionally, if you want to get better deals, you'll have to get more leverage. Meaning you should offer more potential customers or other promotional opportunities to the brand. Increase your value and you shall be rewarded.
Brands looking for ambassadors – Best places to find them
So, where do you find your brand ambassador? Good question, let's dive into this subject. First of all, there are free and paid methods to consider. I will discuss 1 free method and 2 paid ones because the free method applies to multiple social media channels. After reading this chapter, you'll know where to get ambassadors for brands.
Instagram FREE method!
Probably the best method is in this case also the best method. Personally, I prefer to search for ambassadors by looking for my niche on Instagram. I would just type in my niche or interest and see who pops up. Afterward, I’ll analyze the prospect to see whether he matches my brand or not. I still think this is the best way because you do the screening yourself. However, I must admit that it takes a bit of time before you properly screen someone.
What to look for?
- High follower count between 10,000 and 150,000 because these are cheaper than huge accounts
- Clean profile that doesn’t touch sensitive issues like politics or religion
- Ideally, your prospect makes use of his/her own face to make it extra personal
- High-trust score with the audience
- Professional presentation skills
- Contact information
Negotiate terms and look at what they truly offer. Not every business relationship is meant to be. Be critical about the money you spend.
Upfluence – Influencer marketing platform
Upfluence is an influencer marketing platform with multiple purposes. It can help you to find and contact influencers, but it can also manage influencer marketing campaigns. Upfluence has a clean and user-friendly UX design. It's great for everyone, no need to be techy at all. Upfluence influences different channels like Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and blog websites. This large scale of influencers offers you a broad promotional approach and many new potential markets to enter.
Achoo – Get the right influencer
Achoo takes away all the manually searching pain that we’ve discussed. Their digital platform is a collaboration tool for social media, market insights, and finding your next influencer. Achoo works with turnkey analytics and reporting based on real-time data. Their goal was to give advertisers a transparent overview of the unstructured market of influencer marketing.
Ambassadors for brands... DON'T do this!
Ambassadors for brands, please do not fall for these common mistakes:
- Promote more than 1 brand in the same niche
- To be an ambassador for brands that you don’t truly love
- Get negative attention (don’t get in the mix with politics or religion)
- Don’t show competitor brands on your content
- Don’t ask too much from the brands. You are easily replaced unless you are Rihanna
Ambassadors for brands are responsible for two brands. Their brand and the brand they are an ambassador for. Therefore, keep a clean ship and always act professionally on your media channels.
“What reaches the internet, stays on the internet. “
Be aware of that.
Where to find brands as a brand ambassador? – 7 Step Plan!
“Ok, very nice that I know where brands find ambassadors, but what about me? I want to find brands to promote and be an ambassador for.” Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered. Finding brands for ambassadors is a lot easier than vice versa. Follow these 7 steps to get your first brand deals.
- Make a list of all the brands you are passionate about and have a fair amount of knowledge about
- Now enter their website and look for ambassador programs or affiliate programs
- Sign up for them
- If not, prepare a small email of approximately 3 paragraphs to introduce yourself and write down a proposal for the brand. Show them what you have to offer.
- Send your email to their customer support or marketing department
- No response? No problem, invite managers on LinkedIn and give them your proposal after you introduce yourself.
- Only agree to up to 1 brand per niche. Otherwise, you'll have a conflict of interest.
P.S. Make sure you read the agreements that brands offer you. You don’t want to get kicked off the program.
Real-life examples of successful ambassadors for brands
So, what do successful examples of ambassadors for brands look like? In this chapter, we are going to have a look at what extreme success looks like for brand ambassadorship. Of course, these numbers are out of reach for 99% of the people, but still, it shows how much money is being invested in ambassadors for brands.
Nike brand ambassador
Probably the most famous brand ambassador of them all, Cristiano Ronaldo. This phenomenon has been a longtime ambassador for brands. Throughout his career, he made multiple extraordinary brand deals. However, nothing like he is earning now with Nike. Nike pays Cristiano Ronaldo $20 million per year as a lifetime deal. Truly astonishing numbers for only one person, right? Well, what if I told you that his Instagram account has 315 million followers? You see, you Nike doesn't pay for Cristiano Ronaldo. No, they pay for his 315 million audiences.
Adidas brand ambassador
Kendall Jenner has been a brand ambassador for Adidas since 2017. It’s unknown how much she is making from the deal but I expect it to be a huge sum. She has 193 million followers on Instagram and it gives Adidas a direct way to promote its female shoes. Kendall Jenner is also no stranger to being an ambassador for brands. She has done ads for Pepsi, Kylie Cosmetics, Estee Lauder, and more.
Brand ambassador of Puma
Do I need to introduce Rihanna? Probably not. In any case, Rihanna has been one of the biggest ambassadors for brands' successes. In 2014, Rihanna received the title of Puma’s creative director. Her task was to help and oversee the creative direction of the sportswear of Puma. This lead to the release of her signature Puma Creepers in 2015. It’s unknown how much she exactly makes with the deal, but I expect it’s a percentage of the total sales.
After ambassadors for brands… What’s next?!
You know where to find ambassadors for brands and vice versa. What’s next for you? Don’t worry, we have plenty of interesting articles to help you achieve your dreams.
Take a look at:
- The NEW best Amazon FBA tool
- Free YouTube extension to grow fast
- Facebook Touch – improved UX for touch
- LinkedIn ‘Open to Work’
And don’t forget to introduce yourself in the comment section below! I would love to get to know you.
Ambassadors for brands FAQ
Representing a brand can be a complicated business if you are brand new to it. That’s why we have created the ambassadors for brands FAQ. Here you’ll find all the information you need to get started. If your question isn’t in the FAQ, please leave a comment down below and we will answer it.
Ambassadors get often paid by brands. However, it depends on the type of relationship they have with a company. Some people voluntarily become an ambassador because they love the brand or product. Other ambassadors get paid by brands because they have something to offer. For instance, a large audience, expertise, or a combination of the two.
Most brand ambassadors function as trust beacons and recommend the brand to their audience or network. They promote or educate people about the benefits of the brand they represent. For example, think about Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a brand ambassador for Nike and many of his fans are buying Nike because of it.
It differs per brand and their policy. Some brands don't have a minimum requirement and let you join their brand program from the get-go. However, you are likely to get better deals if you have a solid following. You are seen as a micro-influencer when you have 10,000 – 50,000 followers. Macro influencers have 500,000 – 1,000,000 followers. Macro followers have the best deals.