INFLUENCER MARKETING

What Is a Social Media Ambassador and What Do They Do?

A social media ambassador is like an orchestra conductor.

• The conductor leads an orchestra to create beautiful music.
• Brand ambassadors will guide your company’s messaging and tone, creating a harmonious social media presence.

And that’s all we can teach you about orchestras & music.

However, you’re on the right page to learn more about social media ambassadors. This article will discuss:

• How social media ambassadors differ from influencers (and affiliates)
• 7 reasons to pick a social media ambassador
• 3 tips for choosing the right partner
• An actionable 7-step plan to starting your ambassador program today

Keep reading ahead!

TL;DR

Social Media Ambassadors Defined:

• Social media ambassadors are like brand advocates who believe in your mission, love your products, and promote your company on social media.

Ambassadors vs. Influencers:

• Ambassadors work long-term, influencers are short-term, and both have distinct approaches to product promotion.

Reasons to Use Social Media Ambassadors:

• Increased Reach: Ambassadors can target niche audiences and build trust, expanding your online presence.
• Better Marketing ROI: Ambassadors increase sales with authentic, user-generated content and unique insights.
• Long-Term Relationship: Ambassadors stay loyal to your brand, fostering authentic connections with your audience.
• PR Crisis Support: Ambassadors can support your brand during crises with genuine endorsements.

Pro Tip: Work with a micro or nano-influencer agency to find the best social media ambassadors for your business.

What Is a Social Media Ambassador?

A social media ambassador is like one of your brand’s best friends, cheering it on on social media.

These social brand ambassadors:

• Believe in your brand’s mission and vision.
• Love your products and services.

As a result, they feel compelled to spread the word about your company and products on social media.

Side note: You can have brand ambassadors who don’t promote your company on social media platforms. That means they won’t be called “social media ambassadors.”

Besides, social media ambassadors aren’t influencers or affiliates.

That brings us to the next point.

Ambassadors vs. Influencers: Differences and Similarities

The main difference between brand ambassadors vs. influencers is that:

Brand ambassadors will work for you in the long term, while influencers will only be there in the short run, typically for one social media campaign.

Besides:

• Brand ambassadors have always used and loved your products, whereas influencers may not have known your products existed before the campaign.
• As a result, influencers’ social media content is similar to ads, whereas brand ambassadors sound more genuine.
• Social media influencers can promote many products on their social media platforms, whereas brand ambassadors usually stick to your brand.

Side note: Affiliate ambassadors can also promote your brand in the long term.

However, affiliates:

• Don’t have the same drive and aren’t similarly emotionally invested in promoting your brand as ambassadors.
• Can always promote more products in the same niche.
• Don’t grow alongside your brand.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Fitness instructors Jason and Lauren Pak have represented the Rhone clothing brand for some time. However, they are only affiliates.

Notice that the content’s description looks very much like an ad, even though the video presents personal images from Jason’s life.

Now look at this post:

Pro-aging activist Denise Boomkens promotes Understatement Underwear with a raw, genuine description.

But in fact, the brand has a slew of influencers showcasing its products, and Denise is one of them.

Medical clothing brand FIGS has a wide range of ambassadors who promote this brand on social media:

But it just so happens that this TikTok video by a FIGS ambassador reads less raw than the other two above.

So as you can see, there is always room for nuance and creative freedom, even for social media ambassadors.

Reasons to Use Social Media Ambassadors for Marketing

You probably already intuit some advantages of leveraging social media ambassadors for marketing but let’s analyze all the data.

1. Increased Reach

Social media brand ambassadors can address a specialized niche and are also very trustworthy. As such, they can transfer their trust and authority onto your brand, growing your online presence.

Plus, their word-of-mouth can spread organically on social media because it’s so raw and insightful.

PopSockets uses an army of brand ambassadors to promote their products under the #chiccrew hashtag:

These ambassadors come from different parts of the world and have varied interests and lifestyles. But they have one thing in common: they take selfies.

So, PopSocket benefits from massive exposure with this strategy.

2. Better Marketing ROI

Social media ambassadors are shown to increase sales by up to 4%.

Brand ambassadors can be quite persuasive because they’re:

• Genuine: Their posts have a user-generated content (UGC) vibe, so their brand recommendations seem more natural.
• Insightful: Brand ambassadors are loyal customers, so they have unique insights into both your target audience and your products. These ambassadors know which product features to showcase so you can tap into a new audience with persuasive arguments.

As such, brand ambassadors can:

• Create social proof and desire.
• Alleviate people’s pre-purchase worries.
• Encourage social selling.

The Yelp Elite Squad ambassador program is a good example.

Basically, Yelp recognized active community members who endorse the brand with reviews, tips, and overall community interactions.

The “elite” members receive badges and take part in special events like the one below:

Pro tip: You, too, can set up an ambassador program with a clear social media component as well as an offline dimension. Your marketing team can consider blog posts or even guerrilla campaigns for current students.

3. Long-Term Relationship

Social media ambassadors will stick by your brand in the long run because they share your same mission and vision.

They believe in your products sincerely.

And all that contributes to an authentic relationship with your audience.

For instance, Jordyn Oakland, one of the newest Sephora Squad ambassadors, shed tears of joy when finding out the news:

As it happens, this raw content performs very well on social platforms, especially TikTok. The slew of comments and likes this post garnered proves it.

4. PR Crisis Support

Your social media ambassadors will be your first supporters during a public relations crisis.

These ambassador relationships will help you mitigate communication problems and drop in sales.

For example, brands’ apologies may seem disingenuous in many crisis scenarios. But a genuine, heartfelt endorsement from your allies can paint your brand in a more positive light, so customers are likelier to listen.

5. Creating a Community

This passion and commitment to your brand transpire through your ambassadors’ communication.

If you harness it correctly, you can channel this passion to create a loyal brand community.

And this community is proven to have a 16% higher lifetime value than the average customer.

Remember: Brand ambassador advocacy will help you throughout the sales funnel, even after the purchase stage.

For example, GoPro is associated with this extreme sense of adventure and adrenaline rush. This TikTok post showcases that feeling very well:

Its ambassador program is only growing stronger on other social platforms too:

Pro tip: Notice the #goproambassador hashtag and remember the Sephora Squad name. Remember to use your own name to define your ambassador program and delimit your community.

You need a name because:

• This tight-knit group will share the same values, language, and legends. The name you give to this group will symbolize all these shared values and stories.
• The community name/ hashtag helps differentiate your inner circle from outsiders.

6. Affordable

Social media ambassadors are less expensive than influencers or paid ads. In fact, the average salary for a brand ambassador is $10-16 per hour.

Besides, you have a lot of flexibility in establishing the payment system, such as:

• Product seeding
• Access to exclusive perks and events
• Commission-based payment
• And more

Pro tip: Some brand ambassadors work for no payment simply because they support your brand.

7. Easy to Track

You can easily track your ambassador program results if you set it up correctly.

For example, you can use trackable links to redirect potential customers to your website. You can also ask your ambassadors to use specific discount codes or links to track their sales.

What to Look for in Your Next Social Media Ambassador

Here are the main factors to look for in your next ambassador:

1. Capacity to Produce Engaging Content

A solid ambassador needs to captivate and retain their audience’s attention. They know how to build rapport with their followers because they:

• Are familiar with your products and excited about your brand.
• Have a drop of creativity.
• Possess strong communication skills.
• Have social media experience.

Let’s see how athletic clothing retailer Lululemon is doing with its ambassadors:

Chantal Dagostino is a running coach and personal trainer but only has 348 Instagram followers at the time of this writing.

Still, the post above has a 13.8% engagement rate, which exceeds the platform’s average.

Pro tip: Use inBeat’s engagement rate calculator to determine your ambassadors’ social media accounts stats.

Here’s what that looks for Chantal:

The tool shows you the number of followers, average engagement rate, likes, and comments. You can also see detailed stats per post.

Pro tip: Leverage the option of finding similar creators to develop your ambassador program quickly and effectively.

2. Passion for the Brand

A successful social media ambassador should:

• Have a genuine interest in the brand they represent.
• Convey that passion to their audience.
• Be able to connect with their followers on a personal level.
• Make your audience genuinely feel part of your brand community.

This is a great example below (also from Lululemon):

Notice that Dr. Nathan Bridger didn’t go overboard with creative tactics.

He simply posted his content face and a straightforward message in the post’s description, acknowledging his love for Lululemon and his pride in being part of this brand’s family.

Let’s use the inBeat engagement rate calculator to check this post’s impressions:

This calculator allows us to analyze the bigger picture.

The posts’ impressions far exceed Nathan’s average. The only two posts with more likes and higher engagement are the ones with his family.

Even so, Nathan has more comments in his Lululemon post than the ones with his family.

So we’d say this is a definite win and a great choice for Lululemon.

3. Honesty

Last but not least, your social media ambassadors should be honest.

They can learn how to create engaging content by trial and error. They can perfect their relationship with your audience and grow with your brand.

But if they have fake followers, you are partnering with the wrong people.

Pro tip: inBeat’s fake follower checker assesses your potential ambassadors’ profiles in seconds.

Let’s introduce Dr. Nathan Bridger’s handle into the search bar to see how he’s doing:

And we have a winner with an excellent audience score, though an average like rate lower than the target.

How to Create a Social Media Ambassador Program

We’ve already written an in-depth guide on creating a social media ambassador program.

But we’ll give you the gist of it in a nutshell:

1. Set Your Goals

You need clear goals for your ambassador program to ensure everyone stays focused. Besides, having these goals ensures you can pick the right people for the job, the right social media strategy, and KPIs to measure the campaign’s success.

• To increase brand awareness: Choose influencers with larger followings and monitor impressions.
• To increase sales: Pick engaged nano- and micro-influencers, tracking their discount codes and one-on-one sales conversations.

2. Pick the Right People

We already told you what stats and qualities to follow in your brand ambassadors.

You also want to look at the following size and type of ambassador you choose.

The Following Size

• Nano-influencers: Best for tapping into niche audiences and building credibility
• Micro-influencers: Best for engagement, reach, and sales
• Macro-influencers: Best for increased visibility
• Mega influencers (celebrities): Best for notoriety and tapping into new markets

Type of Ambassador

• Customers: Best for recommendations and trust. Besides, you may already have valuable sales information about them, which can be useful in this ambassador program.
• Students: Best for reaching out to the younger generations. They can scale up your ambassador program on social media and campuses.
• Experts: Best for authority and credibility. These niche influencers already have an established following and a strong presence on their social media accounts.
• Employees: Best for giving your brand a human face. Besides, it helps you stand apart from the competition and highlight your company culture, for which staff recognition and appreciation plays an important role in achieving goals.

Pro tip: inBeat can help you find people who already mention your brand.

Let’s look for some Coca-Cola fans.

• Open the app and type in the brand name.
• Then filter by follower count, location, engagement rate, and other factors.
• Hit the ok button, and you can start comparing the profiles.

3. Decide on the Payment Method

Proper compensation is essential, so decide on the incentives to motivate and reward your social media ambassadors.

These can be cash, Canvas Picture Prints, uniquely designed photo books, products, gifts, or even recognition.

Pro tip: Consider gamification elements, such as bonuses or rewards, when your ambassadors achieve certain goals.

4. Sign a Contract

Once you've received a proposal, signing a contract with your ambassadors is essential because you’ll outline everyone’s duties and expectations.

This contract should also delimit confidentiality clauses, exclusivity agreements, and off-limit topics.

Pro tip: Use this free agreement template and adapt it to your marketing goals.

5. Train Your Ambassadors

Run an ambassador training to:

• Showcase your values.
• Emphasize your products’ unique selling points.
• Explain how the program works.
• Define all the rules and laws.
• Give dos and don’ts for future posts.

6. Hone Your Relationship

Maintaining your relationship with your brand ambassadors is essential for a successful program. So:

• Check in with them on a regular basis.
• Keep them in the loop about any developments in your communication, marketing strategy, or product range.
• Reward their progress.

7. Monitor Your Campaign

Keep track of your ambassador program’s KPIs.

Pro tip: Use brand ambassador software to monitor everything easier, from training to UTM links and rewards.

How to Start Your Brand Ambassador Program

This article showed you all the benefits of using a brand ambassador program.

You now also have all the right tools to pick engaged people who love your brand and have genuine followers on social media.

And we can help you throughout your campaign with inBeat’s:

• Influencer search engine
• Engagement rate calculator for different social media networks
• Fake follower checker
• Marketing ROI calculator
• And more

Give inBeat a try now – it’s free!

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