What does a brand ambassador do?

Enterprises are increasingly looking for additional forms of promoting their brand. One of them is the brand ambassador, which increases its awareness among consumers and potential customers. What are his tasks?

Who is a brand ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a professional who promotes the brand and speaks on its behalf by means of presence in social media. Its main task is to increase and building brand awareness in the eyes of potential customers. For this purpose, it uses a variety of communication tools, e.g. advertising, public relationsor new media. Thanks to the constant activity and presence of brand ambassadors in social media, the brand is perceived as open and honest with recipients. Moreover, personalized interactions with consumers build loyalty, a positive image and emphasize brand identity. An ambassador is a person who has deep knowledge about a given company and product offer, because he represents it externally. Their opinions can influence the perceptions of consumers as well as guide their choices.

What is his job?

The brand ambassador is primarily active in social media and uses them to tell stories about the brand by engaging in personalized interactions with customers. He cares for a transparent and positive brand image by organizing online and offline events that build the company's reputation. It works on many channels: both social media, blogs and personal websites. It creates hype around the brand for people to talk about it and recommend it to others. They use word of mouth marketing informing about the values or advantages of a given product. They often act as an advocate during product launches or conferences.

What can a brand ambassador do for your business?

First of all, the brand ambassador gives it a human character. The spokespersons, through appropriate actions, make customers identify with a given company because it has "its own face". Moreover, they are a great addition to your social media activities. Most often, a brand ambassador already has an established position and has a specific reputation in social media. This means an extensive network of followers, and therefore reaching a wide audience. They are also practical people in the face of various crises. "Fighting fires" is much easier with the help of an ambassador. What other benefits does an ambassador bring? It inspires customer trust, increases conversion, increases the company's efficiency in various channels, influences customer purchasing decisions, informs about the latest products, and even increases website traffic.

Types of brand ambassadors

Support the choice of an ambassador with in-depth research to match the image of your brand. There are four groups of ambassadors on the market:

• Social broadcasters - influential people in show business, celebrities and specialists. It can be singers, athletes, actors, TV hosts. Such people are not only recognizable, but also respected. They can make a big difference to your customers' opinions. Big brands want a Polish or foreign star to promote their products. There is a lot of benefits associated with it and an increase in recognition. However, it is important to remember that this form is expensive and, what's more, it puts you at risk. It is not uncommon for a celebrity to experience an image crisis or to be associated with some scandal. In such a situation, this person is automatically associated with your brand, which also negatively affects your image.
• Experts in a given field - that is, people who have gained recognition in their industry. They are specialists in their profession: hair stylist, make-up artist, famous cook, who are brands in themselves. Their first name, last name and nickname have a reputation and are widely known. Thanks to this, they can become an ambassador for other companies. An example is Jaga Hupało for the Philips brand. This is one of the leading hairdressers in Poland that recommends hair styling equipment.

• Influencers - these are people especially known among social media. They have an amazing effect on Internet users, influencing their opinions and feelings. For this reason, it is worth starting cooperation with influencers. However, carefully follow their image on the Internet, social media accounts to avoid possible crises. Remember that this person will speak on your behalf, so the choice must be really accurate.
• Potential brand ambassadors (brand advocates) - these are people who involuntarily identify with your brand. They often comment on you on the Internet, comment on products and give their opinion. Therefore, it is worth investigating social media deeply to find such people and establish contact and professional cooperation with them.

Brand ambassador - how to look for it?

When starting your search, you should take into account our profile target group, values and brand identity, its nature as well as the type of products offered. You should draw up the criteria very carefully and specify your expectations. Consider whether you are looking for a person related to your industry, or maybe someone with specific characteristics matching your brand. A brand ambassador who works in the same field can strengthen your credibility. For example, if you sell sports clothing / footwear, it is worth starting cooperation with a famous athlete who, thanks to his achievements and experience, will be an authentic figure. Example: Christiano Ronaldo for the Nike brand. In turn, when guided by the characteristics of the brand, you need to take into account your values, what you are associated with and look for such a person. For example, Julia Roberts who is the ambassador of the Calzedonia brand. The actress is a classy, beautiful woman, caring for her beauty and emanating grace, which is in line with the value and nature of women's products, such as elegant tights, stockings or other underwear. Another criterion may also be the image of a person corresponding to the image built by the brand. Margaret, who is the ambassador of Deichman, is full of energy, crazy, does not compromise - and these are the features that this company communicates to us in its spots.

Watch out for crises

A brand ambassador is not only about benefits. It is associated with considerable expenses, and most of all risk. There are many situations in which an ambassador got the company into trouble. One example of risk is ignorance of the company or products that the person is promoting. This was also the case with Robert Lewandowski - Huawei brand ambassador. His Twitter entry was dropped from an Apple brand phone, which outraged some users who began to question the quality of Huawei products. Another risk is the views of your ambassador. Everyone has the right to their opinion, but in the age of social media it can have a bad impact on your image. One of the examples is Marek Kondrat - a long-time ING brand ambassador. Taking part in a political event in Krakow, he had many critics who automatically branded his activities under the ING brand. The company, however, made a perfect out of this situation, briefly commenting that Mr. Marek Kondrat's views were his personal affair.