A fresh wave of brand promotion has been sweeping through the marketing world, promoting brands in a way that feels authentic and relatable: brand ambassadors! More and more brands are turning to content creators and influencers as brand ambassadors to boost their visibility, freshen up their socials, and better connect with their audience. 

This article will dive into what brand ambassador programs are all about, why they’re so effective, and how you set one up - plus some real-world examples of brands from ASOS to Lululemon that have nailed it. Ready to test the waters of brand ambassadorship? Let’s go!

What Is An Ambassador Program?

Think of a brand ambassador program as a partnership between a brand and a loyal customer who also happens to be an influencer. Influencer marketing campaigns tend to be shorter and focused on a singular product or event; ambassador programs are usually more long-term and focus on extended content creation plus community/relationship building with audiences. 

Ideal ambassadors love your brand, use your products, and spread the word about them to their followers, friends, and family in a genuine, usually unscripted way. Ambassadors can help you promote everything from your brick-and-mortar products to merch or other creations that you sell through a customizable ecommerce site like Fourthwall - but either way, it’s all about collaboration. Brands provide perks, free products, and/or payment, while ambassadors offer genuine brand promotion and feedback. It’s a win-win for both sides! 

Why Brand Ambassador Programs Work

Brand ambassador programs are more than just a trend; they’re a powerful influencer marketing strategy with a ton of benefits. Here’s why they work so well:

Authenticity and Trust 

Ambassadors, whether established influencers or other content creators, are real people who use and enjoy your brand, meaning they can speak about your products in their own words, using their own experience and perspectives. This often means that their followers trust their opinions more than they trust traditional ads, which is excellent for generating believable, shareable brand awareness.

Targeted Audience 

Choosing ambassadors who already have a following that matches your brand/product's ideal demographic makes it easier to reach the right people. It's perhaps one of the simplest ways to target market; finding an influencer or content creator who already has a following in the audience niche that you're striving for, and turning them into your ambassador!

Engagement and Interactivity

Interacting with their followers, answering questions, replying to comments, and sharing personal stories are all typical actions of influencers and ambassadors, which boosts engagement in an authentic way, encouraging buzz for your products and brand. Ambassador posts can also draw large numbers of views and carry the potential to become viral, carrying your product up right along with them.

Content and Loyalty

Ambassadors create unique content for you in their own style, which can extend your brand to a wider range of audiences as they continue to roll out new posts and images. Ambassadors' posts can also be shared and reposted from your side, doubling or tripling the eyes on your products for even more brand awareness. Ambassadors who enjoy collaborating and creating content for your products often stick around for the long haul, creating a sense of continuity for your brand.

Cost-Effective Marketing

Compared to the high costs and contracts of traditional advertising, ambassador programs can be easier, more affordable, and offer a higher return on investment. The high values of grassroots marketing, loyal influencer audiences, and word-of-mouth "peer promotion," which are all generally seen as trustworthy, should also be kept in mind.

5 Steps to Creating Your Ambassador Program

Creating a brand ambassador program might seem daunting, but it’s totally doable! Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Set Your Goals 

First things first—what do you want to achieve? Some goals to strive for might include increasing brand awareness/recognition; driving sales; expanding your audience; or building your following on socials. Whichever you choose (or all of them!) make sure you define clear, measurable checkpoints and goals to guide your program.

2. Establish Ambassador Criteria

It's time to decide what you’re looking for in an ambassador! Keep in mind you might be working with this person for an extended period of time, so it helps to find people you'll enjoy collaborating with. Brand ambassadors can range from celebrities or experts to up-and-coming influencers or even simply enthusiasts - people who love your products and want to share that love.

Would you prefer for your ambassadors to be solidly established in a certain niche or on a particular platform? Would you like for them to have a specific numbers of followers, or post x amount of times per week? And how well do they need to align with your product and brand? These are things you need to outline as part of your goal-setting plan. You can even have different types of brand ambassadors for different promotional purposes.

3. Structure Your Ambassador Program

It's tempting to just go casual while getting your ambassador program rolling, but starting with some structure will help communications stay clear on both sides, which definitely benefits all parties involved. Determining how often you'd like your ambassadors to promote your brand; which platforms they'll be using; if they'll be doing any additional offline (IRL) content/appearances; and when you'll be having meetings or planning sessions; these factors all keep your plan moving forward, and lets your new ambassadors know what to expect.

You'll also need to decide how you'll be compensating your ambassador squad - with free products/services, affiliate codes and discounts, or actual paychecks. You might also consider adding a referral program to your ambassador initiative; this encourages ambassadors to bring in new customers, rewarding them for each successful referral. Throwing some fun swag or free products your ambassadors' way is another good way to keep their enthusiasm up and make them feel like they're part of your team. And make sure you've found a way to track your data/metrics, so you can see how your ambassadors' effectiveness is progressing!

4. Find Ambassadors!

There's no simple way to find ambassadors; you just have to keep your eyes on social media to stay open to content creators and influencers that you feel will match your brand's goals and vibe. You can also do a hashtags search - people who have already engaged with your products in a positive way can be a great start! Once you find some creators you're interested in, reach out to them directly or create a brand ambassador application process online.

In any communications or application forms, be sure to clearly state what type of brand ambassador you're looking for, highlight what’s in it for them, why you think they'd be a great match with your brand, and why they should join your program. Avoid generic form letters, or if you're going to approach a large number of potential ambassadors, at least take the time to customize your form letter with some genuine points of interest about each person and their work as a content creator or influencer.

5. Solidify Agreements

Once you’ve selected your ambassadors, set up a formal agreement. This should outline the expectations you've decided on for your ambassador program, the compensation you'll be providing in exchange for their branded content, any visual requirements you want them to include (brand logos, hashtags, etc.), and any legal details. Make sure both parties clearly understand all terms and have signed the agreement before any content creation/posting goes forward.

4 Successful Ambassador Programs

These well-known brands jumped in to score big with their ambassador programs - but creating your own ambassador program is something that anyone with an active, engaged community can do! Snag some inspiration from the four brands below, and then get on out there and launch your own ambassador program! 

Nike

Nike partners with athletes and influencers who embody the brand’s ethos of athletic excellence, performance, and their "Just Do It" slogan. These ambassadors showcase Nike products in action, boosting the brand’s credibility and reach. Nike ambassadors include notable athletes like Portuguese pro footballer Christiano Ronaldo and pro basketball player Kevin Durant, and they reportedly get a long list of perks, including (in some cases) a brand ambassador salary, plus early access to new Nike products and discounts on Nike apparel. Nike also uses smaller "everyday athletes" as additional influencers and product ambassadors, to show that "Just Do It" has no boundaries.

ASOS

ASOS Insiders are 36 carefully selected brand ambassadors mostly drawn from ASOS staff who reflect ASOS' diverse, trendy target audience. These fashion influencers share fashion tips, outfit ideas, and trends on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok; ASOS encourages their brand ambassadors to share plenty of behind-the-scenes content, making ASOS ambassador posts a go-to for style enthusiasts. The original ASOS Insiders influencers program ended in 2020, but ASOS has brought it back to "reignite brand heat" and introduce their latest ambassadors to a new fashion-conscious audience.

Lululemon

A popular athletic apparel company that was founded in 1998, Lululemon’s ambassadors include yoga instructors, fitness trainers, and athletes who live and breathe an active Lululemon lifestyle, and their authentic promotional team helps build trust and a loyal customer base. Lululemon has several different types of brand ambassadorship available, from higher level "Lululemon Global Ambassadors" to health/fitness/wellness influencers; most are athletes, and all are encouraged to be part of the larger Lululemon community. 

Red Bull

Red Bull’s major ambassadors (Red Bull Athletes) are extreme sports talents who embody the brand’s energetic spirit, helping solidify Red Bull’s identity as a dynamic brand. Red Bull also has a secondary type of brand ambassador - a team of college student ambassadors (Red Bull Student Marketeers, who are paid for their work.) The Red Bull student ambassadors hand out Red Bull drinks at events, drive the Red Bull car, wear branded outfits, and participate in social media content to help generate excitement and awareness of the Red Bull brand.

Dive Into Ambassadorship with Fourthwall! 

Ready to take your brand to the next level? From athletes to celebrities, musicians to fashion influencers, brand ambassadors are on deck to help you boost your brand awareness and engagement - and Fourthwall is here to help you maximize your ambassadors' reach.

With Fourthwall, you can easily create a customized website to showcase what you have to offer - your Fourthwall site gathers all of your content and links together in one place, making it an easy and exciting resource for your ambassadors to share with your new fans. With Fourthwall, you can also build a loyal membership community that could be the perfect talent pool for your next team of brand ambassadors. And you can outfit your ambassadors with your own Fourthwall-created merch to make your brand even more visible!

Take the plunge into the world of brand ambassadorship with Fourthwall as your teammate, and see how it can help transform your brand!