Brand Ambassador Program Blueprint by Britt Michaelian

2. What is a brand ambassador program?

3. brand ambassador program A social campaign designed to increase visibility & relationship with audience Ambassadors can be employees or speciﬁc inﬂuencers with targeted audience Ambassadors can receive compensation in the form of product, money or PR

4. How do you start a brand ambassador program?

5. successful program foundation Begin with a deep understanding of the brand’s core values & mission Design campaign with speciﬁc and attainable goals that appeal to your target audience Outline core actions and objectives with budget allocated for achieving goals

6. Should you build a program with inﬂuencers or employee ambassadors?

7. influencers vs ambassadors Social media influencers have a large audience that consistently responds to their messaging Influencers can be hired as independent contractors or work in exchange for product or PR Employee ambassadors promote the brand on social platforms as part of their professional responsibilities within your company, but may not have the existing audience needed to reach campaign goals

8. How do you choose the right inﬂuencers?

9. influencers The right influencers for your brand will align with your brand’s core values and campaign mission Monitor social interactions of influencers for red flags (brand bashing, aggression, poor judgement) Top influencers know their large audience, what they respond to and how to communicate with you Emerging influencers know how to engage their audience but have less experience working with brands Expect to pay a premium for experienced top influencers

10. How long is a brand ambassador program?

11. brand ambassador campaign length Campaigns can be a one-time shot or on-going Length of campaign is directly related to goals Campaigns can be 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 month commitments Long term audience relationships are based on the know-like-trust factor which takes time to cultivate The more moving parts there are to your campaign, the longer the ambassador program

12. What is the best way to approach inﬂuencers?

13. best way to reach out to influencers Top influencers are active and responsive on social platforms, usually where their audience is largest (you want to work with RESPONSIVE influencers) Follow, retweet, share, like, comment on a few posts of influencer you’d like to connect with Build a relationship for a few weeks to see how they interact and if their style is congruent with your brand Send private message to them, ask if they would be open to a phone call to discuss collaboration

14. What do you discuss once you have an inﬂuencer on a call?

15. inﬂuencer collaboration call Have they worked with other brands? For how long? Was the collaboration successful? What are their business goals? (Do they align with yours?) Are they looking for more brands to collaborate with? What do they like about your brand? Do they charge to be a brand ambassador or are they open to product, exclusive invites or PR in exchange for ambassador services? Would they be interested in talking more about participating in your brand ambassador program?

16. What comes after the brand ambassador saying YES?

17. brand ambassador agreement Make sure they are a fan of your brand Ask if they will be able to commit to the program for speciﬁed length of time and if they have any other commitments that will require their attention Openly discuss program in detail, sharing clear expectations and goals, document in email Once both parties agree that the ambassadorship is a good ﬁt, have lawyer draft a legal document that clearly outlines scope of work, deadlines, compensation, ownership of content rights, how disputes will be solved, etc

18. What does the brand ambassador do?

19. ambassador responsibilities Ambassadors share content that you provide or they create on speciﬁed social networks in order to build a community around your brand For a higher price, ambassadors may write blog posts, host tweet chats, perform interviews on Google Hangouts, produce videos for YouTube or Instagram, make public appearances etc Top inﬂuencers may provide reports that track results based on hashtags, impressions, views, likes, comments, etc

20. How do you get the most out of your brand ambassadors?

21. brand ambassador success BE ORGANIZED! Make collaboration as easy as 1-2-3 for ambassadors Create a social media editorial calendar with goals and objectives for the program (create shared doc where ambassadors can signal completed tasks) Have regular conference calls with team, program satisfaction surveys and suggestion protocol Bonus and incentive plans encourage ambassadors to go above and beyond scope of services

22. happy ambassadors = better results

23. happy brand ambassadors Feel valued, respected and appreciated by your brand (ie: don’t micromanage, let them shine) Will come to you with new ideas for success Will help provide insight and ideas when campaigns aren’t working as planned Will be more likely to work with you in the future Are more likely to connect you with other ambassadors and opportunities in the future

24. gratitude & incentives Thank brand ambassadors often with personal notes of thanks from team: ﬂowers, gift cards, etc Congratulate ambassadors for reaching personal goals and program goals Build incentive program that allows high achieving ambassadors to receive additional compensation for goals outside of the scope of services Make a BIG deal of ambassadors who receive incentives by sharing with other ambassadors to inspire them to do more and gain rewards in return

25. What can you expect to pay brand ambassadors?

26. brand ambassador compensation Compensation is relative and often a tricky subject Many bloggers and brand advocates will work in exchange for access to new product, exclusive offers, event invites, social recognition etc Emerging inﬂuencers have a smaller engaged audience and less brand experience - $150/ hr+ Experienced inﬂuencers with large, engaged audiences, have worked with brands in the past $500/hr +

27. How do you use PR as a way to compensate brand ambassadors?

28. brand ambassador PR compensation PR may be used as a negotiation tactic for ambassadors who typically work for compensation out of your budget range Distribute press releases to annouce and proﬁle each brand ambassador in your program Pitch ambassadors for appearances on top shows where their brand/name beneﬁts from the exposure as well (Today Show, GMA, news, etc) Retweet, like, repost, comment, share brand ambassadors’ content with your audience

29. How do you know how many hours to hire brand ambassadors for a campaign?

30. brand ambassador time examples 1 hour Twitter or FB chat participation 1-2 hour to prepare for & promote tweet chat and 1 hour to host 1 hour to prepare for interview & 1 hour to host a Google Hangout 30 min to shoot a video to share on YouTube and 30 min - 2 hr to edit and share 1 hour to shoot a photo, edit, add keywords and share on Pinterest or Instagram

31. How do you prepare for problems that may arise during brand ambassador program?

32. brand ambassador troubleshooting Prepare for problems up front when creating your brand ambassador program including PR disasters, ambassador breach of contract Clearly outline what is expected of ambassadors throughout the terms of service including content creation and curation, when, where and how it should be shared, communication expectations, reputation management guidelines, termination clauses etc Timely and respectful communication with ambassadors is essential for success

33. How do you track a brand ambassador program’s success?

34. brand ambassador program success Program achieves goals set forth in mission statement Goals may be: increased visibility, increased lead generation, elevation of brand by association with top inﬂuencers, increased PR opportunities, increased positive sentiment of brand, increase in social following... Progress should be tracked along the way using hashtags, metrics tools, tracking of before, during and after campaign Results may be achieved in unexpected areas

35. brand ambassador program success Make each campaign about having fun! You will make mistakes. Learn from them. Success comes with doing. Don’t be afraid of failure. Each campaign your brand activates will build the know-like-trust relationship with your audience. Success comes with experience. The more campaigns you test, track and tweak, the better your results will be.

36. Are brand ambassador programs the best way to reach your goals?

37. brand ambassador goals If you are looking to build a community of raving fans on social media, a welldesigned brand ambassador program allows you to leverage the existing audiences and reputations of inﬂuencers to reach your goals.

38. Still don’t know how to get started with your brand ambassador program?

39. Contact @BrittMichaelian britt @ solumaproductions.com to inquire about brand ambassador program consulting services