Are you looking for brand ambassadors for your business? Today we’re talking all about Brand Ambassadors—the people who share and help promote your brand, and how to find the right ones to showcase your business and brand.
Emily Thompson 0:02
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Kathleen Shannon 0:29
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Emily Thompson 1:10
Okay, so we got a really great question in the Facebook group, the being boss Facebook group about brand ambassadors. So we had someone asked, How do I find good reliable brand ambassadors? I found this website that partners businesses with Instagram accounts, but after perusing through the Instagram accounts, it seems like they really will let anyone in the system some girl had just over 100 followers. If I want someone to pimp my product, I want her to have at least 5000 right. Also, my brand is not right for the people they have on there. So how do I contact the people? I do want to be a brand ambassador. And if I have less than 100 followers, are they going to want to do it anyway. It's like a chicken egg question. My mind is reeling help, Alicia.
Emily Thompson 1:55
I love this question.
Kathleen Shannon 1:57
First, let's explain what a brand ambassador is.
Kathleen Shannon 2:01
God I don't like definitions. Um, I mean, a brand ambassador is someone that you allow to be a Okemos cheerleader for your brand. Like they're gonna wear your stuff or talk about your stuff or other than wear and talk about what actions will they take?
Emily Thompson 2:20
I mean, I think that's about it. So I think that brand ambassadors, okay, well, let me just share because Alicia asked, or someone has asked, someone asked us if we were brand ambassadors. So I became an unofficial official brand ambassador for shop good, who was actually on our podcast, but they're good friends of mine, they have a really great brand. And it started off by them just simply asking me if I would be willing to model in a photo shoot for them. And of course, I'm going to share the images that I modeled in. So it's a really organic process. I didn't even know the word brand ambassador at the time. But then I basically asked them if I could be their official brand ambassador because I like them. And because I really like their t shirts. So I'm kind of just wanted some free t shirts, which is silly. I'm a boss, I can pay for this stuff. And I paid for a lot of things. But I just thought it would be like a mutually beneficial situation. And so for me, like basically, there's no official agreement, because I'm actually not an official brand ambassador for anybody. But it was kind of like, Hey, I love your stuff. And I would love to share it. And I do this with some of our other bosses too like band of weirdos. So she sent me a bunch of pins and necklaces and cards and things like that. And so like here I am now on this podcast talking about her because she sent me stuff. But I love her stuff. And I just love sharing it. And I used to be like really anti getting stuff and sharing it. But now I kind of love it because I think that bosses supporting other bosses is like an awesome thing. All of this to say all of the things. I've kind of been a brand ambassador, I would do it for free. And I do do it for free. And because it's fun.
Kathleen Shannon 4:06
Yeah, I did a brand ambassadorship Can I call it that with my friend Lindsey from Simon and Ruby, and she's a jewelry maker really rad. I did some coaching with her once we've been online buddies for a while she came to New Orleans with us like she's totally rad boss. And in the coaching I did with her I think we like worked out what her brand ambassador program would kind of look like a release. I remember bringing it up and talking it through a bit. And then a couple of months later, she emailed me and wanted to know if I'd be one of her first brand ambassadors and I was like, Yes. So and it was an official agreement. So there was a contract involved where I got to pick a couple of pieces and in payment, I had to do some social media posts and I had to create like a Pinterest board and do some things like that. But again, this is all things that I would have done for free but I did want to do to support her and the business that she's building. And because I love jewelry, and I love what she does, and I know that my people would do the same, it was a really great fit. I think that's another key to there is you have to make sure that like you're doing it with things that are a good fit for the kind of people who are falling. But this isn't about being one, this is about finding them. So I think to sort of wrap all of that up into how do you find a brand ambassador, you go after your biggest fans, you go after people who are already in love with what you do, because those people are going to be the ones who are going to shout out the loudest and the hardest, that they love what you do. So I think that that's probably the place that I would super begin, like not on some sort of service that that puts you with brand ambassadors, but go after the people who's liking all of your Instagram photos.
Emily Thompson 5:53
Yeah, I mean, I think that the most successful partnerships, and we've even seen this being affiliates and having sponsors like freshbooks, and acuity, but also being an affiliate for we've done this for Paul Jarvis for his MailChimp course because we love Paul, and we love email marketing, we are genuinely dorks about that stuff. We've affiliated Convert Kit, again, because it's a product that we both actually use and love. So we are only kind of, quote unquote, brand ambassadors or allowing sponsors to work with us that we truly believe in. And I think it should be the same way with your product too. So find people who are already fans of yours, and just either maybe send them stuff, and it can be a casual relationship. Or you could really outline it and say, here's what I can give you. And here's what I want in return. So that is kind of like more of a traditional scope of services, exchange an agreement. I also think that there is something to be said for I know that like from back in my blogging days, and even now with the podcast, we're getting sent a lot of stuff. I only allow people to send me stuff whenever I really want whenever I really want it. So for example, floor apothecary Sammy, who is a fellow boss, she sent me like some deodorant, because she knows I have issues with my arm. And it's amazing, and it works and, but there are a lot of people who are asking to send me stuff. And I just I typically say like, I don't think it's a good fit. Or I might kind of in a very kind way, turn them down, not because I don't like their stuff, but I try to lead a minimalist lifestyle, you know, or I don't want to feel obligated to share something that I don't truly stand behind. So anyway. Yeah, I'm sorry, going back to I keep forgetting because we're we are so much on the receiving end of people wanting us to be ambassadors for their brand. And and this actually brings me up to wanting to say something else is that I think a lot of times we're looking for some rocket fuel to propel our brands and to help launches forward. And I think that that exists. So for example, an example of rocket fuel would be Oprah's favorite things. Like any brands who have landed on Oprah's favorite things are instantly propelled into success, right. But think about all the work that those people had to do to get up to that point. And so no matter I think that the thing that I want people to be careful for whenever they're looking for brand ambassadors is looking for silver bullets or golden tickets to success, you're you really just need to put in the work. And share your product. I was gonna say sorry, one more thing. I think that you should share products with people that you really admire and love to see like you already have maybe a couple of your biggest fans. But think about people that you already really admire, that you would love to see wearing your stuff. A lot of people who might already be like, quote unquote, big time, or getting a lot of things sent to them. And they're getting a lot of pitches for things. They might say yes, they might say no, you might not ever hear back from them. So I kind of like the idea of starting small like starting with someone who has an audience of 2000 to 5000. I don't think that they need at least 5000. Because here's the deal, too. Like let's say you find someone with 20,000. They might share your photo once on Instagram, how many people is that actually seen by versus sharing your product with someone who really loves what you're doing? Maybe they have 3000 people following them, but they're constantly posting about your stuff in their outfits because they're actually wearing your product. Like that's so much more meaningful.
Kathleen Shannon 9:41
Yep, that was the exact point I was going to make. I think that I think that a lot of times we can think that people with larger numbers have a bigger impact. But that's not always the case. I think people with small numbers who are really invested will make a bigger impact than someone who simply has the coverage to make you feel like they're going to have the biggest impact. So I agree, I think starting with your, with your closest fans or with your biggest fans, people who have already bought bought from you who are already sharing your stuff who or who are liking all of your photos on Instagram, those are the people you go to and initiate a brand ambassador program. And you can make it really easy to begin and see how it goes and learn some things to create something a little more legit later. Or you can go into it making it kind of legit. Just choose the path that you want to take and and go for it. I think that there's brain Ambassador programs are one of those things, there's no like right or wrong way to do it. There's simply how your brand handles it. So I would create some good boundaries around how it is that your brand deals with brand ambassadors and have fun with it and allow the people that you bring into the program to have fun with it too and and see where it goes. But don't get hung up on the on the numbers instead get hung up on the loyalty of the people who like your stuff.
Emily Thompson 10:57
And the one last thing I want to say is kind of think outside of the box. So this is why I was going to go back to for my blogging days. And Emily, you might even have some ideas on this from your jewelry making days in the day. But um, I think that a lot of people who were makers, and maybe this is still the case, I don't follow as many fashion bloggers as I used to. But let's say for example, you make jewelry and you want to get your jewelry on a top fashion blogger. Like that's kind of really expected that's like a path of least resistance, I don't think is going to have a lot of impact because those people are constantly shelling out and pimping out different products and brands and all of that. Like they're probably brand ambassadors for 100 different products or they're getting a ton of products sent to them for free, right so you're not getting a whole lot of bang for your buck. Whereas, let's say you're a jewelry maker, and you reach out to a mom blogger who is really not like super fashionable and always being asked to wear, you know, outfits. They might have like a huge impact on their audience like so that
Kathleen Shannon 12:02
they'll have a playgroup that all the moms want to know what whose necklaces they're wearing. thinking outside the box is sincerely key or sincerely key.
Kathleen Shannon 12:12
And I don't even know that that's actually that much of thinking outside of the box and maybe there's a there's a valid point not getting too far outside of the box because you're getting out of your market. But start to think about different ways you can approach this look at it from a different angle.
Kathleen Shannon 12:30
This minisode was brought to you by Twenty20. Check them out at twenty20.com/beingboss that's t w e n t y 20 as in the number.com slash being boss.
Kathleen Shannon 12:44
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