What is a Brand Ambassador Anyway?
You've heard about them. Brand ambassadors are everywhere. Famous faces and voices touting products and pitching companies are filling television screens, popping up in online searches and giving us all kinds of reasons why we should buy or invest in or use the services they're promoting.That's all very well and good for Coke. Or Buick. Or Delta Airlines. They've got tons of money to buy ads and pay celebrities beaucoup bucks to sell, sell, sell.
Where Do I Find Brand Ambassadors On a Limited Budget?
But what happens to all the rest of us who live in the marketing trenches? We have finite budgets and limited resources to attract prospects to our fabulous products and services. And people are telling us we need to get a celebrity to pitch products? Hmmm.
Wait just a marketing minute.
Do you really think that brand ambassadors have to be expensive, hot, likable celebrities? While the hot likability factor won't probably hurt, the truth is that brand ambassadors can be found in more places than at the Academy Awards.
Please. Take a minute and think about some of your biggest marketing resources. If your business is like most, you've got one or two people in your corner. They talk up your business or products at parties with their friends. You meet them in the local Starbucks as they're steering a hopeful prospect your way. You get phone calls from their colleagues in the industry,"So, hey, I was talking to Joe and he was telling me that your XYZ Service really fits the bill for me."
Bingo. What you have there is a walking, talking, living, breathing Brand Ambassador!
Brand Ambassadors Understand and Love Your Brand
Brand ambassadors understand your brand. And they know the people who love your brand. They truly "get" your product or services and they're able to connect people who need your product or services with the many (many) incredible aspects of your brand. Today, brand ambassadors can be found everywhere from Twitter to the local Chamber meeting to the grocery store on a Saturday morning. They represent and talk about your company and your brand in a positive and engaging way.
And, believe it or not, every single employee in your organization should be actively engaged in being a brand ambassador. Every. Single. Employee. If they're not completely jazzed to be talking your company up, then you need to stop reading this blog right now and go get them engaged in your company's brand. I'll wait.
So What?
What is a brand ambassador? You've got brand ambassadors everywhere. They're in your reception area. They're at the happy hour down the street. Brand ambassadors are critical to your company's marketing strategy!
Tell a story and illustrate your brand through social media!
Photo credit PepsiCo Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/PepsiUS
