Have you been approached by riders from all corners of the globe offering to be your company’s brand ambassador? Across the various social media platforms I admin, I see this SO much. I see brand ambassador requests almost daily. And if it’s a really good week, I see the same DM pop into a number of different inboxes. Let’s. Not. Even. Go. There.
But sometimes there’s a promising DM or email with a really strong brand ambassador pitch and everything seems to align. Maybe they have a good Instagram following? Or they’re really strong on YouTube? Or their blogs make you think they could be a modern day Shakespeare (Ok, I’ve got carried away!)? What do you you next? What questions should you ask a potential brand ambassador, to give you the best chance of them being a good fit for you and your brand?
As this is a #takefive blog I’ve come up with just five questions to ask a potential brand ambassador. Use this as a guide and develop your own set of questions that you can keep on file and email across whenever you get a strong potential email. It’ll save you a whole lot of time and you’ll get to find out what’s really going on and whether or not this rider might be a good brand ambassador for you.
Questions to ask a potential brand ambassador…
Which of our products do you own?
This is SUCH a good one! A brand ambassador, in my opinion, should already be a fan of your brand. And by fan, I mean customer. How on earth do they know that they want to represent you if they don’t know how your product performs and integrates into their life? More to the point, your product might not even suit them or their horse. And then you’re asking them to tell their fans and followers about an amazing product they love… but never use? That’s a very confusing message for all concerned! I’m not necessarily saying they should own everything you make, but they need at least something… or else how do they know your brand?
And top tip here – have a quick look a their Instagram feed and see which products they’re actually using. If you make horse boots and you get approached, have a look at their feed and see which horse boots they use… are they yours? Or a competitor’s?
How many other brands are you an ambassador for?
Another good one. If a brand ambassador has a list as long as their arm, they might not be the best fit for you. Why? There are a few reasons. First up, if you have too many brands you’re an ambassador for, there will be overlaps, and that’s not good. But more than that, good brand ambassadors work with brands on campaigns and promotions. If your potential brand ambassador works with loads of companies, how on earth are they going to find the time to do everything well? They probably won’t…
What are you followings like and what’s your average engagement?
Numbers aren’t the be all and end all, but if someone wants you to send them free product, you need to make sure there’s a chance of it getting seen by people, don’t you? And that the people who are seeing it actually care about the content. How do you do this? First thing to look at is the number of followers, but next look at how often they post AND how engaged the following are. Do their posts get likes by genuine people? Does anyone comment? Does anyone share? Look at all of these (not just one) to help inform you decision.
What kind of support are you looking for?
What do they want from you? Generally, brand ambassadors in the equestrian industry tend to receive products over cash, but ask. You may find that their expectations and your budgets are nowhere near each other… or you might be very pleasantly surprised. But you won’t know if you don’t ask.
How can you help us?
Yep – the big one. If they have in mind what they want from you in their role as brand ambassador, they should have thought about why they’re going to give too. Now, a little word of advice here, having your logo on a lorry and tagging you in posts with all their other sponsors isn’t likely to generate you any real ROI on your investment. I mean – who cares, right? But if they have ideas to do how to’s, or include your products in their weekly vlog, or do any number of other things, then it could be a really interesting proposition. Pitches that grab my attention have something well through through and different in this area. Thing is, nothing delights a PR or a marketing manager more (well, in my opinion again!), when an ambassador emails and says ‘I’ve had this ides…’. To me, it shows you actually care about my brand and you’re thinking about it and how you can help me…
So there you have it, five questions to ask potential brand ambassadors, I really hope they helped you and made you think… did they?
If you liked this blog, you’re going to LOVE episode 16 of the Small & Supercharged Podcast, the Brand Ambassadors 101 for brands and influencers. This is the link to iTunes, but it’s also on Spotify, Google Play, and all the other places you’d expect to see a podcast!
