What should you look for in a brand ambassador? Many, many companies are now appointing people to be ambassadors for their brand… and what is required varies enormously too. Your requirements and your expectations will, of course, influence what you should look for in a brand ambassador. Don’t discount these at all. However, to give you a bit of help, I decided to do a little research for you. I asked my Small & Supercharged group on Facebook what they look for in a brand ambassador. As this group is bursting with small business owners, many of whom use brand ambassadors to help promote their brand, I thought it was a good place to ask.
Now, you don’t have to look for the same things in a brand ambassador, far from you – you do you. Consider what you need, your brand, your expectations, your demographic and your strategy. Here are just a few ideas you might like to pick up, kindly provided by people over in my fab group…
The question I asked was: ‘what do you look for in a brand ambassador?’
Amy Griffiths – Amy Griffiths Photography/Hoofprints – someone easily likeable both in real life and social media. To both me as a brand and also other people. Everything else can be discussed/worked upon but likeability isn’t something a person can change very easily! The other obvious thing is it has to be someone who uses my product or service.
Katie Mortimore – Katie Mortimore Photography – Authenticity! Too many relationships are about money and not about a product on both sides.
Danielle Holmes – Black Nova Designs – I think they have to be interested in what you offer, anyone can be a brand ambassador but if they don’t know what you do or why then promoting isn’t going to be easy.
Lydia Duce– LD Equestrian – High quality content, I think it is hard to find this now with so many new bloggers/vloggers and influencers.
Sarah SJ Johnstone – Apt Cavalier – Personality- my three ambassadors are all really likeable, hilarious and genuinely fun to be around. I think it’s important for that to shine through in photo shoots, social media posts etc. They all have fierce passion for the sport, which is really important to me as an “Eventing Brand”, not just a fashion brand.
Emily Gailey – Equus Photo – Authenticity and being a genuinely nice person. I am such good friends with my brand ambassadors, we all hang out, we help each other out with our horses and they seem to genuinely love working with me. I think people can see that it’s a proper relationship instead of them just working with me for free stuff…which in turn makes potential clients more interested.
Emma-Jayne Rothwell – Woof Wear– Personality. Oodles and oodles of it. You’ll be ‘the face’ of the brand meeting people you wouldn’t normally meet or converse with, you’ll need to confidently talk about product to customers and the public, you may need to conduct course walks, talks, personal appearances, yard visits and attend events. You may also (hopefully regularly!) be on the winner’s podium and need to speak clearly and concisely and memorably, and finally, with the meteoric rise of video countering content collapse on all social media, your brand will most definitely need you to step up and join the revolution. So yep, you need to be choc full of personality.
Kate Owen– Pony & Pup Photography– I look for genuine people that are authentic, love their horses and work hard at it, aren’t afraid to post about the good times and the bad! And they have to already engage with and support your brand.
Victoria Archer– Equissage – I look for an ethical and professional person with no bad history. A ‘good influence’ to the public and I then associate my brand with those.
Janine Kell – The Golden Paste Co – Authenticity. We aim for our brand ambassadors to be current customers who use and understand the product and its capabilities.
Melanie Clarihew – Mackenzie & George – I’ve had to think really hard about this as it’s multi fold; they need to be genuine, authentic love for the brand and what we do, super lovely people who respect their audience, and loyal.
But, the one most important factor For me, is willingness to work with us to produce original content.
Laura Williams – Boudica Equestrian – The most important thing I look for in an Ambassador for my brand is shared value of equine welfare. I don’t look for a person who just wins prizes or has a huge following on social media, but someone who puts the needs of their horse first and strives to keep learning and improving their riding and knowledge for the horse’s benefit. As a small business I need someone who has similar ethics and beliefs. That way we can work well and closely together.
Helena Smith – From a brand point of view – approachable and an ideal customer, that can truly engage and promote the brand without it seeming like a hard sell. It also helps that others can see themselves in your ambassadors shoes, making products seem achievable and needed.
Tamara Hudlestone – The Very Important Pad – A brand ambassador needs to be engaged and proactive; not chased all the time .
Jenni Winter – Flying Changes Coaching – For me I choose someone who is open and honest in their social media. Someone who doesn’t come across as “salesy” because working as a Mindset and Performance Psychology Coach means that my BAs need to be real and get people on board that way. Mindset is such a hot topic right now so they need to walk the talk.
So, what should you look for in a brand ambassador?
It’s fair to say that while the Small & Superchargers had slightly different ways of wording it, authenticity, being friendly and having a genuine affinity with the product and brand are essentials. Of course, there are lots of others things you can add to your list, but if you have these qualities as the foundation, it’s a great place to start.
What qualities do you look for in a brand ambassador?
