7 can't fail ways to engage your most passionate fans in your own brand ambassador program.

1. Private and Confidential
7 Steps to a
Successful
Brand
Ambassador
Program

2. 1. Set up goals and define success.
Start by defining what you’re trying to do:
• Do you want to build brand awareness?
• Get more great content for your social media, blog and website?
• Do you want to reach more customers?
Photo credit: Flickr, Angela Lumsden@UpwardLabs

3. 2. Invite the right people, not everyone.
It’s about quality not quantity. In the end, it’s the most passionate people that
will be your best evangelists.
Here are some questions to help you identify your ideal ambassadors:
• Why would you make a great ambassador?
• In what kinds of ambassador activities do you want to get involved
(blogging, hosting in-home events, sampling, etc.)?
• Tell us a story about a favorite experience with our brand.
Photo credit: Flickr, damircudic@UpwardLabs

4. 3. Make it about them, not you.
You could ask this in a formal
application, via an email to a segment
of your best customers or via social
media.
Your ambassadors want to get involved in the
ways that are authentically meaningful to them,
so ask them what they would want to do.
Photo credit: Flickr, PM Images@UpwardLabs

5. 4. Give up some control.
Yes, it can be a little scary, but you have to give up at least some control. If
you don’t allow a little creativity, you’re going to be missing out on the
good stuff.
Photo credit: Flickr, Yuri@UpwardLabs

6. 5. Make it a community.
If ambassadors can actually learn from other and get ideas and
potentially meet up in person, then your chances of success will
dramatically increase. Your ambassadors are part of your brand family
and should be able to interact with you and with fellow ambassadors. The
best ideas often come from other ambassadors and there’s no need to be
re-inventing the wheel over and over again.
@UpwardLabs

7. 6. Personal recognition can be worth a million
bucks.
Photo credit: Flickr, "Merci / Thank you" by Frédérique Voisin-Demery
Personal recognition is basically what makes the world go round. This
doesn’t mean that you need to monitor what your brand ambassadors
are doing at every second of the day, but you should be able to jump in
with bits of recognition or commendations to nurture the community.
@UpwardLabs

8. 7. Value is relative.
Reward your ambassadors in ways that matter to them. First access to a
new product, an invitation to a special event or public recognition is likely
to be more meaningful than money. The Mercedes-Benz Brand Club is a
great example of this type of recognition. They’re loved enough that they
have 80,000 brand ambassadors around the world. And they nurture this
community by offering targeted perks. But, you don’t have to go
overboard. Just a little recognition can go a long way.
Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz@UpwardLabs

9. Private and Confidential
Check out more tips here:
https://www.upwardlabs.com/blog/7-steps-to-a-successful-brand-
ambassador-program/
Upward Labs: Software to create and manage your own ambassador
program.
Power your marketing by the people who love your brand.
www.upwardlabs.com
Boston, MA
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