A Brand Ambassador (also known as Influencer) is a person chosen to represent an organization, company or brand in a positive way.  A brand ambassador is usually chosen because of their reputation, popularity or great fondness and knowledge of the brand. 

You use a brand ambassador to promote your business, hence, you should look for someone who already has a large following in social media and can represent your brand in a positive light. 

Businesses that can afford it will hire celebrities such as actors, popular sports figures, etc. to be their brand ambassadors.  As a small business you may not be able to afford that.  Brand ambassadors come at a price, but it does not have to be expensive.  You have to pay them for their services.  Payment can take many forms such as cash, SWAG (freebees), etc.  You have to work out a payment arrangement with the brand ambassador you chose.

Brand ambassadors should be very adept and have a large following in social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.

Your brand ambassador should be someone who will work with you over an extended period of time.  Short-term use will not serve your marketing efforts well.

You can have more than one brand ambassador.  Having more than one brand ambassador will give you greater access to potential consumers and help grow your brand faster.

What can Brand Ambassadors do for your brand:

Build Loyalty:  Brand ambassadors with a large following have loyal followers.  They can use this loyalty to promote your brand.  People who loyally follow someone are more likely to buy a product they recommend and promote that product to others.

Humanize Your Product:  Brand ambassadors gives a real voice to your brand and lets consumers know that real people are actually promoting a product they like.  They create an emotional connection with consumers. 

Builds Trust:  Brand ambassadors build trust around your brand.  People trust a product being recommended by another person more than they trust tv advertising. When a brand ambassador puts his/her name behind a product consumers become convinced that it has to be a good product because that person wouldn’t risk his/her reputation by doing that.

Quick Access to A Large Consumer Base:  Hiring a brand ambassador with already large following gives you quick access to a large consumer base that you can promote your brand to. 

Access other Regions:  Brand ambassadors can give you access to other demographic and regions that you didn’t previously have.  Because they’re already operating in a demographic or region where they are trusted brand ambassadors can introduct your brand to that audience where it will gain acceptance through the promotion of a trusted voice.

Should you Use Brand Ambassadors:

If you can afford it…the answer is yes.  Having a brand ambassador who already has a large following will immediately bring you an influx of customers who could spread the word even further through their own connections in social media.  It gives you a great advantage to grow your business.  There are many people with large following in social media who are not celebrities and will not charge celebrities prices for promoting your brand.  Use them to your advantage.

Where do you find Brand Ambassadors:

Brand ambassadors can be found in many places. 

EMPLOYEES: 

You can start with your employees.  Many of your employees may already have a large following in social media.  They probably like your brand and are well versed in the knowledge of how your brand should be represented.  Check with your employees first before venturing out into other areas.  You can incentivize them by giving them discounts, pay incentives, recognition, etc.

CELEBRITIES:

The best way to get celebrities to be your brand ambassadors is to contact them directly.  Start by following them on popular social media websites.  Most celebrities post regularly and have large following.  Once you’ve identify the one that you want to represent your brand, attempt to contact them .  Send them samples of your product and seek their feedback.  As them if they would represent your product if they like it.  You will have to work out the compensation.

These are the ways you can find contact information for celebrities:

Celebrity Find Resourdces:  These resources will help you find the right celebrity to represent your brand.

Contact Any Celebrity

The Cshop

The Celebrity Source

Celebrity Websites:  If they have a website you will most likely find information in the website about how to contact them.

Google:  Do a search for “Fan Mail + (Celebrity Name)”.  The search results should yield links to web pages that will give you contact information for the celebrity.

Twitter Account:  Find their twitter account and tweet a private message to their inbox.

SOCIAL MEDIA: 

You can conduct keyword search on popular social media sites for brand ambassadors and identify those with a large following that would best represent your brand.

CUSTOMERS:

Entice customers to promote your brand on their own time.  One of the moethod you could use is to give them huge discounts when they buy products and encourage friends to buy products at a discount.  Here is an example of one company (Verbero) doing just that.

OTHER:

Thuzio
Thuzio has a comprehensive tool that lets you compare celebrity profiles and pick the right one for your brand.  This is not a free service.

Zoomph

Zoomph is a platform that lets you automate your search for a brand ambassador by enabling you to collect and rank social content from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and google+ on potential brand ambassadors. 

Around Campus Group

Around Campus Group offers the opportunity to hire Brand Ambassadors for your brand.  Reach millions  college students across the U.S.  Their student Brand Ambassadors know the ins-and-outs of their college town, and thrive in their classrooms around campus clubs.

SocialGlory

SocialGlory lets you design your ad campaign, find the right ambassadors, negotiate with collaborators direcvtly, empower your ambassadors, track their posts and raise your brand’s value and sales.

Activate

Use this platform to select the right brand ambassador and create and manage your campaigns.

Viral Nation

Our influencer talent agency represents top social media influencers on Vine, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter & Snapchat. We leverage our 300 million reach and growing to pair social media creators with top brands.

Hello Society

HelloSociety's network of 1,500+ influencers is comprised of the most talented and influential creators on social media.  These influencers are incredibly diverse, representing a wide spectrum in age, location and area of interest—but all have earned their audiences through their ability to curate and create the most beautiful, unique and inspiring images from across the web.