Brand Ambassadors: 5 Helpful Ways To Make Them Work For You (Free Of Charge!)

When it comes to successful marketing, many big companies often use brand ambassadors to serve as the voice and face for their products. Apple, Nike, and Target — they all have them. While you may not have a large enough budget to hire a paid celebrity spokesperson like they do, non-profits can still take advantage of the same tactics that these big companies use to market their products. In this latest post, the Epstein Creative Group explains how you, too, can make brand ambassadors work for you. Best of all, it won’t cost you a single penny.

Halle Berry for Revlon. Jennifer Aniston for Aveeno. Jennifer Lopez for L’Oreal—what do these celebrities have in common? They are all brand ambassadors for some of the most successful companies in the world, proudly endorsing and promoting their products, everything from lotion to hair color.

Along with the commercials that inundate television, these high-profile brand ambassadors proudly wear and use the products created by the company they represent. What do these companies get in return? A lot of exposure, of course. While many non-profits lack the budget to hire a celebrity spokesperson, there is certainly a lot that can be learned and applied from the “for-profit world.” Best of all, it’s FREE!

Consider this. According to research by Nielsen, 92 percent of people trust recommendations from friends and family more than all other forms of marketing. The same study found that less than half of all customers consider traditional paid advertising to be credible—that’s a decrease of more than 20 percent since 2009!

As you can see, there is no better time to activate your very own brand ambassadors. Clients would much rather hear from your “Average Joe” than someone paid to endorse a product or service. Endorsements that come without a price tend to be more genuine anyway.

Non-profit brand ambassadors can help your organization in a variety of ways. This might include sharing, tweeting, and ‘liking’ posts related to your organization. They might also write articles for your blog, take pictures and share them with their friends, or reach out to their inner circle in an effort to raise money on your behalf. Bottom line—they can support you on many, many levels; however, it FIRST starts with you.

If you’re ready to take your brand to the next level, here’s how to get started:

Start With Good Internal Communication

Building a team of brand ambassadors starts with your internal team by providing the tools and resources to clearly convey who your brand is, what you stand for, and how to share that in a simple and meaningful way with the outside world. When you have those ingredients, you have a strong and solid recipe to fuel your brand ambassadors into action.

Consistency

Consistency builds trust, and people give to people and organizations they trust. You don’t need a million-dollar budget to make sure that everyone on your team knows the same mission statement elevator pitch or that your logo is always in the same color and format on all your marketing materials, online and on paper. Or that no matter who answers the phone or answers a question, your staff members are all on the same page using the same messaging and lingo. How much does it cost? Nothing.

Create A Designated Place

Have one designated place (online or in a notebook) where everyone can access it. You should have branding guidelines, mission, vision, position statements, how you should answer the phone, how to answer common questions, what email signature should look like, and what your letterhead and envelope look like. A list of your brand colors and fonts.

Interact, Interact, Interact!

Every interaction on paper, online, or in person is an opportunity for others to experience and interact with your brand. Don’t lose those opportunities to make a strong and memorable impression.

Make The Most Of Your Volunteers

After your staff is up to speed, next turn to your volunteers. Provide them with the same tools to consistently speak, look, and act like your brand. This could be a simple handbook or checklist. The more people you have on your team spreading your message, the more people you can reach.

Building an internal culture where everyone is clear and has the tools to accurately and consistently represent your brand is the first step. Can you say that you are doing this? We would love to hear your ideas. Share your ideas and tools for creating brand ambassadors.

Need help getting started? The Epstein Creative Group can help you with more ideas to build a solid brand for your organization and a solid recipe to fuel your brand ambassadors into action.  Simply fill out this contact form to hear back from Epstein Creative.