1) DEFINE OBJECTIVES:
First, determine what brand or business objective(s) you need your brand ambassador program to contribute to, and then define the KPI goals for how you will get there. A few outcomes to consider:
Drive Loyalty (KPI Goal: X% lift in repeat purchase)
Drive Brand Lift (KPI Goal: X% lift in brand favorability/affinity)
Drive Brand Awareness (KP| Goal: X% lift in unaided awareness among target consumer)
2) DETERMINE INCENTIVE STRATEGY:
Incentive Timing: Give incentives before content creation, after or both
Incentive Mechanic: Activity-Based (e.g.
creation of a post), performance-based (e.g. engagements, click, conversions) or both
Incentive Type: Products, gift cards, loyalty points, VIP experiences, cash, affiliate commission or a combination of several types
3) IDENTIFY AMBASSADOR PERSONAS:
Top-Performing Influencers: Run multiple campaigns and evaluate top-performers to invite
Customer Base: Recruit from brand-owned touchpoints to tap into loyal customers’ organic brand passion
Brand Employees/Associates: Send invitations to employees and promote the program on the brand’s internal site.
4) INVITE AMBASSADORS TO APPLY:
Invite and vet potential ambassadors. Identify what each ambassador would bring to the table. The ambassador pool should be diverse.
Once ambassadors have been selected, provide them with the onboarding documents. This can be done with a kick-off meeting in person or virtually.
5) CONSISTENT PROGRAM CADENCE:
Brief ambassadors each month (or on a regular cadence) to request content by certain deadlines.
Evaluate ambassador performance throughout the program.
If certain influencers do not post, consider removing them and inviting a different content creator to join.
6) CLEARLY COMMUNICATE:
The more communication with ambassadors, the better relationships you build. Make sure to send Welcome email
• Brief/instructions email (make sure the brief maps to your objectives)
Photography/posting tips
Reminder emails with brief attached
“Thank you” email after, including a survey link to collect feedback
7) MEASURE SUCCESS:
Evaluate KPIs: How is your ambassador program performing relative to the goals you set?
Deepen Analysis of Success: Use any current tools or modeling your brand already has in place to deepen your analysis of success
Post-Campaign Survey: After the campaign is complete, send a survey to gain feedback from your ambassadors to optimize the
program