Motivating Brand Ambassadors

Many brands are successfully leveraging brand ambassadors for a number of purposes: word-of-mouth marketing, generating content, and participating in design process. Ambassador networks should be seen not only as a communication channel, but also as a development resource.

There are plenty of reasons to have brand ambassadors. But what actually drives their ambassadorship? Let’s take a look at what the research says:

1. Promoting own projects. A study on Berlin’s citizen ambassador program find that “few citizens engaged in the ambassador program due to feelings of commitment or civic pride, but rather as a means to enhance the reach and exposure of their individual projects.” Although your platform shouldn’t be a marketing channel for direct competitors, this study suggests you should let ambassadors promote their own complementary projects and services.
2. Give first-hand information. A Swedish study shows that “ambassadors value getting access to first‐hand information about the place much more than the opportunity of taking part in meetings and events and forming new relationships”. Thus, make sure to give brand ambassadors the inside scoop so they have the prerequisites to talk about the brand.
3. Appealing to own self-concept & pride. It is more likely that brand ambassadors will generate positive word-of-mouth marketing if the product appeals to self-concept, and not just utilitarian purposes. In other words, if the cause of the brand is aligned with, and appealing to, the user’s identity, it is in a good position to convert the user into an ambassador.
4. Be open to inputs. A study on LEGO shows that co-communication only will succeed when values and cultures are aligned. To ensure this alignment, it is critical the company “remain[s] open to input from all stakeholders, because even opposing stakeholders at the periphery of the ecosystem can contribute with valuable adjustments at the core.”. To make sure both the brand and it’s ambassadors are on the same page, the brand actually needs to listen.

Also, do notice what’s not on this list: hard incentives such as giving money or products for free, although a Yahoo patent seeks to leverage just this.