INDEX 1. THE MARKETING CHALLENGE AMBASSADOR MARKETING HOW TO GET STARTED THE AMBASSADOR CANVAS USE CASE...

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "INDEX 1. THE MARKETING CHALLENGE AMBASSADOR MARKETING HOW TO GET STARTED THE AMBASSADOR CANVAS USE CASE..."

Transcription

1 SOCIAL SEEDER

2 INDEX 1. THE MARKETING CHALLENGE AMBASSADOR MARKETING HOW TO GET STARTED THE AMBASSADOR CANVAS USE CASE CONCLUSION

3 SOCIAL SEEDER THE MARKETING CHALLENGE

4 THE MARKETING CHALLENGE WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT MARKETING STRATEGY LOOKS LIKE AND WHICH PROBLEMS ARE YOU FACING? SOCIAL MEDIA According to reports, you might be investing on Social Media. Brands are spending at least 50% of their budgets on just three platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. While Social Media is certainly a great way to spread the word about your company, to project, create and maintain the right strategy is never easy. The platforms teach their algorithms to eliminate not engaging or fake content which leads to constant pressure for the brands. Companies feel the stress to create content every day, just to avoid en empty page. Brands don t own their social media channels and there is a pay to play attitude from the platforms, especially from Facebook. The times of free social advertisement are long gone. Digital marketers have to refine their strategies and still might not get results: 60% of the social marketers think of measuring the ROI of their social media channels the top challenge they have to face. Another big concern, especially among small business, is getting to the right audience: 62% of the owners say Facebook miss their targets. 4

5 SPONSORISED BUY BUYBUY.NET!! CRAZY PRICES!! YOU DON T WANT TO MISS THIS!! BUY NO W SPONSORISED BUY BUYBUY.NET!! CRAZY PRICES!! YOU DON T WANT TO MISS THIS!! BUY NO W THE MARKETING CHALLENGE DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENT The challenge for Social Media advertising can be extended to the whole digital advertisement plan of your company when using a cross-platform strategy. Where does the return on what you spend come from, if there is any? The actual model of last-click attribution gives the credit of a conversion to the channel where the last click happened. However, this is not enough to understand where the sales exactly come from if you are managing different campaigns on different channels. BUY NOW BUY NOW $$$ ADBLOCK BUY NOW BUY NOW $$$ If all that wasn t enough, another challenge that you might face on digital campaigns are the users itself: the users and the ad blockers. Mobile adblocking grew 30% on a global scale last year and the trend doesn t seem to stop. This means less supply impressions which leads to the remaining inventory to be higher repriced: the advertisers end up paying more for the same objectives. That s where ambassador marketing can make the difference. 5

6 #highlight Find the way to create content that is authentic and personal, that encourages conversation and gets the best return on investment

7 SOCIAL SEEDER AMBASSADOR MARKETING

8 WHAT IS AMBASSADOR MARKETING? AMBASSADOR MARKETING IS THE WORD OF MOUTH OF THE 21ST CENTURY. WORD OF MOUTH HAS BEEN THE WAY TO SHARE PREFERENCES AND OPINIONS FOR CENTURIES AND IT STILL CAN BE KEY FOR A GOOD MARKETING CAMPAIGN. THE NUMBERS GIVE PROVE OF IT 74% of the users would trust word of mouth referral for a purchase. This statistic grows up to 91% on the B2B scenario. People are more likely to stay loyal to a brand if it has been referred to them by someone close than by any other means. Buyers have a stronger bond with a brand if their friends and acquaintances share it. The lifetime value of referred clients is 16% higher. Customers are 4 times more likely to buy through word of mouth. 8

9 #highlight Ambassador marketing means creating a personal bond with customers, out of honesty, authenticity, trust and inspiration. It is word of mouth taken to the next level on the actual social media situation

10 WHAT IS AN AMBASSADOR? A brand Ambassador is a person who represents your brand, product, service or event because they feel an authentic bond with it and they wish to spread the word with their closer circle of friends, family and social media channels. TYPES OF AMBASSADORS EMPLOYEES PARTNERS INVESTORS CUSTOMERS USERS BLOGGERS INFLUENCERS CELEBRITIES FANS FOLLOWERS They belong to the company or they have a direct relation with it. The trust comes from the first hand information they can provide about the products, services and projects. They don t belong directly to the organisation but they have direct contact with it. They have purchased or used the product, enjoyed a service or have seen its impact. They have a very big audience of followers and their trust comes from their celebrity status. They can be considered as a new channel for the brand. They might have less audience but the reach and credibility is much higher than paid ambassadors. If they have a good experience with the brand, they are happy to share it with the people around. They represent the culture and values of the company. The trust comes from their own experience as users or purchasers. Related post: 5 Different Influencer Types Decoded 10

11 BENEFITS OF AMBASSADOR MARKETING PERSONALISE YOUR BRAND Brand ambassadors will become the real face of your brand. This will humanise the company in the eyes of their peers and followers. The relation with future customers will get personal and authentic in a moment when engagement with customers matters more than ever. INCREASE SOCIAL REACH The online reputation of your ambassadors will increase your reach on social media Every time they share information of your brand it will be from a genuine source and not a paid advertisement. The reach will be in quantity and quality. BOOST ONLINE REPUTATION Ambassadors can build good reputations online for you through positive comments and good reviews and referrals. They might also help your brand in front of a negative review or online comment. 11

12 BENEFITS OF AMBASSADOR MARKETING GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE Every time your ambassadors share your content on social media, they create traffic to your website, and even help increase the SEO ranking of your domain. IT TAKES THE BRAND FURTHER Brand ambassadors can bring your company to regions or places where you are not able to or just didn t think about. Especially if the brand is starting in a new area, the word of the ambassadors can make a big difference. IT IS COST EFFECTIVE Ambassadors are not sharing the world about your brand just for the money. The currency in ambassador marketing is trust, honesty and authenticity. This is a lot of effort but the return on investment you get is priceless. 12

13 WHAT CAN YOU USE AMBASSADOR MARKETING FOR? Ambassador marketing is not just a matter of selling more or getting more likes. Ambassadors can help companies and organisations spread the word at many different levels. MARKETING: As we have seen before, ambassadors can help a lot in your campaigns. They will spread the word about your company in the most authentic and honest way through all the channels available. Marketing effectiveness improves up to 54% thanks to brand ambassadors. RECRUITING: Finding the best fit for your company is not always easy. The processes can take time and recruiting companies charge a lot of money for it. Ambassadors can help in getting the vacancies to the right profiles. What is more, the interested workers will have firsthand information about the company even before they apply. 13

14 WHAT CAN YOU USE AMBASSADOR MARKETING FOR? $ $ FUNDRAISING AND NON-PROFITS: Trust is essential for NGOs and non-profit organisations. Potential donors will be more open to contribute to a cause if someone close backs it up. SOCIAL SELLING: Using social networks to find, connect, understand and nurture prospects is nothing new but thanks to ambassador marketing it can be taken a step further. 14

15 SOCIAL SEEDER HOW TO GET STARTED

16 HOW TO GET STARTED Creating a brand ambassador strategy for your brand is worth the effort and the sooner you start, the sooner you will see results. FIRST THINGS FIRST: ESTABLISH CLEAR GOALS To get started with your brand ambassador strategy you need to know where you are going and how are you getting there. As we have seen, ambassadorship can serve many purposes but the most important is to be specific on your objectives with figures and dates. Whether you want to increase your sales or recruit a new member for the team, be clear about your goals, it is the best way off to a good start. TIME TO MAKE A PLAN! Once your goals are created, you need to think of the 4 main steps of your ambassadorr program: 1. Recruitment: how can you identify and recruit your ambassadors? 2. Activation: what do you want from your ambassadors and how will you accomplich it? 3. Engagement: how can you create a community feeling among your ambassadors? 4. Harvest: how can you measure the resuts? 16

17 #highlight The difference between a dream and a goal is the plan

18 RECRUIT WHERE SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR YOUR AMBASSADORS? EMPLOYEES The first place where you should look for ambassadors is in your own company. They know everything about the brand and they might be willing to share their experience with the world. If they feel involved with the company they will be happy to ask other people to get involved.. CURRENT CUSTOMERS Take a look at your actual clients and identify the ones you know are enthusiastic about your brand They will be willing to share their positive firsthand experience with your product and spread their favourable opinions 18

19 RECRUIT SOCIAL MEDIA Your social media channels are full of fans and followers who really like your brand and might be happy to share your messages with their audiences. Look for those who look like your ideal customers and who have an interesting audience. Remember that it s not just about quantity but quality of followers. 100 hardcore fans are better than who are not engaged. ONLINE The web is full of potential ambassadors. Start looking for bloggers on your sector or influencers, but don t stop there. Check YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. Search for the right keywords and the ambassadors will be easier to find. HOW NOKIA TURNED THEIR EMPLOYEES INTO AMBASSADORS Nokia was setting a whole new strategy for the brand and it started with involving their employees. They motivated the workers to share their stories online and their positive feelings for the company. The employee s stories have boost Nokia s credibility and excitement around the brand and have become crucial in the recruitment process. Read full case 19

20 ACTIVATE WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR AMBASSADORS? First of all, decide what you want from your ambassadors and let them know. Make sure that you are on the same page. Answer their questions and make their ambassadorship as easy as possible. Segment your ambassadors and make sure that you understand their interests and needs. Segmentation is the most important step to run highly-targeted campaigns. Content is key. If you want your ambassadors to share your campaigns you should make it easier for them to find and distribute your stories. Don t leave them alone to do the job. Give them tools to spread the word and educate them on how to be your brand ambassadors. Offer them support and information like tutorials or webinars. HOW 3M SIMPLIFIED THE PROCESS TO GET MORE REVIEWS 3M ESPE is a dental product manufacturer for professionals. They wanted to get more reviews from their customers but realised that the dentists were too busy to answer their time-consuming review process. They simplified the process for the professionals and got a 200% increase on the reviews in just a few days. Read full case 20

21 ENGAGE HOW DO YOU CREATE A RELATIONSHIP? Brand ambassadorship is not just about the ambassadors spreading the word for you. To make sure that they are engaged it is important to build strong relationships with them. Communicate everything to them. Empower them to keep being ambassadors. Let them feel how this is a mutual relationship. You can reward them but not just with money. Give them exclusivity: events, etc. premieres, invitations to The most important reward for them is the sense of belonging. HOW THE MAKEUP COMPANY GLOSSIER IS ENGAGING WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVENTS AND GETTING 90% OF REVENUE Glossier, an American makeup company created in 2014, is spreading the word about their products thanks to an engaged fanbase of their products. The fans follow all the news about the brand and share their experiences on social media. In exchange, Glossier shares their images, always answer to their questions on the platforms and asks them for advice. They also organise events through Slack chat groups where ambassadors can try new products and bond. Read full case 21

22 #highlight Your ambassadors are part of your brand and they must feel this way

23 HARVEST HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A CAMPAIGN IS SUCCESFUL? To be sure that the brand ambassador campaigns are working on the right direction it is important to get results, be able to measure them and be specific. Tracking your campaigns and ambassadors is the only way to know where the results come from. Monitoring your strategies is also the best way to identify your most loyal ambassadors and reward them accordingly. Which metrics should you track for each campaign? Brand reach Traffic to your websites Revenue generated Active ambassadors Number of shares and CTR HOW THE UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES CREATED A BETTER RELATION WITH THEIR STUDENTS AND HOW THEY MEASURED IT The main goal of the univertsity was to create a better relationship with their students. For this reason, they focused their analysis of the results in the engagement of the students and their participation in the program: 2100 Ambassadors recruited and 95% still active after year one Each ambassador generates an average of 28,3 clicks 15% of the ambassadors share regularly on at least two social media channels Read full case 23

24 SOCIAL SEEDER AMBASSADOR CANVAS

25 PUT EVERYTHING IN ONE PAGE This looks like a lot to bear in mind but this process can be simplified if you ask the right questions first. The best way to keep perspective on the brand ambassador strategy of your company is to monitor the process from the beginning till the end. AMBASSADOR CANVAS DESIGNED BY: DESIGNED FOR: DATE: VERSION: GOALS HARVEST RECRUIT AMBASSADOR S PROGRAM NAME OWNERSHIP ENGAGE ACTIVATE TIMING Download the ambassador canvas 25

26 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS To start with this Ambassador canvas, ask yourself some questions on every aspect of the brand ambassador campaign: Who are your ambassadors? Where will you find them? How are you approaching them? RECRUIT What will you ask your ambassadors? Which will be the frequency? Which are the channels? ACTIVATE Are you going to segment your ambassadors for this campaign? Which kind of relation you want to have with your ambassadors? What are you giving them and when? How will you make them feel part of the brand? ENGAGE Which KPIs will you use to measure the effectiveness of the campaign? How long will the campaign last? Which conversion do you expect? HARVEST Which improvement do you expect from the last campaign? 26

27 SOCIAL SEEDER USE CASE

28 HOUSE OF WEDDINGS Ambassador marketing campaigns are full of success stories, from marketing to recruitment and non-profits. Let s have a look at how House of Weddings did it: House of Weddings, Belgium is an online quality label guide of premium wedding vendors. They wanted to promote their brand by making use of their strong partner network. Existing social media channels had proved to be at times expensive and unstable. Looking for a creative and more efficient solution, they decided to launch an ambassador program. 28

29 HOUSE OF WEDDINGS GOALS Create awareness around the brand on social media. Engage their partner network. Find a cost-efficient marketing approach, with a high ROI. SOLUTION House of Weddings organized an exclusive event for clients and invited all to become ambassadors for their brand. Their ambassador program was named Wedding Experts : they offered their ambassadors expertise to share with their followers, so they in return could boost their credibility and expertise They organized a challenge: every 3 months, House of Weddings rewards the top ambassador with a personalized article on their business. RESULTS 30 clients become online ambassadors of House of Weddings during the event and in the following month their ambassador network grew up to 50 (and keeps growing!). An average of 1 share per ambassador per campaign. An average of 44 clicks generated per ambassador. Check more use cases in socialseeder.com 29

30 SOCIAL SEEDER CONCLUSION

31 AMBASSADOR MARKETING: A GREAT INVESTMENT FOR YOUR BRAND A brand ambassador is key to improve your marketing strategy in a personal and emotional way. Reach your customers where they are and create a bond of trust and loyalty with them. 31

32 TIME TO RELEASE THE POWER OF YOUR AMBASSADORS Social Seeder can help you start your brand Ambassadors today and get all the steps of the process in just one platform. SIGN UP FOR A DEMO AND DISCOVER THE POWER OF AMBASSADOR MARKETING SIGN UP HERE 31