Being a brand ambassador might sound like a dream job. After all, who doesn’t want to get paid to travel, cook, or play video games? However, monetizing your social media presence takes more than posting a few photos or making a couple of videos in your free time.
Content creators can earn income by working with compatible brands. These partnerships are often mutually beneficial—brands benefit from an ambassador’s ability to reach new customers and the ambassadors are paid for their efforts. It’s a win-win—but only if all the conditions are right first.
Discover what it takes to become a great brand ambassador and pick up a few tips for attracting brand deals.
What is a brand ambassador?
A brand ambassador is someone who works with a company to promote its products or services. Unlike contracts for sponsored posts or ads, companies typically work with brand ambassadors to represent their products or services for a long period of time. Ambassadors may create multiple pieces of content and promote the brand online or in the real world.
Ambassadors working on digital media platforms may create social media posts, host live Q&A sessions, or participate in other promotions to highlight the brand’s message or products. Alternatively, they may work in person by attending industry events or participating in brand activations.
Brand ambassadors promote brand awareness to increase sales. Companies compensate their ambassadors in correlation to the volume of customers they bring into the fold. They may receive commissions on sales generated by their content or hourly fees for appearances and in-person events.
Pros and cons of being a brand ambassador
A brand ambassadorship is a substantial commitment. Consider the pros and cons of forming a long-term partnership with a brand before agreeing to a contract:
Pros of being a brand ambassador
- Steady income: A brand ambassador role can be a terrific way to earn money for people with the right skills. Forming an ongoing partnership with a brand can lead to a steady stream of income and reduce the need to look for additional monetization opportunities.
- Increased visibility: If you’re looking for greater publicity yourself, brand ambassadorships are a two-way street. Partnering with a major brand can give you access to a broad audience.
- Expanded network: Joining a brand ambassador program may help you expand your professional network since in-person events are opportunities to get to know other ambassadors and meet representatives from other brands.
- Professional development: Partnering with a brand can help you build marketing and analytics skills in addition to your content creation chops. You’ll get an up-close and personal look at how successful companies create campaigns to generate leads and increase brand awareness.
- Access to product discounts: Brand ambassadors often receive exclusive discounts and free products in addition to cash compensation.
Cons of being a brand ambassador
- Reputation risks: As a brand ambassador, you’ll be tied to the company you represent for better or for worse. If the company makes a misstep or suffers from a PR crisis, it can have a negative impact on you as their brand partner.
- Time commitment: You’ll likely need to set aside time to attend events and create content to support your brand partners. Committing to a brand ambassadorship often means spending less time focusing on your personal content efforts.
- Compromise on content quality: Most brands ask ambassadors to create content featuring their products and following certain brand guidelines. Branded content may have a different tone than your organic posts, and sharing too much branded content may come across as inauthentic and negatively affect your engagement rates.
- Varied compensation: Some successful brand ambassadors earn significant income, but compensation is often based on performance and quite a bit of luck for both you and your partner organizations. If your followers aren’t likely to purchase products, you may not make much money from your partnership.
How to become a brand ambassador
- Hone your voice
- Grow your online community
- Up your engagement
- Network with other influencers
- Build an influencer kit
- Research brands
- Check the job boards
- Build professional contacts
If you’re interested in taking on brand ambassador roles, take the following steps to make your social media feed appealing to potential brand partners:
1. Hone your voice
Work on building a strong personal brand. Don’t be afraid to post niche content that focuses on a specific topic and establishes subject matter expertise. This can make your account appealing to relevant partners. If your area of focus aligns with the brand’s target audience, you’ll be a natural fit.
For example, if you love cooking, consider sharing your genuine passion for recipes as a food influencer. Once you’ve established your authority, you may be able to land a successful brand ambassador gig with cookware brands.
2. Grow your online community
Companies look for partners with active followings. Brands see an engaged audience as evidence that your community trusts you and that your content could influence followers to purchase.
To build that following, populate your social media accounts with high-quality content. Establish a regular posting cadence by planning a social media content calendar. Frequent posts will help attract followers, and creators with large follower counts are more likely to attract partnerships. Brand ambassadors are often compensated based on audience size—you’ll earn more money with more followers.
3. Up your engagement
Post authentic content to attract likes and comments and boost your engagement rate. Ask your followers questions. Solicit feedback to create natural opportunities for engagement. Write comments on other accounts’ content to help boost your page’s visibility. Follow other influencers and interact with their content. If they return the favor, your account will benefit from the exchange.
Companies look for brand ambassadors who can influence their followers. A high engagement rate shows brands that your audience is invested in your content and is paying attention.
4. Network with other influencers
Once you’ve established a cohesive online personality, get to know influencers who focus on similar topics. Building relationships with other content creators can lead to content partnerships. Consider collaborating with influencers you admire. Creating content together can help both partners reach new audiences. You may also learn from their experience about what good potential brand partners (and maybe even some brands to avoid), and other tips on how to become a successful brand ambassador.
5. Build an influencer kit
Put together an influencer media kit to highlight your appeal to potential partners. You can use this one-to-two-page document to reach out to your dream brands and inquire about becoming a brand ambassador.
Media kits typically provide engagement statistics, a list of active social media platforms, and a summary of your follower counts. Include audience demographic information and any memorable successes that demonstrate your account’s unique value.
6. Research brands
Join networks like Shopify Collabs to see which brands are looking for creative partners. Research your favorite brands to see if they’re accepting ambassador applications. If you partner with a brand that you genuinely love, you’ll be able to bring authentic excitement to your promotions.
Get to know the company before you accept an ambassadorship position. Test the brand’s products to make sure you feel comfortable endorsing them to your audience. Research the brand’s values and make sure they align with your views to minimize reputational risks.
7. Check the job boards
Keep your eyes peeled for brand ambassador opportunities. Some organizations advertise their brand ambassador programs on job boards—submitting an application may help you get your foot in the door.
8. Build professional contacts
Reach out to brand representatives and share your influencer media kit. You can also connect with PR agencies that work with multiple brands. If you build a strong network of professional contacts, agencies might come to you with opportunities from other brands in their portfolio.
How to become a brand ambassador FAQ
Do brand ambassadors get paid?
Yes. Brand ambassadors may receive hourly compensation for in-person appearances such as hosting events or attending conferences. They also often receive commission payments. Brands use tracking tags and dedicated discount codes to monitor the sales generated by specific ambassadors. Ambassadors receive a portion of the profit from these sales.
How many followers do I need to be a brand ambassador?
There’s no specific follower threshold for brand ambassadors. Many brands prefer working with micro-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) with an engaged audience over those with a huge following and lower engagement rates.
What are the qualifications of a brand ambassador?
Brand ambassadors need to have a strong online following, good communication skills, and a knack for creating eye-catching content.
