Brand Ambassadors Are A Must Have For Every Entrepreneur

Establishing your small business brand is essential. As an owner, do you have an army of brand ambassadors that will be advocates for your product if you release a new product or service? Establishing brand ambassadors for your business can help ensure your company’s marketing efforts stand out.

What’s the best way to secure ambassadors to promote your brand? BlackEnteprise.com consulted with members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Here’s what YEC members suggest:

Make It Easy. The easier something is to do, the more likely people will do it. So make sure they have all the tools, knowledge, and information they need at their disposal: samples, literature, swag, the right answers to common questions, a support system in place, etc. — Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

Be Authentic and Offer Incentives. When we open a new store, we first read local magazines and search on social media to find the key influencers who are out attending events on a weekly basis. We reach out to this influencer

list and offer a complimentary product to see if they like the brand. We then provide company credit for referrals, which can be significant given the number of people they’re meeting. — Fan Bi, Blank Label

Gather, Nurture and Ask. We’ve worked hard to create a lively and engaged Facebook group. We are in there every day answering questions, having conversations and celebrating our members. On the sixth week of membership, they receive a survey. Whenever we see a super fan come through, we reach out to do a member feature and ask if that person will help to be an ambassador  — Kim Walsh-Phillips

, Elite Digital Group

Make Your Customers Feel Included. Everyone loves a personal touch. Make sure you have an ongoing dialogue with your customers on a blog and on social networks. Address your audience directly, solicit responses to interesting questions, and shout out good responses in future posts. When people feel included in your cause, they are way more apt to help. — Andru Edwards, Gear Live

Only Engage People With Passion. The best ambassadors are those who don’t need convincing or compensation. If you have a great product or service, there are undoubtedly influencers out there who either already love using it or would love using it. Develop a list of target influencers you think make sense, reach out to gauge their passion and excitement about your offering. — Andrew Antonio, World View

Build a Microbrand First. Brand ambassadors are force multipliers. But they need something to work with. Start building your product and community before recruiting ambassadors. Ambassadors love working with brands that get great feedback from their fans. Show them that a few people already love your service, and they’ll follow your lead in promoting your company. — Neil Thanedar, LabDoor