So, how do you use brand ambassadors to generate more leads for your business? No matter how you define it, ambassadors are here to advocate for your brand, online or offline. Cultivating a community of like-minded people who are eager to share your message with the world will help your brand create an effective, low-cost organic marketing channel that you own entirely. Building a community of brand ambassadors is an opportunity to establish a real and trustworthy connection with fans of your brand. This rings true particularly for college students, who have tremendous influence among their peers. Student housing companies, for example, have begun to lean on student ambassadors as an effective way to increase awareness, reach, and generate more leads.
Beyond growing your community of brand fans, how exactly can you use ambassadors to generate more leads?
Have An Effective Social Media Strategy
Social media is the strongest way to increase your brand’s overall engagement, which greatly contributes to generating tangible leads. Over 75% of consumers say they go online and research a business before choosing whether to make a purchase. Having a strong social media presence where ambassadors are advocating for your brand is crucial to establishing strong brand loyalty and reputation.
It’s important to keep your community active and involved, especially on college campuses. Creating exciting challenges for your followers is a direct invitation for them to become more involved with your brand. It also offers your brand an opportunity to understand more about your brand community and build relationships with your biggest fans. Giving your community a voice and encouraging them to share will make them feel closer to and more inclined to engage with your brand.
If your social media campaigns aren’t producing the amount of conversions you would like to see, you can also loosely monitor brand fans that are consistently liking and commenting on your social media posts. Responding to comments or messaging fans could be a more straightforward way to generate tangible leads.
Keep Your Brand Ambassadors Motivated
One of the biggest challenges of community management is maintaining high levels of engagement. However, if managed effectively, a community of dedicated ambassadors can raise brand awareness and generate true organic growth. By encouraging open communication, acknowledging hard work, and offering incentives, your ambassadors will work hard to improve your brand’s reach and visibility. When ambassadors are truly excited about your brand they will work best to create authentic content and growth, unlocking the full potential that a community of ambassadors can provide.
Incentives are a great way to get the most out of your ambassador program and ensure tangible leads are being generated. Having goals and benchmarks for ambassadors to reach will motivate them to go above and beyond in their responsibilities. Offering merchandise, experiences, and even cash to your ambassadors for each lead generated can motivate your community and keep them consistently engaged with your brand. College students particularly are extremely busy with classes, clubs, and social life, so ensure that your brand is offering strong incentives for them to continue working hard to generate leads.
Generate More Leads: Hyper Localized Marketing
While one benefit of an ambassador program is the reach they can establish, oftentimes niche marketing can lead to much higher conversion rates. Take student ambassadors for example. One of the biggest advantages of establishing a student ambassador program is the hyper localized marketing opportunities they offer. 82% of consumers said they are more likely to make a purchase from a micro influencer like a student ambassador than a large scale macro influencer. For college students, life in and out of school revolves around the campus, so the connections they have is a very niche circle of influence.
Let’s use student housing as an example. College-aged ambassadors are a critical link between generating leads and making your properties the “cool” place to live. Having student ambassadors share their real life experiences of being a resident is a critical tool when appealing to incoming and prospective students and their families. People are always looking for genuine information in a sea of click bait and misinformation, and there is nothing more reliable than a shared experience. Being able to relate to someone on a personal level is an extremely strong way to generate leads, especially for the college-aged demographic.
Ambassadors are versatile, and while they mainly help with strengthening your brand image and reach, they have the capability to impact your bottom line as well. By effectively using social media, keeping your ambassadors properly motivated, and ensuring your ambassadors are a part of the proper niche are great ways to generate strong leads for your brand.
