Recently I have been contacted by multiple companies regarding becoming a brand ambassador. I don’t have a very large follower count honestly its not large at all I only have 360 followers but the photos are very well put together and show a lot of detail especially when it comes to products. I know from friend that most companies will try to use influencers for free advertisement and I for one am not looking to pay $100 for a product just so they get the attention plus a profit off my hard work. For this small instagramer what should I do if anyone had tips to help a girl out that would be incredibly helpful.
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It sounds like by ambassador it’s just an affiliate program where they give you a private coupon code for 10% off your own purchases or something, and they basically make you buy everything for a small discount so you can promote them.
So if you’re not really into their products, and not really interested in paying for them, then there’s probably zero value in it for you, beyond feeling validated as an “ambassador” which essentially means nothing. Providing them with revenue for a tiny minuscule perk that only benefits people who’d buy their stuff regularly.
You’d have to check the website of that company and see, but that’s what every “ambassador” program I’ve seen is like.
Sometimes they’ll give you points for a public referral code, which adds up to more money off future purchases, but never anything worth the time spamming your code to your followers and giving the company more free promotion.
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Its to be expected from small accounts with less than 1,000 followers.
Its a stepping stone however. If you are aligned with them, go for it. And it positions you as being someone who will potentially be honest with their audience to give them advice or show off their personality to connect with them.
think about it this way:
What do they want?
- potential customers
- SOMONE who is in line with their brand’s values (inspirational, passionate)
- SOMEONE who has a relationship with their fans
- SOMEONE who is a FAN of the BRAND
- someone consistent (not one off posts every 1-3 weeks)
- more content for their brand
What do YOU WANT (different options)
- their products/services
- A form of payment (a fee for sharing their product to a crowd of potential buyers)
- exposure - bragging rights for being associated with them
- a brand that matches your values (honest and in good terms with)
Based on that, you have a variety of ways to offer to work together:
-
1-time post deals (tend to not do so well but good for you). Often see these in bigger accounts where they keep it up for X amount of hours since it might alter their feed and post impressions die down.
-
Multiple post deals (better in terms of ROI for them and YOU because you are showing up consistently and recommending them more than once) Better for long-term relationship with said brand.
-
(optional - i have not explored this fully yet but ive been thinking about) You create an ad for them with your account - promoting their products… Also known as a Dark post. (your fans dont see this, but you will be positioning the as good since its not coming from them directly) Like a news reporter post
Common requirements on your behalf:
- post 1 quality photo at least every other week (with good visuals)
- be respectful of their brand - positive message
- include links to the website, mention their account, to use their hashtag or sharing unique discount code
- 6 month ambassadorship?
- give your contact details, website, other social media accounts
- provide a short essay on why you are interested in them: your qualities, your passions, motivations, inspirations.
If they’re a good brand they will:
- support you as their ambassador
- promote you in their community
- give you tools, tips for better results
- might give promotional material to make it easier to create for them
- exclusive discount code
- earnings potential in the long term
Anyway, pricing for these things is like the wild west… you can charge whatever you like.
Im still gathering data to help my clients plan a program like this for themselves.
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Hey @ashleysworthy can you give us 1 or 2 messages from this brands? I want to know exactly what they offer
My recommendation is to secure a contract with a serious company. Only big brands are willing to invest in small accounts. Big brands like adidas,nike or reebok are willing to give you money if you are relevant in your community. For them it matters if you are 100% dedicated, not just on social.
You will find that big brands don’t track your clicks or conversion, they are not so budget driven, they know that in the long run it’s worth it. Influencers will become expensive anyway.
As @tripleyourtribe said, if they are a good brand they will have the money to support you as an ambassador (not affiliate)
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be careful with this, there are a number of companies whose entire business model is through recruiting “brand ambassadors” to give them a “discount” on their intentionally overpriced products. It’s preying on people via flattery and pretty gross imo.
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Exactly what my point was. When you only have 300 followers it’s pretty clear they know you don’t have any real “influence” so it’s just a money making scheme for them.
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My sister started getting sponsorships at 5k but she had to hustle famebit a lot. I was told by most agencies that it’s really at 20k where you will get deals regularly and in fact it’s what happened for me. Of course niche, quality, location, following stats etc, is what ultimately will decide if you’re hired but that being said, my sister had a pretty normal 16yo girl account so anything is possible I guess. Unless you get more followers you shouldn’t get your hopes up but you can no doubt find a service that can help you grow for pretty cheap.
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