You’ve already got an influencer marketing program off the ground? That’s great – but there is more that you could be doing to build off the momentum of your top performing content creators. Like rolling out an ambassador campaign that contracts social media gurus for a long period of time, going beyond just promoting a single product launch and turning them into a modern day version of a brand ambassador.
For a successful ambassador campaign, you’ll want to kick off with influencers that you’ve already collaborated with or those who have been longtime organic fans of the brand, as you’ll want to make sure this longer-term activation is a good fit for both parties.
Furthermore, you want potential customers to really buy into the partnership. So make a key goal of your ambassador program to create trust between influencers, their followers and your brand. This will prove to be super beneficial for the industries that tend to have a barrier to entry (like healthcare, supplements, and subscription or membership services), as this sense of confidence can lead to stronger brand sentiment, increased awareness and hopefully future conversions.
Here, let’s dive into three successful ambassador campaigns.
Groupon
The digital coupon site executed a three-month ambassador campaign starting September 2021 on Instagram. But rather than activating the same influencers each month, Groupon simply reactivated the top 5 content creators for each consecutive campaign. With this strategy, they used learnings, data and stats to build a program that actually performs.
For example, when it was clear that static content was more compelling to audiences than video, the team was able to contract influencers who specialized in and excelled at that medium. Since Groupon’s offers tend to span across a variety of topics, they were also able to learn which verticals were the highest performing on the app, which included families, couples and foodies, and they were able to use that information for future campaigns.
Athletic Greens
This purveyor of a high-quality, clean powdered green supplement has set their sights on TikTok. And to date, they’ve racked up over 25.6 million views on #athleticgreenspartner. That figure is impressive, of course, but it’s especially useful for a powdered health beverage that isn’t the easiest product to market. Not only are there a handful of limitations on how supplements can be marketed to consumers in the US but consumers really need to be truly influenced in order to buy into this product.
But while a one-off video from a TikToker might not move the needle in terms of sales, a handful of influencers repeatedly discussing how often they drink Athletic Greens and how delicious it tastes when mixed into water can really speak to health-conscious shoppers. For example, the brand tapped gut health authorities @guttalkgirls, who kicked off their Athletic Greens campaign on January 1st with a “new year, new energy” angle and have continued posting regularly about their fave features of the supplement, including a recent TikTok that went live on February 24. The brand is also working with @kateglavan (perhaps best known for being part of the West Elm Caleb drama) who has posted more than once about her fave features of the green supplement.
Equinox
This luxe gym chain is known for having not-so-affordable membership rates, so testing out an ambassador program is a great way to showcase the long term benefits of signing up. Or at least slightly lower the barrier to entry for signing up. Unlike a beauty or fashion brand, health services can be a harder sell via social media marketing as they don’t quite have the same level of instant gratification. You can immediately wear a dress after buying it but you won’t see the results from a gym membership until a few months after signup (that is, if you’re actually going to the gym and working out regularly during that time period). Which might explain why Equinox’s strategy includes shaping an ambassador program out of NYC-based influencers who are already members.
Not only does this showcase an organic partnership but it creates a level of trustworthiness, as followers get to see genuine, non-sponsored posts turn into a monetized – but still believable – advertisement. And with a look at all the benefits that Equinox has to offer, from those famous eucalyptus towels to the world-class trainers available for booking, these well-rounded social pushes can cover a lot of ground and promote quite a few marketing pushes without seeming overwhelming.
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