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So, you want to be a social brand ambassador. You’ve seen them on your Instagram feed promoting anything from “skinny teas” to athleisure wear, and you’ve thought to yourself, “Can I do that?”

The good news? You can.

The bad news? It won’t be easy.

With the rise of social media and the internet’s widespread availability, there’s a ton of competition when it comes to paving your way as an influencer and a brand ambassador. Here’s everything you need to know about what it takes to become a brand ambassador.

What is a Social Brand Ambassador?

Businesses know the importance of marketing themselves and their product to potential customers. They also know the fact that consumers are more willing and likely to engage with a person rather than a business.

The use of brand ambassadors arose as an attempt to capitalize on the marketing potential of celebrities. With the rise of social media and the internet, the term celebrity changed influencer, or someone with a big enough digital audience that their marketing potential should not be overlooked.

Put simply a brand ambassador is someone that is sponsored by a business to promote the products and events of that business. This is typically done over social media and involves the influencer posting media endorsing the brand and being paid to do so.

Does that sound like your dream job?

Steps to Getting Started as a Social Brand Ambassador

If you are interested in becoming a brand ambassador, here are the 4 steps that you should take to grow your influence and find success pitching to brands.

1. Craft Your Personal Brand

Personal branding is one of the most useful tools in an influencer’s tool belt. It’s what will set you apart from your competition and help to expand your reach. Here’s what you’ll need to do to craft an authentic and strong personal brand.

Know your niche. This should be a no-brainer. Find what you love and stick with it. You can choose from almost anything, but it’s important to find a niche with products and brands that you’d actually be interested in working with.

You can think of your personal brand as an extension of your image, and in the world of social media image is everything. Media agencies are a great tool for anyone trying to improve their image and build their online portfolio. Femme Fatale Media is hosting a Brand Ambassador Photo Shoot!

It’s the perfect move for someone who is just getting started. A professional photographer gets all of your best angles and insight from media professionals on how to increase your success as a brand ambassador. Grab tickets here.

2. Grow Your Audience

Brand ambassadors need to have a significant following. You’re going to need a decent number of followers. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to need millions of followers, but the more the merrier.

Depending on how distinct your niche is, you may fall under the category of a “nano-influencer.” These influencers don’t have huge followings and can range from a couple hundred to several thousand followers.

However, their audience is specific to their niche. Brands that utilize nano-influencers, target specific brand ambassadors because of the high potential of return when being endorsed to an audience who is already interested in their product.

Learn how to growth hack your followers. This is one of the hardest parts of being a brand ambassador. Your content will need to be good enough to keep your followers interested and keep them coming back for more.

You will need to become a part of your niche’s community by joining groups and engaging with others often. Your audience won’t grow overnight, but it’s important to find long-term high-engagement followers.

3. Set Up An Amazing Pitch

Brands aren’t going to flock to you unless you have an established online presence with a high number of followers. If you’re just starting out, you likely don’t meet that criterion. So, how do you get brands to show an interest in working with you?

You’ll need to pitch yourself.

Your personal brand comes into play here. Highlighting what sets you apart from your competition and what value you can bring to the company is a surefire way to generate interest. It is especially helpful if you pitch to brands that you love about products that you already use. Consumers care about authenticity, so be authentic in your endorsement of a brand or product.

Last, but not least, know who to pitch to. Sliding into the DM’s of your favorite brand will likely not yield any results. You need to find out who the media or marketing manager of the brand is and pitch to them. This is usually in the form of a cold call or email. A good pitch can get your foot in the door, even if you’re not well known.

4. Know What to Expect

Brand ambassador work is not all glitz and glam. It’s important to remember that it’s a business deal which will translate to contracts, posting guidelines, and the exchange of money or products.

You might have to start with agreements that give you free products instead of money. That’s okay. You may need to start small and build a reputation. Once your reputation improves and you have the results to show that your influence will be an asset for brands both your payment and jobs will increase.

Conclusion

Being a brand ambassador is hard work with lots of competition and very few shortcuts to finding getting ahead in the field. Be willing to take the time to curate a high-quality online following and maintain a good reputation for guaranteeing results. The work that you put in will dictate the success you’ll find.