How to Find Brands Looking for Ambassadors
Want to start repping the products you love but aren’t sure how to find brands looking for ambassadors? Here's what you should know!
Ready to recruit brand ambassadors on Instagram? Here's what your pitches should say and how to get the right ambassadors for your brand.
Let’s say you’ve found an Instagram creator that’d be a perfect brand ambassador.
Nice! Have you prepared your pitch, though? Do you know what to say?
Because pitching is a make-or-break moment. Highlighting your value and sowing the seeds of a partnership is a lot to do in a single message.
That’s why so many brands drop the ball when they try to ask someone to be a brand ambassador.
We can help, though! Our quick guide to pitching brand ambassadors on Instagram explains:
Skip to Section 👇How to Ask Someone to Be a Brand Ambassador on Instagram
4 Things Brands Need to Know About Hiring Instagram Ambassadors |
For starters, most ambassadors and influencers prefer the following contact channels:
For direct messages, keep your initial pitch short and sweet. Let your DM serve as a sort of hook and teaser versus a detailed invitation. You can always explain more once the conversation's started.
Check out this DM pitch that actually got a reply back from an IG brand ambassador:
But what if your offer requires special details or more context? Send an email!
You only risk losing your contact’s attention with a wordier pitch if it’s boring or irrelevant. With an outreach email, your goal should be to grab their attention ASAP.
Maybe you can talk up a recent post they did. Perhaps you have some mutuals.
If nothing else, writing a longer-form pitch makes it easier to showcase your personality. You can also be more specific about what you’re offering.
Below is an example of what to say to a brand ambassador in your pitch. For more inspiration, check out our Instagram collaboration email templates you can swipe for yourself.
Subject line: Hey Maddie, we love your content! |
Hi Maddie, My name is Kristen and I work for Dusk. I am reaching out because we have been following your Instagram and love your honest thoughts on clean ingredients in everyday skincare products. We would love to invite you to become a part of our brand ambassador team! We think your appreciation for organic products aligns with our company’s mission to provide healthier self-care products for women and believe you would be a great fit as a Dusk brand ambassador! As a brand ambassador, you would partner with us on social media campaigns on Instagram featuring new self-care products that are organic. You will receive a lifetime discount of 40% on products and a personalized affiliate code for your followers to get 25% off their first Dusk order! If you are interested, I would love to talk with you about our ambassador program and what we have to offer! Thanks! Kristen |
If an influencer has an active blog, you can also submit a pitch to their site’s contact form. This is also a smart place to follow up if you don’t get any responses or your message accidentally gets overlooked.
Either way, your goal should be to pitch ambassadors where they want to be contacted. For example, many Instagram brand ambassadors will have specific outreach details in their bio. Chances are you’ll find an email, Linktree or contact form there.
Source: @heidelore
Messaging brand ambassadors on their own terms increase your chances of a response and shows your attention to detail. Both are good news for making a positive first impression.
Trying to optimize your outreach down to the minute isn’t going to change much.
That said, there are a few small details that can help you figure out the best time to contact someone about an ambassador opportunity.
For starters, consider time zones. Try not to catch your contacts at awkward times based on where they’re located. This includes:
Research from Meltwater notes that PR-related pitches are ideally done during the mornings or early afternoons. Always be mindful of what time the content creator will receive your message. Stick to business hours, if possible.
Beyond that, pay attention to when your potential brand ambassador is most active. For example, when are they posting Stories? When are they typically responding to or “liking” comments?
Source: @thedreamylife__
This can clue you in on actual times someone is active so you don’t have to speculate. If you can reach them when they’re already online and engaging with others, you’re more likely to get a response (or at the very least get noticed).
Now that you’ve determined the best place and time to conduct outreach, it’s time to draft your actual pitch message.
Here’s how to ask someone to be a brand ambassador the right way:
When pitching Instagram influencers, you should always be genuine. Customize your messages to each potential ambassador (even if you’re using templates to speed up your outreach). Doing so gives the influencer confidence that you actually value them and their time.
Below are the biggest mistakes to avoid when crafting your outreach message:
We’ll bite: scaling a brand ambassador program is hard work when you need to personalize every pitch. That said, you’ll never find a meaningful program built on copying and pasting DMs.
You’ve worked out your approach to outreach but don’t get too pitch-happy yet!
Because ambassadors represent extensions of your brand. They’re team members.
And so partnering with an Instagram ambassador is much different than working with a creator on a single post.
Before hiring a brand ambassador on Instagram, make sure you’re familiar with what it really means to work together. To wrap things up, here are four things to know prior to your first hire.
Ambassador relationships are more than just a social media fling.
The terms “brand ambassador” and “influencer” are often used interchangeably. They shouldn’t be, though. While providing similar benefits to brands, brand ambassadors represent a long-term commitment.
For example, a one-off campaign with an influencer might involve a single post about a new product. On the flip side, working with an Instagram brand ambassador involves:
Ambassador relationships are just that — relationships. Value their feedback, maintain consistent communication and reward them for their efforts.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has clear rules that brands and ambassadors need to follow when it comes to sponsored content.
If brand ambassadors are going to be promoting your brand on their Instagram accounts, they need to know how to disclose the partnership. As long as it’s visible in their captions and hashtags like “#sponsored,” “#gifted” or “#ad” are used, you’re golden.
Either way, you should also have an agreement in place regarding content rights. Ambassadors must consent that you own the content they create to promote your brand. This eliminates any potential conflict if you want to repurpose their content.
Nothing puts a strain on a relationship quite like a lawsuit. Translation? Make sure everyone is on the same page by drafting a contract. Reduce friction by reminding your brand ambassadors that you value their work and that they’re an asset to your brand.
Creators work tirelessly to produce content and curate their social media accounts to reflect their unique style.
The last thing any brand should do is try to strip an ambassador of their identity and mold them into who they want them to be.
Don’t expect your brand ambassador to change their style for you. While it’s okay to provide guidance and guidelines for their social media posts, you shouldn’t dictate their content. After all, that would completely defeat the purpose of working with them! That’s why your post requirements should be clear but flexible.
When looking for an Instagram brand ambassador, seek out someone who already aligns with your brand. If you’re an edgy makeup brand, you wouldn’t hire a brand ambassador whose whole aesthetic is being “traditional” or “modest.”
Or if you’re a vegan snack brand, it’d be weird to partner with someone known for their love of barbecue.
Makes sense, right? When you find the right brand ambassador for you, you’ll see that the relationship comes naturally.
Think about how long it takes to find a worthwhile match on a dating app.
It's a long and tedious process, isn’t it?
Well, finding a perfect match for your brand can be just as exhausting. You may have to go through a few "dates" before identifying a brand ambassador to enter a long-term relationship with.
And again, finding the right fit is easier said than done.
Even when you uncover a winner, you still need to worry about details such as:
And that doesn’t even scratch the surface! Working with multiple ambassadors often feels like a full-time job by itself but the results are 100% worth it.
Brand ambassadors can totally transform your Instagram presence and boost your social sales at the same time.
If you stick to the best practices above, you’ll build win-win relationships that last.
But as a brand, you’ll need a dedicated team managing ambassador relations to ensure everything is running smoothly.
Don’t have the resources or budget for all of the above? Statusphere's platform empowers you to find relevant ambassadors and scale your campaigns with minimal legwork on your part. In fact, our platform eliminates 98% of the workload related to influencer campaigns.
Our platform matches brands with creators from our vetted networking using 250+ data points. This means we can guarantee authentic content at scale for our brands. We also streamline and optimize your influencer reporting, fulfillment and more.
Get in touch with one of our experts to see how we can scale your influencer marketing in a fraction of the time it'd take in-house.
Disclaimer: We're influencer marketing specialists, not lawyers! This content is not legal advice and you should definitely consult a legal professional based on your needs and questions. We do not make any guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and take no liability or legal obligations for your use of this information.
Originally published on July 15, 2019. Last updated January 3, 2023.
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