Twitter is a gold mine if you use it objectively. If you are not on Twitter I encourage you to be there. I visit the platform on a daily basis and I learn a lot from it. Anyways, the other day someone made a quoted tweet on a certain Zimbabwean media personality. The personality had tweeted about them having recently been made a brand ambassador for some local brand. The person who quote tweeted raised an issue on the ‘brand ambassador’ term being abused in Zimbabwe. He was right but of course, the guy was vilified by followers of the media personality. What is important though is that we must differentiate between brand ambassadors and influencers.
Brand Ambassadorship Is Not The Same As Brand Endorsement – Important Distinction!
When talking about brand ambassadorship it becomes necessary to mention brand endorsement. There is a difference between the two you must appreciate. A brand ambassador is typically bound by exclusivity clauses. This broadly means during the active duration of their brand ambassadorship they cannot promote other similar products.
For instance, if they are promoting a phone brand, they cannot promote other phone brands. As for brand endorsement, the person in question (the brand endorser) can promote other similar products. They can even work with several brands of the same type of product at once. That distinction is important because at times brand ambassadorship and brand endorsement are conflated.
Influencer And Brand Ambassador: Who Is Who?
An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others because of their real or perceived authority, knowledge, position, or relationship. I could write a whole article on the real or perceived part; it leads to an interesting discussion. Anyways, influencers are usually in collaboration with brands for the short term. Short-term here can mean just a single social media post or just a couple of them. It depends but it is seldom for the long haul.
A brand ambassador is a corporate representative, often the public face of a company or business. As for brand ambassadorship, that is usually long-term. By the long term, we are saying that the duration can be 12 months long or even more. It is within that time frame that things like exclusivity clauses will be at play. The long-term aspect is also why brand ambassadors are considered more committed to the brand than influencers. An influencer could care less for the brand in question but not a brand ambassador (duration is long).
Who Should Be A Brand Ambassador?
This is where some people miss it. When you hear the two terms do not always rush to think of celebrities. Even some companies or businesses are missing it here. It is not necessarily always about having lots of followers on social media. It is about the principle behind it. A brand ambassador essentially is supposed to be someone who actively uses your products. This means when you approach them to become a brand ambassador that is not where it should start. This should be someone who prior has a proven active use or knowledge of your products. It is their subject matter expertise, dedication and loyalty to the brand from before that makes them suitable.
It is actually recommended that a brand ambassador should be someone who is already an authority or thought leader in a domain served by the brand in question. For instance, a fitness trainer makes a good brand ambassador for a gym wear brand. Get this clearly – it is not just about someone who has a huge following per se. No wonder when some local companies hire agents to lead recruitment drives for their services they call them brand ambassadors. I am sure you may have heard or seen Econet (for example) looking to hire brand ambassadors. These will be ordinary people, not even socialites or celebrities in any way. It is a matter of principle.
NB: Celebrity users, loyal customers, or employees of a brand are eligible for brand ambassadorship.
Who Should Be An Influencer?
Influencers can be anyone but it is largely about someone with a substantial social media following. Not just a huge following but one with substantial engagement rates. Influencers are also considered by looking at the type of followers they have. An influencer will often be chosen if their following aligns with an intended niche. Someone whose focus is tutorials on make-up makes a suitable influencer for a company focusing on cosmetic products. Though it may seem like there is an overlap between brand ambassadorship and being an influencer; they are not the same.
There’s an article I wrote on finding the right influencer to partner with. You will learn more about what to consider in choosing an influencer. Micro-influencers are influencers with accounts or followership of between 10000 (and less) and 50000 followers. Interestingly, these are usually the most recommended because they typically have the highest engagement rates. The higher the engagement rate, the higher the likelihood of lead generation and conversions. It is important to note that an influencer does not necessarily have to be someone who knows or has used the product(s) in question before.
Creative And Operational Autonomy
That is another area of distinction. Brand ambassadors are typically given stipulations on what to do, what to say, how and when to do or say it. That is why the extent of collaboration when it is a brand ambassadorship is high. Unlike influencers who yes, may be given guidelines but most of what they do or say is left to their autonomous, creative discretion.
In summary, a brand ambassador is someone who already had been using your product(s) now committing to long-term endeavours to promote them with you. A celebrity (preferably in a domain served by the brand), an employee, or even a loyal customer can become a brand ambassador. An influencer can be anyone with a big and highly engaged niche audience for short-term promotions.
