10 Quick Tips On Becoming a Brand Ambassador on Instagram

Wondering how to become a brand ambassador on Instagram? These 10 tips are all you need.

Instagram ambassadors are hitting it big. According to 2021 stats,  67% of brands used Instagram for influencer marketing. Why?

Millions of consumers trust influencers, so much so that  72%  of them buy products because of recommendations on social media posts.  And that’s not the best part.

Predictions say the influencer marketing industry will hit $13.8bn by 2022. 

The takeaway? There is no better time than now to jump on the bandwagon and win your slice of the brand ambassador cake. 

And it’s possible, even if you’re a micro-influencer. 

In this post, you’ll learn the ten KEY steps to becoming a brand ambassador on Instagram. 

Brand Ambassadors And influencers Are Not The Same

Brands appoint brand Ambassadors to positively represent their identity. Therefore, these ambassadors are required to help increase sales, raise awareness, and drive traffic to the brands.

Brand ambassadors feel a strong attachment toward the brands they represent. This way, it’s easy for them to discuss their products online and offline. Also, they ensure exclusivity and work with companies long-term.

Meanwhile, influencers work with several companies and push each company’s products a few times. This is why influencer campaigns are often for a short time.

Summarily, brand ambassadors are more committed than influencers.

Note that: You don’t need a large following to be a brand ambassador. However, you must have an engaged audience as well as authority and experience in the same niche as the brand you’re promoting.

A doctor, for example, would be a trustworthy brand ambassador for a pharmaceutical firm. Likewise, a children’s apparel manufacturer would readily choose “kidfluencers” with as few as 10,000 followers as their ambassador.

image by avafoley|Instagram

What are the Duties of a Brand Ambassador?

Brand ambassadors perform a range of important duties. The most important ones include:

Become the Brand’s Face 

When you see Christiano Ronaldo, what brand automatically comes to mind? If your answer is Nike, you are…

Image from GIPHY

As a brand ambassador, when people see you, they instantly connect you to whatever brand you represent. 

As such, you’re to establish trust with your audience, while promoting the brand. This trust-building and product promotion are what drive your followers to take action, converting them into paying consumers for your brand partners.

Provide Positive Word of Mouth

A brand ambassador is also the voice of the brand they represent. As you create a positive, action-oriented support system that builds trust with an audience, you’re also to verbally promote the brand you represent. 

Engage in Product Collaborations

As an Instagram brand ambassador, you can do a product shout-out and end it there. However, brand collaborations go deeper than this. Other ways you can do collaborations with brands are:

• Giveaways: a simple way to promote engagement on a brand’s Instagram account is to run limited-time promotions that give away free or reduced products to a select few lucky followers. 

• Referrals: This involves you joining the company’s affiliate programs and receiving a commission for every sale made through your link or promotional code.

• Instagram Takeover: This is similar to guest posting. It involves you taking over the Instagram feed of the brand you’re partnered with for a few days. 

Tip: Instagram has introduced “Collabs”, a feature that facilitates collaborations. Here, two Instagramers can collaborate on content and publish it together.

The same content will surface on you and your partner’s profiles, making it simple for brands to increase their audiences or share exciting news.

How to Become a Brand Ambassador on Instagram: 10 Tips

Being a brand ambassador on Instagram seems like the perfect opportunity, but you have no idea how to go about getting started in this burgeoning career path. 

There are plenty of wonderful brands out there who would love to be represented by an equally special individual and so we’re here to give you the ins and outs for how you start your rise to social media stardom!

Step #1. Build An Instagram Community

Here’s a quick reality check:

If you want to become a brand ambassador and make money from sponsored posts on Instagram, you have to have a sizable following. Yes, the numbers do matter.

But beyond just followership, brands need an engaged audience. If your audience is dedicated enough to like and comment on your posts, chances are that they’ll shell out money for your recommendations. 

An option is to buy real Instagram likes. As your Instagram following and engagement grow, companies will come to see you as an asset. As such, they’ll beg to pay you just to have you promote their products.

Note: it’s more important to build your Instagram following in one niche than have a large follower count. Having all your content aligned to one area — like beauty or travel —  allows brands and followers to associate you as the expert in the industry. 

How do you build an Instagram following? Here are the strategies you should use: 

• Create your personal brand: Start by choosing a niche—fashion, food, travel, etc. Choose something you’ll be delighted to talk about for hours. 

Note that your personality, niche, and how you portray yourself to the general public all add up to create your personal brand. So, be yourself, but stir clear of anything you don’t want your brand associated with.

• Optimize your bio: Your Instagram bio should show potential followers—and brands—who you are, what you do, and why they should care. Try to sneak in key phrases people search for so you’ll show up in search results. Also, include a powerful call to action that directs people to take definite action.

• Post high-quality content consistently: Most people choose between quantity and quality. However, to succeed on Instagram, you must have both. Make your content timely, relevant, and engaging. Batch create content and maximize automation tools.
• Use hashtags: They’ll help you get on the Explore page where people can discover your account. 

Step #2.  Network with Brands in Your Niche

Image by Brooke Cagle|unsplash

It’s the smart thing to do. When a brand is already familiar with who you are and what you do, it is much easier for them to collaborate with you. 

Think of it this way…

Interacting with major fashion labels makes sense if you’re posting fashion material. Take it a step further by connecting with brands that share your personality.

A great place to start is to consistently like and comment on brand accounts. If you can, also attend brand events. 

Note: You never want to spam. It leaves a bad impression and sucks out your chances of getting sponsored.

Step #3. Learn Digital Marketing Skills

The world is a digital village. The more digital skills you have, the more edge you’ll have in a saturated marketplace. 

The good news is, if you’ve already built an Instagram following, you know a little about digital marketing. Plus, thanks to the internet, you can easily learn these skills. Ever heard of YouTube?

Digital marketing skills increase your value in the eye brands. As a bonus, they’ll help you boost your own following. What digital skills will benefit the most?

• Marketing: A brand ambassador’s fundamental duty is to market. While you don’t need to have a degree in marketing, having basic knowledge of it can help you succeed in this career path. 
• Writing: People won’t click your profile or captions if the headlines aren’t attractive or captivating enough. So, as much as visuals dominate the gram, writing also plays a vital role. 
• Content Curation: This skill helps you know what to share, when to share and how to share. 
• Relationship Building: Brand ambassadors often need to connect with people and brands. This is what makes relationship building a crucial skill to learn 

Step #4 Make Instagram Follower Engagement a Priority

Image by Georgia de Lotz|unsplash

According to research, 50% of Instagram profiles had an interaction rate of less than 1% in 2020. 

On Instagram, your audience’s interaction is everything. If you want to be a successful brand ambassador, you can’t just keep posting on Instagram and never connect with your followers. 

Here are a few ideas for keeping your Instagram followers engaged:

Always respond to direct messages (DMs). Alternatively, push traffic to your DM inbox to deliver more value.

• Reply comments on your posts. 
• Initiate interactions on your posts by asking questions in your feed caption. 
• Use features like polls, question stickers, and live videos to engage with your followers.

Step #5. Join The Affiliate Program of Brands in Your Niche

While waiting for brands to recognize you, you need to find a way to monetize your Instagram account. This is where affiliate marketing comes in.

Affiliate marketing entails promoting a brand’s link or special promotional code. When someone buys a product using your link or code, you get rewarded.

Many popular brands offer this program and are beginner-friendly.

Note: Make sure the brands you choose are appropriate for your target audience. Otherwise, your audience will feel like you’re trying to sell them something they don’t want.

Step #6.Create a Media Kit

To introduce yourself to businesses and companies, you’ll need a media kit. Keep track of your statistics and data on a well-designed page. 

Use Google Analytics and the Instagram insights tool to determine your performance.

It’s easier to propose partnerships, find investors, and reach out to possible partners if you have a media kit on file for your brand. Include images so your narrative will be more effective.

Image from canva

This is important: make sure you’re working from an Instagram business or creator account. 

These accounts come with a number of advantages that personal accounts do not. Keeping your brand account and your personal account separate will also save a lot of stress from your daily life.

Step #7. Evaluate Your Performance

It’s always vital to discover what you could do better, whether you’re advertising yourself or a brand partner.

Therefore, if you want to succeed as a brand ambassador on Instagram you need to always check the numbers after running a campaign. This way, you can learn and improve.

Instagram Insights will show you how well your posts have performed. It displays vital demographic information, such as the age of your followers, where they’re from, and their gender. That way, you can improve your campaigns or buy high-quality likes to impress brands 

Tip: Make certain you double-check the numbers from the outside as well. If you promoted a coupon code, check to see how many people bought something from it. If you shared an affiliate link, calculate the number of sales.

Step #8. Pitch to Small Brands 

Image by 1964 Brand|Instagram

Found a brand you love and are dying to partner with? Go for it!

However, you want to do it strategically. 

Unfortunately, many brands are used to receiving emails from random people looking to get free stuff. As such, if you go the same route as them, your emails may never see the light of day. 

Approach brands from a value-providing viewpoint. State what you can do for them while showing your previous results. 

As a budding ambassador, target startups that are already looking to promote their products. Businesses like this prefer to work with smaller influencers. The reason? Mega-celebrities are way too expensive.

Step #9. Over Deliver On Partnerships

Brands often begin by collaborating with Instagram influencers before hiring them as brand ambassadors. Influencers who fail to impress never get a second chance.

Studies show that 56% of marketers have collaborated with the same influencers on multiple projects. Brands want to avoid the expense, time, and effort of finding new influencers by working with those who already provide significant value.

When you over-deliver on existing partnerships, brands will be happy to sign an ambassadorship deal. Here are some ideas for how you can achieve that with your current brand collaborations:

• Provide brands with something worthwhile by going above and beyond your normal scope of business.
• Have a nose for detail. Ensure your messaging reflects the brand’s expectations. 
• Always respond to brand partners as soon as possible. 
• Provide an in-depth analytics summary. Over Delivering on metrics is the easiest way to stand out from the pack. Give the brand a concise breakdown of impressions, engagement, and shares of the posts you worked on together after the job is completed.

Step #10. Aim For Bigger Brands

You now have an arsenal of great content and a sizable following. You’ve also gathered a slew of success stories from small collaborations. What does this mean?

You’re in a great position to close those large deals you’ve always wanted to! You’ve worked hard, developed your skills, and refined your strategy.

All you have to do now is dedicate yourself to your dream and begin developing your brand.

As you advance in your career, don’t stop learning about influencer marketplaces. 

At the same time,  keep creating content, expanding your following, and fine-tuning your plan. That is what will make you stand out in the long term.

This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.