So you want to be a Brand Ambassador? At Pegasus we are very lucky to be inundated from requests from riders, bloggers and influencers who would love to work with our brand. We get many different types of requests from competitive riders with huge followings, focused and dedicated bloggers, and those who promote and influence on social media platforms through imagery or vlogs. From a marketing perspective it can be a great way of promoting products. We love our team!
However and this is a big however, blogging has become very popular, and many companies are wary that it’s become a saturated market. Therefore, its becoming more and more difficult to become a BA.
Here are the top tips from Pegasus Jewellery to make you stand out from the crowd.
- Who are you?
What makes YOU a good brand ambassador? What is unique about YOU? Simply because you love the brand and you will tell all your family and friends isn’t good enough. Can you create fantastic imagery or interesting Vlogs? Have a you a great and untapped platform you can showcase products on? You need to think of what way you can sell products to an audience that a company hasn’t yet thought about.
- Contact
First impressions are EVERYTHING. A message on insta or FB “hey I’d love to be a BA for you” won’t cut it. You almost need to think about it as a job interview. Buy a product and blog, vlog, or snap it. Share content. Show the company you are genuinely passionate about their product without the freebies. Send the company examples of what you could do for them.
Don't be afraid of putting a media pack together. With the strict enforcement of advertisement guidelines, any post promoting a product should be tagged correctly. The equestrian market is quite far behind in terms of "pay for posts". I know some bloggers are scared they can't give a real review if they are being paid to promote a product. However don't be scared to put a pack together, for example for x amount you will do so many photos and a review. Or, if you were to be a brand ambassador for 6 months, you would do one post a week and expect x in return.
- Work on your profile.
Real life scenario. You’ve captured the interest of a company, they’ve noticed a couple of stunning visuals you’ve created showcasing their product on a county walk, it’s coming into Autumn and the golden hues would be perfect for their social media. They click on your insta page to check out the overall tone and – shock horror- the first image they see is... you and your best pal, drunk and hanging over a policeman with a traffic cone on your head.
Social media is 99% fake. Bloggers create a persona like the fashionista or the tweed and pearl county lady to name a few. If you seriously want to promote a brand you need an identifiable social media image that people can relate to and aspire to. That’s why they will then buy the products you are promoting.
- Build a following
Bloggers and influencers in the fashion world have thousands of followers, the equestrian world is much lower. However if you want to persuade a company you could represent them, you need at least a few thousand followers. Comment on posts, share your content and you will build a following.
Please don’t pay for followers, companies do check the follower/ likes lists and its obvious you’ve paid for followers when 500 Muhamad’s appear (true story).
- Be Unique
Try and think of ways to be different. Don’t write a generic message and don’t ask for freebies, instead think of a unique way to capture the attention of a company or business you are passionate about. You are selling yourself as the representative of a brand, not (in the words of my good friend Vic Brant (AKA Diary of a Wimpy Eventer) "selling your soul for a free saddle cloth".
Don't be scared, there are hundred of companies looking for BA's. Don't just go straight for the big brands though, look around, lots of start up companies are desperate for a little help in the crazy social media world. We have so many fantastic equestrian county brands, you owe it to your bloggers to showcase a wide variety from the well known to the new.
Good Luck!
We will have some opportunities available in January, so get thinking and keep an eye out on social media for info!
