Being a brand ambassador has a ton of benefits – it builds confidence, there’s flexible working hours, excellent networking opportunities and most importantly of all the merch. As such, brand ambassador gigs are coveted and companies have their pick of candidates.
Stay ahead of the competition with these top tips on being a good brand ambassador, featuring Sinéad D’Arcy, Head of the Jameson International Graduate Programme.
Be yourself
People instinctively buy into brands that they feel are authentic. The same is true for brand ambassadors. Pick a brand that you can be genuinely enthusiastic about. People will disregard endorsements or referrals that seem phony or contrived. Be yourself and try to inject as much of your personality as possible! Think about the type of promotions you engage with and why. Developing an authentic personal brand should be the first step in safeguarding your professional one.
Be proactive
Companies are excited by representatives who are dynamic and great communicators. If you want to work for a specific brand, you need to make it happen for yourself. You need to capture their attention, so get creative! Think about what platforms they favour, what tone of voice they use, what events they have coming up and how you could get involved.
Sinéad says to be a successful brand ambassador, you need to show initiative.
“We look for our Brand Ambassadors to be creative, innovative, self-starters with an entrepreneurial spirit.”
Be social
Successful brand ambassadors have an established social network. You don’t necessarily need 100,000 followers on Instagram but you do need to be consistently active – starting conversations with the community and sharing meaningful content online. An engaged network is key in raising awareness and creating buzz around a brand.
“Social media is a key tool that supports building, maintaining and developing relationships in the market”, said Sinéad.
Be on-the-pulse
Stay informed! Make sure you’re aware of any updates or developments with the brand or product and that you can speak confidently about them. You need to be part of the discussion online, keep an eye out for mentions of the brand so that you can provide insight and feedback from the public.
Be communicative
A fundamental part of the job is to humanise the brand by making positive connections with people. Sinéad says the best candidates “personify the Jameson brand character of wit, charm and charisma building key relationships in the market at grass roots level. They act as the face and the voice of our brand in 42 markets all around the world and as such are an integral part of our continued global success.”
Be open to learning
In any role you need to be eager to learn and develop but this particularly true when you’re dealing with such a wide network, as is the case with brand ambassadors. Whether it’s discovering new technologies or better ways to accept feedback, there is a learning curve that comes with the job. Be ready for it!
Find a brand ambassador role on Jobbio
