How To Become A Brand Ambassador and Get Paid

Like most Instagram users out there, you’ve probably wondered how to become a brand ambassador. After all, they’re all over social media promoting everything from detox tea to clothing brands to teeth-whitening systems.

And you know what?

You’ve probably felt a twinge of envy as well.

I mean, what’s better than actually having a dedicated social media following and getting paid for supporting brands you love? And who wouldn’t love the freebies?!

Fortunately, being a successful brand ambassador isn’t hard at all – you just need a careful strategy. You can easily start receiving money for posts or some good old freebies from brands you love in no time.

If this is something that you’ve always been interested in, then read on and take down notes.

I’ve created a detailed 15-step guide to help you reach your dream of becoming a successful brand ambassador.

What is a Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador, also known as an influencer, is someone who represents a company, either in person or online.

Brands are usually looking for people to “personify” the brand’s identity and bring their values to life.

Your main mission is to spread awareness of the brand through more of a word-of-mouth strategy, instead of direct marketing.

Companies use brand ambassadors so they can have a medium to connect them and put them in touch with their customer base.

Online brand ambassadors endorse the company on social media or via blogging, while in-person brand ambassadors do that through large gatherings and events.

After all, why wouldn’t companies want brand ambassadors? 74% of consumers consider word of mouth as a critical influencer in their purchasing decisions, and 64% of marketing executives consider word-of-mouth marketing to be the most effective form of marketing (Source).

How to make quick money:

The following three websites are all looking for influencers/ambassadors to help shape their future products:

I highly recommend signing up with all three to increase your chances of actually making money as an influencer.

How to Become a Brand Ambassador in 20 Steps

Becoming a brand ambassador isn’t going to happen overnight. I’ve put together this 20-step guide to show you the correct path to follow to help you get started.

1. Create a compelling social media profile.

The harsh reality of becoming a brand ambassador is that first impressions mean a lot when trying to get brands to notice you, and this is especially true for your online persona.

Here are the things you’ll want to focus on your social media profile to attract brands.

• Your bio should be eye-catching. This is the first thing potential clients will be looking at, so treat it like your business card. Provide all the important information about you like your full name, location, and contact details.
• Follower count, content, and engagement rates matter more than anything. In today’s social media-controlled world, these are the most important factors for you to be considered. Remember, though, that genuine engagement is more important than follower count, as you’ll see below.
• Build your own image and create a brand out of yourself. This is the most important step. Before you consider becoming a brand ambassador, think of yourself as a brand.
• Find out what makes you different than anyone else. What makes you, you? And why would a brand want to work with you and not anyone else? When you can answer this, focus on that aspect and make sure your social media reflect this.
• Exude a positive vibe. Your social media profiles need to have a cohesive look, a positive feel, and a lively, authentic vibe.
• Incorporate the right keywords. Which results do you want to come up in? Do you want to become a brand ambassador in the fitness niche? Travel? Clothing? Think of that and then ensure that your profile seamlessly incorporates the right keywords.

2. Stay active on social media.

Continuously creating content, and reacting and replying to your followers’ comments to your content is important.

It’s not just about having thousands of followers, it’s about engagement.

In fact, even if you have fewer followers than other influencers in the same niche, plenty of companies will overlook that if you have a high engagement rate.

Brands will not be interested in contacting you if you are not engaged with your followers. They want to see that your followers trust your opinion, like having conversations with you, and that you are a pleasant person in general.

3. Post incredible content.

Staying active doesn’t mean that you should be posting just for the sake of posting, though.

You need to catch the attention of your existing followers and any potential ones. Make sure your feed is captivating enough for big brands to contact you.

Original, creative, and aesthetically pleasing posts that are just begging to be liked, commented on, and shared by your followers is the key to increasing your engagement.

The more compelling your content is, the better. Be it videos, Instagram pictures, infographics, tutorials, or blog posts, you will need to constantly create exciting content.

4. Create a personalized hashtag.

Come up with a catchy hashtag that represents you as a brand, and then use it in all your current and future social media posts.

This helps keep all your posts in one place and will show brands that you pretty much know what you’re doing.

5. Know your audience.

Again, having interesting content and staying active is not enough. Your overall reach is a substantial aspect of whether or not a brand will hire you as a brand ambassador.

You need to grow an audience that resonates with the type of brands you want to partner with. This is why you need to understand:

• The type of audience your brand has.
• The type of audience you already have.
• How to create content that attracts the type of audience the brand is looking for.

6. Work with a brand network.

The best place to start getting brand deals is to sign up on a brand network site that facilitates the whole process for you.

You will need to have an established profile, following, and engagement by then.

Create an influencer profile on influencer networks, upload your information, and then sit back and wait!

Here are a few influencer networks you can look into.

• Socialix
• SocialSpark
• Collectively Inc
• Linqia
• NoxInfluencer
• ACTIVATE
• The Influence Room
• Find Your Influence
• Insense

7. Target small businesses and start-ups at first.

Small businesses and start-ups are usually looking for people who will help spread the word about their products in the most genuine way possible.

Usually, small businesses look for micro-influencers instead of established influencers because they’re easier to connect with, and frankly, more inexpensive.

That’s why it’ll be much easier for you to build up a portfolio if you start with small businesses and gain credibility along the way. It will take you half the time to secure a deal and get paid!

8. Look for brands that you already love.

What differentiates successful brand ambassadors from the rest is how much they can genuinely embrace the company they’re promoting.

When deciding which company to work with, find one that sells products or offers services that you actually like and you’re either already using or would incorporate into your lifestyle.

The more you like what you’re selling, the more authentic your endorsement appears, and the more you can influence people to buy what you’re selling.

Other companies might offer you a better deal, and you might be insanely tempted to get it, but remember: It always shows when influencers promote products that they’re not particularly fans of.

It’s obvious to these companies, and it’s going to be obvious to your followers.

So when you come off insincere, it hurts your engagement and it hurts your reputation as a brand ambassador.

If you need help getting started, these 50 companies are currently looking for brand ambassadors and influencers.

9. If you don’t know what you love, look to your own lifestyle and your favorite hobbies as a starting point.

If you’re not sure which brands to go with, it’s time to take a close look at your current lifestyle, if you’re happy to continue that lifestyle, as well as your hobbies and interests that you do for fun.

What products and services are you already using? Does brand matter? What do you look for in a brand when you’re buying something? What would make you not choose a certain brand?

It’s important to have a list written down or typed up so that it’s organized. Keep it accessible so that you can easily refer to it when you need it.

10. Passion is king.

An unrelenting, go-getter attitude is what will make you stand out among other influencers. It’s what will make your profile stand out amongst the thousands of other profiles that are all searching for the same thing.

Here’s the thing:

Becoming an incredible brand ambassador requires passion, conviction, and time investment.

Only someone who is truly passionate about what they’re promoting and about building relationships between your audience and the brand is unstoppable.

11. Set up a contact or a sponsorship page.

If you already have a website, create a page within it that explains what brands and companies you’re currently working with, what types of brands and companies you want to secure, and showcase your general stats and what you can offer to potential clients.

Be sure to include any previous brand ambassador campaigns that were successful.

If you don’t have a website yet, provide your email address in your social media profile bio so brands can contact you easily.

Brands want to work with people who can get results. Showcasing your ability to create a return on their investment is HUGE and will open the doors to a ton more opportunities in the future.

12. Network, network, and network a bit more.

Wherever you go: Network.

Be it in person, online, through social circles, or even at work events. The more people you know, the more people you’re connected to, the better.

After all, brands want someone who has a strong network around them.

Not only will it strengthen your profile as a brand ambassador but it will also increase your potential chances of getting hired by other brands.

Also, don’t be afraid to network with other brand ambassadors. They may be your competition for some brands, but remember that there are plenty of brands out there.

Networking and exchanging opportunities and best practices will do more to improve your chances for success than isolating yourself and just seething with envy at other influencers and brand ambassadors.

13. Think like a marketer.

Trust me on this one: You will need to be educated on how you can rock online marketing.

Brands want someone who can guarantee them social reach and engagement.

There are plenty of online courses that will take you through the main pillars of online marketing—from Instagram ads to SEO.

You’ll actually start to notice the difference once you implement what you learn along the way.

14. Carry yourself in a professional manner.

Everything about you—your social media profiles, your content, your comments, your communication with potential brand partners—should exude professionalism.

Your content should always be presentable and ready to showcase. Assume that potential brands are constantly looking at your social media accounts.

Also, the last thing brands want is to deal with immature and divalike behavior from a brand ambassador.

Always be polite to your commenters, even those who are rude to you or have nothing but negative comments to spew out.

When you become a brand ambassador, you may find yourself caught in the middle of some unneeded drama. All you need to do is stay polite, humble, and let your account be a reflection of your values.

Needless to say, when you get contacted by a brand, remain professional all throughout the interaction, even if you don’t end up partnering with them. Just because they’re not partnering with you now doesn’t mean that they won’t partner with you in the future.

15. Don’t take shortcuts.

You might be thinking:

“Why can’t I just buy followers? And likes? And comments?”

I’ll tell you why.

It’s because brands know. They know.

You can’t fake being a brand ambassador. Brands are very aware of engagement and will check your engagement compared to your number of followers.

They might even do spot-checks of your followers to see if they’re real people or bots.

Buying followers and paying for automated comments will simply do you more harm than good.

16. Build Relationships even after you’ve made it

The work doesn’t stop after you’ve bagged brand contracts.

You still have to establish meaningful connections not only with your followers, but also within the industry.

When it comes to your follows, make sure to be transparent. Disclose whenever you’ve partnered with a brand and is promoting one of their products. Respond to followers inquiries, comments and messages to build a loyal following.

17. Measure Your Success, Adapt and Evolve

Now that you’ve mastered how to become a brand ambassador, don’t relax just yet.

You have to be smart about your next move. So how will you know what steps you need to take?

Well, you can’t go with just your gut.

You have to use tools that would monitor your engagement, reach, and conversion rates. These tools will help you evaluate your impact, stop techniques you feel aren’t doing anything to your campaigns, and ramping up those that bring value.

While you do this, you should also stay informed about social media trends, algorithm changes, and other platform-based news that could affect your engagement with your own followers.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Not only by trying other platforms, but also sampling new content formats and techniques for increasing audience.

18. Attend Industry Events

One way to get ahead of market changes is to be actively studying others within your industry and attending events and conferences that could connect you with potential partners.

Of course, you should understand you niche completely by now, so you’d be able to target partners that your audience would prefer.

Make sure to bring your professional media kit at every industry event you attend. This kit should highlight your reach, engagement, and audience demographics.

19. Learn Legalities of Your Business

Because you are now making money with sponsored content, you also have to teach yourself the legalities of the business.

This includes (but not limited to):

• copyright and trademark
• transparency
• sponsored content disclosure
• USA FTC guidelines
• privacy laws
• accuracy of testimonials and reviews
• rules for giveaways
• COPPA (if your content is for kids)
• Geolocation and Data Protection Laws

20. Patience and Persistence are your secrets to success

When you commit to become a brand ambassador, you need to be persistent and patient because the road will be long and oftentimes hard.

You will constantly be looking out for your followers’ interest in order for your relationships to last.

You will continuously need to stretch your creativity to be ahead of the curve.

You will create fresh content non-stop that brands would love.

All these you’d have to do while staying genuine and authentically yourself. This is important because both your followers and brands would notice the slightest change when your brand’s values begin to be inconsistent with how they’ve known you.

Becoming a Brand Ambassador Will Open So Many Doors For You!

Once you get your first successful campaign, the opportunities will begin to snowball. Start small, prove your worth, and incredible things can happen in the future.

Becoming a brand ambassador opens up a lot of opportunities for you to make money, both online and offline.

You can easily learn how to make money off of YouTube or Instagram as a brand ambassador, or even how to get paid to travel.