The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Brand Ambassador

Since I’ve started working with Kimpton Hotels as their brand ambassador, I’ve had many people ask me how that came about. While I can’t divulge all my secrets, I’d love to share a few tips on how I feel a brand finds a brand ambassador of their very own. A brand ambassador is like a bridge to the brand for the public, a cheerleader, and a positive presence online. These are things you can do to create a foundation to become a brand ambassador. Here’s a Fab Five Friday for you on the beginner’s guide to becoming a brand ambassador!

1. Be passionate

Talking about things that you truly love and are excited about translates loud and clear online. I love travel and do it frequently which is one of the reasons that Kimpton is such a great fit for me. Brand ambassadorship needs to be a good, natural fit for the brand and you!

2. Be yourself

Originality is the hallmark of a fantastic brand ambassador. Stand out with your unique content and personality. Sure, it could be scary but it could also be very awesome. Go for awesome!

This past weekend, I stayed at the Nine Zero Hotel in Boston as their brand ambassador and I had one of my daughters, I call them my mini-me’s, with me. She loves to express herself by making videos for YouTube and Vine. As my junior ambassador this weekend, she made this video during our trip. Most of the time I didn’t know that she was filming.

3. Be consistent

Brands need a consistent and reliable presence online and as a brand ambassador, you can be part of that awesomeness. Talk about the things that you truly love and it may turn into something bigger.

One of the things I love about Kimpton is that they have a great sense of humor. This sign for the dog food says Canine Zero which is a spin on the hotel’s name Nine Zero. So cute!

4. Avoid online drama

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

5. Build your online presence

I’m really excited that one of my mini-me’s was contacted by her favorite charity to become a brand ambassador! Shayla loves doing things for the planet and is a charitable person by nature, she also loves the internet mainly in the form of YouTube and Tumblr. A cause close to her heart is Tab for a Cause. Tab for a Cause ”will take your browser’s blank canvases and transform them into a way to donate to charity. Each time you click “new tab” in Chrome or Firefox, the app populates the page with blogs about causes such as education and poverty, as well as advertisements.”

Shayla created a video to support Tab for a Cause during Project for Awesome. Her brand ambassador is essentially an internship with a Silicon Valley tech start-up, a very sweet gig for a future computer science major and huge Nerdfighter.

If you’d like to be a brand ambassador in the future, look at it as a Field of Dreams deal. If build it and they might come. You need to build your social media presence and know that people are always watching.

One of my very close online friends just landed a huge brand ambassadorship (which isn’t announced yet so I’ll update this with details later) and the brand had been watching her for over a year on all the social media platforms. Brands want to work with the very best and you’ll need to be active on the big social media platforms. I’m active on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (which brands use to check your connections and professional experience), Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Shayla is active on YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Vine. Being active means posting, commenting, and sharing. You’ll need to be able to create meaningful, interesting media through words, images, and video. I hope this beginner’s guide to becoming a brand ambassador helps you find the brand of your dreams!

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