It’s the first Wednesday of 2017 and I’m linking up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Jen from Pretty Little Grub, Michelle at Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Nicole from FitFul Focus for Wild Workout Wednesday.
I don’t know about you but in December/January my social media timelines include tons of posts about being accepted as an ambassador for different brands. These posts always make me smile because I know what a joy it is to represent a brand that you really love. You also feel a sense of accomplishment that the brand recognizes your committment to them.
Over the holidays I started thinking about how to be a good brand ambassador. How often should you talk about the brand? What type of involvement should you have with the brand? How can you present the brand, but still be authentic? It’s definitely a tricky subject, and I’m certainly no expert, but I’ve come up with a list of a few Do’s and Dont’s.
DO be exclusive to the brand
If you’re going to represent the brand…REPRESENT THE BRAND! Think of it this way – If you walked into the Nike store and the person helping you was wearing another brand of sneakers, would you really trust what they had to say?
DON’T become an ambassador just for the “freebies”
This is such a horrible reason to be a brand ambassador. It’s really unfair to the brand and it doesn’t make you look good to your audience. Don’t do this!
DO speak about the brand
For some of us this means mentioning the brand on social media and on your blog. For others this may mean speaking about the brand to their running groups, friends and families. Either way, get the brand’s name out into the universe.
DON’T speak about the brand too much
Yes, of course you should speak about the brand, but you have to be authentic. If you’re mentioning the brand in every tweet or Instagram post, it might be overkill and turn people off to learning more about the brand.
DO only be an ambassador for your “must-have” brands
There are tons of brands that I love, but if they are not a “msut-have” brand for me, I will not apply to be an ambassador. For example, I love Moving Comfort sports bras, but it’s not the only sports bra that I wear. On the other hand I always run in low, mid or over-the-calf Pro Compression socks and Mizuno sneakers, so I would apply to be an ambassador for those brands.
DON’T be an ambassador for too many companies
If you’re an ambassador for too many companies it’s hard to represent all of them equally. Also you don’t want to risk the chance of “burn out” by spreading yourself too thin.
I’ve been lucky to be a brand ambassador for some really great companies – Honey Stinger, Nuun and Pro Compression, just to name a few.
Taking my own advice, I only re-applied to be a brand ambassador for Pro Compression. Luckily I was accepted and I’m thrilled to be back on board to represent this company the best way that I can in 2017.
Years ago Pro Compression was the first brand of compression socks that I tried and I was instantly hooked. Not only do the they knock it out of the park with their designs, but the socks are made in the USA and they are extremely affordable. Their customer service is excellent and being on the team feels like being part of a family – a really stylish and well dressed family 🙂 Speaking of well dressed, check out the two options for the January Sock of the Month (save 40% + free shipping with promo code WINGS)!
After being a brand ambassador for Honey Stinger and Nuun for two years, I decided not to re-apply this year. This has absolutely nothing to do with the brands because they are both EXCELLENT, but there are a few other hydration and running fuel brands that I would like to try this year. Simply put, because I knew couldn’t be brand loyal to them this year, it wouldn’t be fair for me to be an ambassador for them.
Do you have any Do’s and Dont’s you would add to the list?
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets says
This is a great topic! I think a lot of people apply to be brand ambassador to help with their blogging image, rather than really doing the right things that you recommend…ugh! You’ve been an awesome brand ambassador!
I was a race ambassador to ZOOMA last year and I decided not to reapply. I definitely think that year-to-year it’s important to evaluate your experience with a program and determine whether you want to continue that relationship, assuming you get accepted!
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Janelle! I was a little nervous about writing this because I didn’t want to offend anyone, but it’s just a topic that I thought about a lot over the past week. Definitely agree with what you said regarding increasing the blog and/or social media image – I hate that! You have also been a kick-ass ambassador 🙂
Totally agree that it’s necessary to re-evaluate on a year to year basis, just to make sure that you’re doing the best thing for you and the brand!
Lora @ Crazy Running Girl says
I love this! I think it’s important to live the brand… there’s no bigger turn-off to me than going to read a blog and someone loves X brand of shoes one week, and then Y brand the next, and then Z brand the next. I don’t think it’s wrong to try out new things, but I do think it’s annoying when you look for an honest review and get “OMG this is my new go-to” when the person doesn’t even use it.
Congrats on being back as a PRO Ambassador in 2017! 🙂
kookyrunner says
I totally agree! Like you said, if you don’t live the brand, then you probably shouldn’t be an ambassador for that brand. That’s why I didn’t re-apply to be an ambassador for Honey Stinger or Nuun. I’m going to be trying new things this year and I wanted to be fully transparent about this.
Thanks so much for the congrats – I’m excited to be back for another year and I love the crew!
Amy @ Life to the Full says
Yes – great brand ambassador advice. All of it! Not spreading yourself too thin is especially true and I do my best to heed that advice. Burning out is way too easy to do!
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Amy! I totally agree – it’s so easy to get overwhelmed and then something that should be enjoyable turns into a chore.
Steff says
GREAT POST! We need to believe you as an ambassador of a product. You can’t LOVE everything that has a program.
kookyrunner says
Exactly! I have so many brands that I love, but it would be unfair to try to be an ambassador for all of them 🙂
De Bolton says
Great suggestions and advice from experience. Repredenting alot of Brands can be an overload.
kookyrunner says
Definitely! Last year I noticed that I had too many so I really needed to listen to my own advice for this year. I want to make sure I am a good brand ambassador and devote an adequate amount of time to it.
Jen @ pretty little grub says
I love this post so so much! I’m very picky about being a brand ambassador too, I only pick companies that I love and that I am proud to represent.
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much for the kind words Jen! It’s so important to be really be proud of the companies that we represent. They are trusting us to really represent the company well! 🙂
Zenaida Arroyo says
Great post and what you say is true. I need to refer to it so I can also be a good ambassador. 🙂
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Zenaida! You’re an awesome ambassador by the way 🙂
Marcia says
Great advice Kim! This year I had to “cull the herd” a little, so I could give each brand I represent my best.
kookyrunner says
Thanks Marcia! I had to do the same thing this yeat just to make sure I was being fair to the brand and myself as well 🙂
Annmarie says
Great post! People get caught up in the whole ambassador thing- it really is so important to stay authentic!
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Annmarie. I always want to make sure that people think I’m authentic.
Ashley @ Whiskers and Weights says
Great post! A good look into being an ambassador for both the good and bad reasons. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin to not be able to do a good job!
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Ashley! I also work full time so I always need to make sure I have enough time for work, blogging, training and being an ambassador!
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
Great thoughts on this! i agree that it is important to me to keep true to myself and only represent products that I truly use.
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Deb. I think we owe it to our readers and followers on social media to be as authentic as possible!
jen says
Great post! Yes. Only sign up for ambassadorships you can truly support. But I have to admit, it zings like hell to be ditched by brand after you support them fully for 2 years. It helps to re-prioritize oneself and what is important. Think about the benefits with ambassadorships as well. Is it really worth it to give up choice of some products with a small discount and minimal perks while they require you to ONLY wear their product?
kookyrunner says
Totally agree with everything that you said! It’s very important to weigh all the pros and cons of being an ambassador before applying, or agreeing to become one!