How to create a brand ambassador program for your pole business

As a pole business owner, you want to reach more customers to sell your product or service. One way to do that is to partner with other people already working in the pole industry who could sell or advertise your business for you.

Having a brand ambassador program is one way to do that.

What is a brand ambassador?

A brand ambassador is someone hired to endorse or promote your company’s products or services in a defined way.

Brand ambassadors can be classified under the concept of “affiliate marketing” or “influencer marketing.”

In the pole context, this might mean they wear your clothes, use your grip, promote your certification program, or encourage people to attend your events.

You might pay them in actual dollars, in commission from sales, in products/services, or some combination.

How do you find a brand ambassador?

Look for someone that is already using your products/services or who embodies the qualities important to your brand.

For instance, if you sell shoes and a popular pole dancer wears them (on social media, during an event/competition or other public way), you could approach them to become a brand ambassador. Or if you really like someone’s style and think they might be a good fit to represent your brand, you could approach them to try your product/service and confirm they like it.

Looking for people online and sending “cold” DMs or emails can be difficult so some brands prefer to run contests actively searching for brand ambassadors. A contest can be a great way to generate marketing “buzz” around your product or service and to help you find qualified people who are already engaged and interested in your brand.

If your goal is to find the most “famous” or influential, in terms of social media statistics, brand ambassador, you may need to do a combination of contest and individual search.

How do you create a brand ambassador program?

Like most business things, even when done between friends, have a contract that spells out all the details of your program.

Think about what you’re trying to achieve by working with this person. Are you trying to get more sales or if you’re a new business, maybe you want to increase awareness about your brand first.

Other details about your brand ambassador program could include:

• Expectations for the brand ambassador such as posting on social media a certain number of times per month/quarter/year to maintain their status as working for your brand.
• Expectations for you the business such as providing new products for the brand ambassador to try or wear, and details about sales commissions (if relevant).
• Technology details for how the brand ambassador process works (if relevant) such as signing up for a third-party tool or using specific links or codes. Read more about how that might work for your pole business in this post.

IPIA members can access this sample brand ambassador contract at this link.

Brand ambassadors can be a great way to get your product or service in front of your target potential customers. Be clear about your expectations, deadlines, termination, terms of service, and other details up front so you can focus on growing your business!