mobilize + octribe presentation

Tips & Tricks to Running Your Ambassador ProgramNina WilkinsonCustomer Success Director

Mobilize.io | @nina_wilkinson | @Mobilize_io

2. Recruiting

The What

Know Their Goals

Identify Right

People

3. Program

Ops

4. Best

Practices

1. Build a

Plan

The Role

The Type

The Why

Life Cycle

Recruiting

Play-book

Checklist

Reward

Communi-cation

#octribe [email protected]

The WhatBuild a Plan

The Why

The Type


Why do you want to have an ambassador program?

● What’s the company objective? Are you looking to increase sales, drive leads, or decrease purchase times for your leads, launch new cities, decrease your support efforts, build brand awareness?

Building a Plan - The Why

○ Docker’s objective - build brand awareness in the developer community in order to shorten the purchase time for leads.

○ Scoop’s objective - drive user acquisition and increase brand awareness by referrals.

○ Prezi’s objective - amplify growth through experts program. Increase support reach to wider user base.


What type of ambassador program do you want to have?

● There are a variety of program types: ○ Event organizers - host local meetups (Docker)○ Referral - refer new users to your brand (Scoop)○ Content creators - write content for blogs or social media (Vinted)○ Speakers - speak on your company’s behalf at events (Docker)○ Influencer - promote your brand through social channels (Omega)○ Experts / Resellers / partners - top users/sellers of your products (Prezi)

Get CREATIVE! There’s no set path for your ambassador program, you can create your own!

Building a Plan - The Type


Building a Plan - The What

What are your goals for the program? ● Define your Program Objectives

○ Host more meetups, create content, increase referral rate● Measure the Program ROI

○ Try to trace your users’ brand journey– the ambassador impact○ What’s your ROI for your program? If you want to have more leads, what is your goal for

MoM growth? If you want to increase brand love, is it the # of mentions, retweets, or hashtags used?

● Define the Program’s Health ○ How do you know the program is healthy and functioning?○ How many referrals do you want them to bring, how many

events do you want them to host?


Ambassador Recruiting Know

Their Goals

The Role

Identify the Right People


What do you want your ambassadors to do?● Define your ambassador’s role

○ What are they expected to do: host events, create content, provide feedback, create a local presence for your brand, recruit new community members?

○ How often are they expected to do these activities? Host a meetup 1x per quarter? Provide feedback with each new release?

● How will you monitor their progress?○ Regular check-ins○ Tasks to accomplish○ Checklists

Building a Plan - The Role


Who are your ambassadors? Are they your top customers, influencers, local meetup organizers, campus reps, resellers or partners?● Your champions are the people that share your brand’s vision

○ What do they have in common with each other?○ Why are they excited about your brand?○ Why are they your champions (usage, expertise, tenure, followers)?

● Build a persona○ Define the age range, location, interests, areas of expertise○ Where do they hang out on social media?

You’ve done all this, now how do you get them to join?

Recruiting - Identify the Right People


Why do they want to be your ambassador? ● What motivates them?

○ Resume building– as a consultant, get hired at your company, improve in their current role?

○ Company insight / early product knowledge○ Perks / swag / $$○ A combo?!

Don’t know why, ask!

At the end of the day, they’re your partners, so you need to ensure your mutual success.

When they succeed, you’ll succeed!

Recruiting - Know their goals


Program Ops

Playbook

Life Cycle Check-list


Program Operations - Know Their Life Cycle

So, how do you get your ambassador program off the ground?

● Define the stages of your ambassador’s life cycle:

Communication

Training

Reward

Recruiting


Playbooks are an easy way to track your steps and repeat your successes!

● As you scale your program to other cities and build out your team you need a playbook to ensure consistency and maintain program quality.

● Playbooks should include:○ Training sessions○ Videos○ Content templates○ Benchmarks○ Role descriptions○ Swag ideas

Program Operations - Create a Playbook


● Build checklists to support each phase of your ambassador life cycle○ Recommended items for your checklist:

■ Application form■ Code of Conduct■ Training plan■ Regularly shared content■ Progress Update■ Rewards■ Referral

○ As you progress, note what works and what doesn’t–whether it’s content, tasks or incentives, keep track of what works!

● Utilize best practices and learn from the pros

Program Operations - Build a Checklist


Best Practices Reward

Communication

Recruiting


First, what do you already know about your ambassadors?

● General Info○ Name, User IDs, email address, phone number

● Operational data○ What do you need to know about them to run your program?

■ Meetup link, social handles, location, products used, usage history, earnings history, seller info

Don’t know much about them, or want to know more...

Recruiting Best Practices - Get Their Data


● Create an application form! ○ Ask for relevant information you need in order to communicate with them (age,

company/university, social profiles, portfolios)○ Ask how they want to be involved (mentoring, organize meetups)○ Why are they applying?○ And MOST IMPORTANTLY why do they love your brand?

● Take cues from the pros at Docker and Scoop and see how they cater their forms to their unique audiences.

Recruiting Best Practices - Application Forms FTW


https://community.docker.com/registrations/groups/4316

https://takescoop.mobilize.io/registrations/groups/3551

Use tools that help you communicate, build relationships, and track your success● Your database is key for collecting info and managing your members.

○ Collect as much information about them as you can.

● Use tools that cover your entire ambassador life cycle

○ From recruiting, organizing and monitoring, to messaging.

● Find the communication channel that’s easiest for you and your team

○ Email and mailing lists, group SMS, or Facebook groups. It might even be a mix of a few!

● Revise and share your playbook as you scale your program

○ Playbooks are always a work in progress!

Communication Best Practices - Tools


Remember, they’re your partners so...

● DO○ Communicate with them regularly○ Share product updates and announcements○ Share job listings○ Get their insights on the program○ Ask for product feedback○ Invite them to events○ Make them feel special!

● DON’T○ Send them only tasks or requests○ Ignore their feedback○ Overwhelm them with information (1-2x per week

is recommended)

Communication Best Practices - Engaging Content


Be sure that your ambassadors are the first to know!

● Keep your ambassadors in the loop before announcing important news to the public. ● Your ambassadors are the energy behind your program, transparent communication

demonstrates trust and opens a channel for valuable feedback

Communication Best Practices - Build Trust & Transparency


Be open to constructive feedback

● As you’re launching an ambassador program there are bound to be a few hiccups or challenges. Learn from them!

● Ask your ambassadors for their feedback and show that you want to improve the program and help them reach their potential.

● Seeking out feedback not only creates better trust among your ambassadors but it can also help you improve your product.

Reward Best Practices - Feedback Channel


Events, big or small, are a great way to build relationships with the ambassadors and for them to network amongst their peers ● Conferences, meetups, happy hours, special events at industry events● Swag

○ Give swag that’s meaningful, helpful and fun!○ If your ambassadors are on the road a lot, offer them travel related swag–portable

chargers, plug adapters, headphones, eye masks–GET CREATIVE!

Reward Best Practices - Events & Swag


Gratitude not attitude! ● Swag and exclusive invitations are benefits, not praise● Public recognition is invaluable.

○ It can help ambassadors advance their career, makes them attractive job candidates, and is a huge morale boost.

● Don’t be afraid to retweet them or share their content through your company channels, everyone wants to get a little lovin’

● Be careful not to praise only your top performers– make sure that all your ambassadors feel valued.

● Simple gestures go a long way.○ Buffer has long been known for their personal thank you

notes to fans

Reward Best Practices - Praise


https://open.buffer.com/community-delight/

https://open.buffer.com/community-delight/

Ambassador programs have the potential to amplify your voice beyond your company walls. ● Let them speak about your brand with an authentic voice

● Align your objectives with the aspirations of your ambassadors

● And empower your mutual success, after all this is a partnership!

Now go get ‘em!


Want to learn more? Get in touch!

Nina WilkinsonCustomer Success Director

Mobilize.io | @nina_wilkinson | @Mobilize_io

THANK YOU!


https://www.mobilize.io/?utm_source=octribe&utm_medium=referral

https://www.mobilize.io/?utm_source=octribe&utm_medium=referral

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