<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Nathan Parcells is co-founder and CMO of\u00A0InternMatch, an online platform connecting the best intern candidates and employers. Connect with Nathan and InternMatch on\u00A0Facebook,\u00A0LinkedIn, and\u00A0Twitter.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTransforming your passionate customers into your company\u2019s marketing team might sound crazy, but just might work -- especially when those customers happen to be students with a captive campus audience.\r\n\r\nMore and more companies are embracing\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassador\u00A0and campus\u00A0ambassador\u00A0programs in order to get the word out about their product or service. With social media marketing taking off, it only makes sense to get your best customers chatting in-person and over social channels.\r\n\r\nAfter all, a 2013 study found\u00A079 percent of consumers\u00A0trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to your local (or not-so-local) college campus, it\u2019s time to stop ignoring this young consumer base. A 2011 study by re:fuel found students still control\u00A0nearly $417 billion\u00A0in disposable income. With the right\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassador program, you can improve your social standing, enhance\u00A0brand\u00A0recognition, and tap into the lucrative campus market.\r\n\r\nHere are some key ways companies large and small -- from new startups like Lyft to established giants like Google -- are doing brand\u00A0ambassador\u00A0programs right:\r\nPromote your program like Lyft\r\nThe first step to getting\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0is to actively promote your program and make your\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassador\u00A0openings easy for interested candidates to apply. This means collecting all of the information about your program and storing it in one place for easy retrieval.\r\n\r\nSocial ridesharing service Lyft\u00A0houses\u00A0ambassador\u00A0openings and information in one location, along with pictures and videos to give students a better idea of the company.\r\n\r\nYour\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program page should be as well-populated and all-inclusive as your company\u2019s career page. You need to sell interested candidates on the perks, benefits, and company culture in order to target the right\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0and convince great candidates to join your team.\r\nEntice your target audience with freebies like Google\r\nAfter gauging prospective ambassadors' attention, it's time to get them in the door. Sure, some of these people will be motivated to work primarily for experience, especially when recruiting college students. However, most\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0will be looking for a little reciprocity from the\u00A0brand\u00A0they choose to represent.\r\n\r\nSmart\u00A0brands\u00A0know that offering a few free perks can expand an ambassador\u00A0program a lot faster than offering experience as the primary motivator.\r\n\r\nJust look at Google, whose now\u00A0well-established student\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program\u00A0started life as the \u201CGoogle Pizza Program.\u201D What was\u00A0the Google Pizza Program\u00A0and how did it help Google infiltrate campuses? The main idea involved Google campus ambassadors\u00A0buying pizza for their computer science peers during tough times and around deadlines.\r\n\r\nThis helped Google create buzz around the company and form ties with talented programmers and IT superstars, the same type of top-level talent the organization would later hope to recruit. By giving out free pizza, Google created a bond with their next generation of consumers and put recruiting building blocks into place.\r\nHost events like HootSuite\r\nAccording to a recent survey,\u00A0branded\u00A0live events are the No. 1 driver of\u00A0brand\u00A0recommendations. These events clock in at 65 percent, beating out even a friend\u2019s recommendation (63 percent) in importance when it comes to\u00A0brand\u00A0experience.\r\n\r\nKnowing this, many campus\u00A0ambassador\u00A0programs make events an integral part of marketing efforts in order to attract new consumers. For instance, social media metric company HootSuite empowers users and\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0to\u00A0host \u201CHootUps.\u201D\u00A0These gatherings are put together by campus\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0and fans of the company, and involve discussions of social media best practices and networking.\r\n\r\nThe events are\u00A0branded\u00A0with HootSuite swag, yet they offer students real-world value and the ability to make great contacts. If your events offer consumers and customers something useful, they\u2019ll be likely to equate your\u00A0brand\u00A0with providing concrete value to their lives.\r\nPut down roots in the community like Uber\r\nPerhaps the most important aspect of any\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program, whether your best people live on a campus or not, is to grow your roots in a particular community.\r\n\r\nOn-demand car service Uber\u00A0encourages\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0to go out into the community and make connections with students, teachers, and local businesses.\u00A0A perk of helping Uber expand into new communities is free rides, company swag, and access to cutting-edge new company programs.\r\n\r\nThe primary function of any\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program is to get the word out about the company, recommend its services, and foster brand\u00A0awareness. By hosting events, taking to social media, and being a\u00A0brand\u00A0resource, your\u00A0ambassadors\u00A0are planting deep roots within their community for your company. These roots can soon flower and grow into flourishing connections driving new customers and business your way.\r\n\r\nIf you offer value to your\u00A0brand\u00A0and campus\u00A0ambassadors, they will repay you by helping your company expand its reach. Great ambassadors\u00A0can take your organization to places it\u2019s never been before and build up communities of users and fans.\r\n\r\nAs long as you utilize good perks, promote your program, and understand what users want, your\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program will pay off in spades.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think?\u00A0How do you utilize a\u00A0brand\u00A0ambassador\u00A0or campus\u00A0ambassador\u00A0program? Share in the comments!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/04/03/need-brand-ambassador-program-4-companies-right/>