What Is The Difference Between an Influencer and a Brand Ambassador?

By Salima Samadzada - Copywriter

Monday 19th July 2021: A brand ambassador is like an influencer, right? Wrong. Not entirely anyway. Sure, you can think of them both as individuals who work with brands to promote products in exchange for money, swag, or recognition. But if you really want to get your head around the differences between an influencer and a brand ambassador to give you a better understanding of what each role entails, keep reading.

An influencer is someone who has influence over the opinions of a given market or industry. Whereas a brand ambassador represents a company and can speak to media outlets on behalf of the brand. The topic of influencer marketing continues to be popular, but many businesses still cannot recognise the benefits that both these types bring — or how they differ from one another. Understanding the differences between these two is crucial for any business wanting to promote their products or services.

The position of Brand Ambassador has evolved in recent years. It used to be simply that someone would 'spread the word' about a brand or product. With social media and the internet, this has changed. A Brand Ambassador now has responsibilities such as; publically promoting a brand, creating content for social media platforms and conducting social media research. They need to understand the different platforms and how they can best promote their business.

A brand ambassador is essentially the same as an influencer — both have the power to influence peoples decisions or perspectives however the main difference is in the partnership.

The easiest way to split brand ambassadors apart from influencers is that an influencer represents a brand or company in its own unique way for a short period of time, often one or two posts. A brand ambassador is more like a representative of the company that has grander ambitions, they coordinate how the brand is presented and represented. During their contract, they often avoid collaborations with brand associated rivals and are more likely to stick around long-term, for up to a year or more.

Influencers create quality content, aesthetically pleasing to the eyes to capture viewer attention. You’re able to work with multiple types of influencers, from mega to micro, to reach wider demographics whilst simultaneously entering new target markets. There’s also a lesser risk of a controversy linked to the influencer affecting your brand as the partnership lasts for a shorter period, contrary to brand ambassadors.

You’re more likely to establish a stronger bond with a specific target group as you’ll be spending a long time digging deep rather than having a brief interaction. Brand ambassadors go the extra mile by spreading the word more intimately offline through friends, events, or community activities.

Since they refrain mostly from partnering with your competitors, it makes them more committed and loyal people, which widens the opportunity for you to stand out and be noticed. Brand ambassadors are primarily experts in their niche, enabling them to promote a brand genuinely and honestly whilst giving them authority. This encourages viewers to listen and trust their opinion instead of skipping.

It really boils down to your campaign goals.

Do you want a broader reach? Then influencers are better suited since they have tons of followers on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

Do you want to build customer loyalty? Then maybe brand ambassadors are the better route – who may have a smaller following online but can represent your company in person, as we all know people trust friends more than celebrities!

There’s no stopping you from choosing both. You could always be experimental yourself and test which one performs better in achieving your goals.