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6 Power Plays to Becoming a Brand Ambassador Becoming a brand ambassador can enhance your personal brand and create new opportunities.

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Becoming a Brand Ambassador for a well-known company can have

many bene�ts beyond any �nancial incentives associated with the position.

The opportunity to grow your personal brand is signi�cant. Brand

Ambassadors stand to gain valuable skills and experience that they may not be

getting in their day job which makes them worth more to employers. It looks

great on a resume, especially if you can prove how your contributions helped

the company grow.

Brand Ambassadors also have an opportunity to network with new people

that they may not have been able to meet had they just stayed in their day job.

Obviously, these new connections can lead to bigger career opportunities

down the road either with the company you're an ambassador for or another

company that takes notice of your skills.

Just a little over a year ago, I was named the �rst Brand Ambassador for beBee

a new and fast growing social media platform designed to help people

improve their personal brand.

Since then, beBee hired me to run their Brand Ambassador program. I've

brought on a global team of 110 ambassadors that have helped grow the

platform to 11.7-million users worldwide. Becoming a Brand Ambassador has

helped me:

Become a columnist at Inc. and Hu�ngton Post

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If you're interested in becoming a Brand Ambassador yourself, there are six

moves I recommend you make.

1) Start Working For Free

I can tell you this is one of the �rst things we look for at beBee, and it is

exactly what I did to get them to notice me in the �rst place. Start using your

talents to promote the company and they will take notice. The fact that you're

doing it for free shows them that you are serious about joining their team and

that you believe in the company's mission.

2) Be Interesting on Social Media

People often ask me whether they need quantity or quality connections on

social media as if they have to choose one or the other. My answer is that you

need a lot of quality connections. When becoming a Brand Ambassador, It's

not enough to just have a lot of followers. Companies are going to be looking

for signs of in�uence within your network.

Acquire new clients for my social media marketing company

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If companies don't see consistent engagement from your community on your

posts they will not be interested in you. It was because of my strong presence

on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter that beBee �rst noticed me and

showed interest in bringing me on as a Brand Ambassador.

Never post for the sake of just posting something. Be strategic about your

content. Take the guy hanging o� the side of a mountain in the picture above

as an example. Let's say he had a goal of becoming a Brand Ambassador for

whatever brand of shoes he's wearing. That would be a pretty cool picture to

post to his social media to get their attention, wouldn't you agree?

3) Create Compelling Online Pro�les

Your social media pro�les should have a cohesive feel and be visually

appealing. Make sure that the present you as someone of interest and always

highlight your top content. Having the right keywords in your pro�le to be

discoverable in searches. Ask yourself, what searches you'd like to appear in

and then make sure that your pro�le has the right keywords so that you show

up.

4) Always Be Professional

Remember when you become a Brand Ambassador you will be representing a

brand with everything you post or say online. Steer clear of posting anything

o�ensive. Make sure your correspondence online is professional and be

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careful not to come across as aggressive. A company won't want them to

represent you if they see angry replies the second someone disagrees with you.

Instead, make sure that you keep your cool even when people become

disrespectful or begin to troll.

As a Brand Ambassador, you will have people tell you that the company you

represent sucks. Sometimes they won't be nice about it all. Companies are

looking for signs in your social media history that indicate you will be able to

handle these situations calmly and professionally.

5) Network Your Way In

Just like with any position, becoming a Brand Ambassador can often come

down to who you know and the type of relationships you have. Start by

identifying the thought leaders within the company and get them to notice. A

good practice is to engage with their content by sharing it with your followers

and commenting on posts.

6) Demonstrate Your Knowledge

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FEB 21, 2017

Make sure that your posts showcase your professional expertise and your

passion. Brand Ambassadors are energized thought leaders and you must

position yourself as one for the industry you're targeting.

Landing a side gig as a Brand Ambassador is highly possible if you strategically

follow the six steps I've outlined above. Becoming a Brand Ambassador may

just be the power play you've needed to take your career to new heights.

If you'd like more information regarding joining my team of Brand

Ambassadors at beBee click here.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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