Brand Ambassador vs. Affiliate: Which is Better?

To figure out which might be more beneficial to your marketing efforts — brand ambassadors and affiliates — you first have to understand the difference between the tools and the pros and cons of each. 

While both approaches to promoting your brand involve using social proof and putting the power of word-of-mouth marketing to work through a third party, ambassadors work through a relationship with the brand. At the same time, affiliates serve primarily as transactional partnerships.

If you’re not clear on which of the tools provides a better approach for your brand, you’re not alone. A 2022 survey of U.S. marketing executives found that 28% either don’t measure affiliate partnership results or don’t know how to measure them, despite having metrics essentially built into the channel.

Read up on the benefits and challenges of both methods to better inform your marketing team.

What is a brand ambassador?

While companies often select influencers based on their target audience, ability to create content and history of engagement on social media, brand ambassadors are chosen primarily on their active use of the brand’s products or services. 

Although they may have a profession in a field related to your brand’s products or services, it’s not a requirement. However, brand ambassadors with perceived expertise in an industry that ties to your products or services could provide an extra layer of authenticity and trust with consumers. 

The pros of using brand ambassadors

Serving as a sort of freelance advocate, brand ambassadors can improve awareness about a company, brand, product or service, gather direct feedback from consumers and customers, and increase revenue for the brand. They may serve the brand through a long-term contract individually or alongside other brand ambassadors through the company’s designated ambassador program. 

Brand ambassadors can be compensated in many ways. Some will agree to be “paid” through free products or services, exclusive discounts, commissions, an hourly rate, or free trips. 

The cons of using brand ambassadors

One of the downsides of using a brand ambassador is that they’re already reaching the same target audience. 

In addition, because brand ambassadors are hired by your company, their guidance and management become your responsibility. Considering these are typically long-term relationships, you should allocate resources to monitor and work with them. 

While larger companies may easily cover the cost of hiring brand ambassadors, emerging brands may not have the budget to retain these promoters over the long haul. 

Finding brand ambassadors

Decided your company could benefit from one or more brand ambassadors? Here are a few tips to help you find them:

1. Host a customized ambassador application on your website. Be sure to clearly explain what you’re looking for, the responsibilities and roles of a brand ambassador, and compensation.
2. Use social monitoring to find out who your promoters and advocates are. After researching their posts and bios, determine if they have the potential to represent your brand well.
3. Search for bloggers about topics related to your industry, products or services. 
4. Consider using employees. They know your brand inside and out, can be guided through content creation, and will have the ability to monitor and respond to comments.
5. Turn to an ambassador database. Designed to connect influencers to the brands they already like, these digital talent agencies can use your brand’s social media account name to find influencers who already “like” your brand. 

What is a brand affiliate?

Using a unique affiliate promotional code or link, affiliate marketers are paid commissions on their sales. They may do so by promoting products and services on their own websites or landing pages, on their social media pages, or through digital tools that draw the target audience’s attention. 

Unlike brand ambassadors, who typically use the product they’re promoting, affiliates may simply serve as salespeople working to earn money off the one or more brands they’re marketing. Affiliates may not have any familiarity with the brand or even a shared target audience with the brand on social media.

The pros of using affiliate marketers

Despite its relatively low investment and ease of scale and automation, affiliate marketing accounts for less than 3% of all digital spending in the U.S. Much of the problem seems to lie with brands, many of whose marketing teams just don’t feel educated enough on implementing and tracking affiliate marketing programs.

But if you’re looking to expand your brand’s reach and sales—with little oversight and only a small commission paid to the affiliate, it can be worth it to smaller or lesser-known brands.

The cons of using affiliate marketers

Companies may worry about the lack of control they have over how their brand is presented or the reputation of the affiliate marketers if they’re not fully vetted. 

Low profit margins and competitive markets may also factor into companies’ hesitancy to try affiliate marketing, while larger, more established brands may feel that the limited reach of affiliate marketers makes little impact compared to the effectiveness of the brand’s other marketing efforts.

Finding affiliate marketers

Ready to dip your toes into affiliate marketing? Consider these ideas to find affiliates:

1. Ask your repeat or satisfied customers. Enlist the help of your customer management team to create a list of your best customers, then do some research on social media to see if any have the potential to be a good match as an affiliate marketer.
2. Look for niche bloggers and vloggers. Established blogs or vlogs can provide a built-in channel for affiliate marketing. Find creators who share a target audience with your brand.
3. Contact the page owners of online communities. Groups and forums with a dedicated focus (e.g., acne, vegan cooking, skateboarding, music) can give you access to buyers and sellers for your affiliate marketing program. 
4. Use an affiliate recruitment agency. Outsourcing your affiliate recruitment will free up your team to manage other aspects of marketing. Because these agencies already have existing relationships with affiliates, they can expedite the process to get your program up and running faster.

Brand ambassadors and affiliate marketers can each play a part in your brand’s growth. By better understanding the benefits, challenges, and roles of both tools, you can determine if one or both is worth investing your time and money. 

Influencers:

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Marketers:

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