Written for EO by Jessica Thiefels, social media coach and organic marketing consultant. Consumers are tired of being marketed to, especially on social media. In fact, 74 percent of millennials and generation Z consumers don’t want to be targeted by ads in their newsfeed, according to Lithium. What’s more, 56 percent of these consumers are cutting back on social media as a result of advertising. The answer? Brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors are consumers who love your product or service, and share their love with your potential customers. They typically share their appreciation on social media or their blog, but brand ambassadors also work in-person giving out samples or speaking about products at events. WHY USE BRAND AMBASSADORS?These advocates humanize your brand and add authenticity to your marketing efforts. Hootsuite also suggests that brand ambassadors can help drive traffic to your website, increase your brand presence in targeted regions, and provide positive word of mouth. The key is choosing the right brand ambassadors. To figure out if you could benefit from a brand ambassador, first consider if your organization is ready for the broader reach and increased attention. CONSIDER THESE FIVE FACTORS WHEN SELECTING BRAND AMBASSADORSWhen choosing ambassadors, consider these important qualities:
Also, consider how you’ll compensate the individual. Will you send them new products? Can they make requests? Is there a minimum number of posts they need to do each week or events they need to attend? As you begin to look for ambassadors, consider the many ways you can use them to expand your reach and take your business to the next level. Create Content for Social Media One of the most common ways to work with brand ambassadors is social media posts. This type of agreement helps you generate user generated content. Instead of using a stock photo or product image in your Instagram post, for example, you might repost an image from your brand ambassador. The value is two-fold:
Promote New Products Build brand ambassadors into your product launch plans. Ambassadors can help drive initial sales, especially when they’re posting on social media. For example, ship new products to all ambassadors for an Instagram live unboxing paired with a discount code for their followers. Or, ask ambassadors to facilitate a giveaway with their audience using branded hashtags. Or, invite event ambassadors to promote the new product at industry events. With free giveaways you can drive brand equity, authenticity and take advantage of face-time with potential customers. Write Authentic Blog Reviews Collective Bias found that 75 percent of consumers trust product endorsements by non-celebrity bloggers, which explains why the mommy blogger industry was one of the first to explode in online influencer marketing, with moms endorsing the products they love for their families and kids. Brands can make use of this influencer marketing by selecting ambassadors who have built a large online following. These ambassadors can include your brand in “product roundups” or holiday gift guides, or refer to them in a variety of posts, as specified in your brand ambassador contract. In many cases, you end up with a mix of blog content and social media posts, expanding your reach exponentially. Note that many influential bloggers charge for this work, so you may need to pay a one-time fee if the relationship is not on-going. Target Specific Regions If you want to target or expand into specific regions, look for local ambassadors to promote your brand. These ambassadors can provide support both online and offline, at events and on social media. In this case, you’ll still want to keep all the standard qualifications in mind, in addition to looking for people who have a strong influence within that specific region, not just online. There are many ways to use brand ambassadors to promote your products and drive trust and brand equity for your business. Keep these ideas in mind as you determine how to best use brand ambassadors for your marketing efforts. Jessica writes about online marketing best practices. Her work can be found on more than 500 websites, including Virgin, Forbes, MarTech, Score.org and more. Follow her on Twitter @JThiefels and connect on LinkedIn. The post What Are Brand Ambassadors and How Can You Use Them? appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2SMoP2T
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Written by Ben Ridler. The original version of this article appeared on Ben’s Medium channel. Ben is an experienced CEO, leader, strategic planner, growth hacker and product developer. He has started five companies, each of which exceeded US$1 million in revenue. Ben is an EO New Zealand member who joined in 2002. Almost a year ago, I committed to becoming a human lab rat, applying all the anti-aging and wellness programs I can handle with the aim of reducing my biological and cognitive age by five years. Recently I’ve been reflecting on my anti-aging and biohacker journey. It’s quite staggering what I’ve achieved in the last year compared to the previous 25 years! More importantly, I’ve been reflecting on why I’ve achieved so much, and how others can do the same. I’ve got it down to a few key things that were different from my previous efforts to improve my health and performance. First, the tale of the tape. My weight has remained reasonably steady at about 73 kg (161 pounds). I’m the lightest I’ve been in my adult life. And, for the first time in my life, I don’t want to lose any more weight! The crazy thing is, once I became fat-adapted a couple of months in, I didn’t feel that I was missing out or dieting. My body loves the modified keto diet. My brain loves it even more. I feel like I was deceived my entire life about food and nutrition, and that I have just discovered my truth. Body composition: 15.2% body fat and skeletal muscle mass is 30.54 kg. I’ve achieved my goal for body composition with minimal physical effort. When considering how hard I’ve trained in the past to get much poorer results, I’m a little embarrassed. Understanding the relationships between diet, sleep, hormones, energy, and exercise has helped me realize an almost magical transformation. Every time I see myself with a six-pack in the mirror, I’m like, who the hell is that guy? I look like the men I used to envy and console myself by blaming my poor genetics for not looking as good as I wanted to. Sleep: I get an average 7:46 hours per night, of which 82% is deep sleep. And I know exactly how to get it into the 90s when I need to recharge fully or when I have big day ahead. Blood work: in range or better than range. I learned that the range we use today is calculated based on the average for people the same sex as you aged 17 to 70. For 40 years, they’ve adjusted the range as people have become unhealthier. WTF? That means that average blood ranges today were not average 30 years ago.
Age: My physical age is now 10 years younger than my actual age! Assessing my physical vs. biological age is based on testing my heart, lungs, skin, and brain with a process called Bloom Physioage. I still need to measure telomere length and immunology ages. The most significant turnaround is my neuroage—or brain function — which was my main focus as I was pretty concerned about it a year ago when I was stressed, drinking to cope and struggling to focus. According to my neuroage, my brain is now performing the best it has as an adult. It’s functioning as one would expect a 20-year-old’s brain to function, but with all the knowledge of my hard-earned experience. I feel so sharp most of the time it’s like I’ve been enhanced. In the past, I have experienced with performance enhancers and focus drugs. Today, I consider high-level ketosis and meditation as the two most powerful things I’ve done. I will keep playing with smart-drugs for different effects or situations. But my day-to-day state is now at an unbelievable level. Productivity, energy, clarity, speed. I wouldn’t want to compete with me when I get back to entrepreneurial life.! It feels like I’m cheating. But given how poorly I was operating before, I’m happy to gain a few advantages for my next ventures. Hormones : One thing many entrepreneurs don’t realize is how much our profession affects our health —and one of the most common areas is our hormones. My adrenal function was utterly stuffed when I started this journey, and while it’s improved, there’s a long way to go. Good news is that my testosterone is back up. And everything is going in the right direction. I’m also far more aware of how the damage occurs, and how to mitigate it. There’s lots more that’s changed, big and small. But these are the factors that jump out. So why has this been so successful, what’s the secret sauce? More importantly, what can you learn from my journey? I have narrowed it down to a few key factors:
So that’s where I am after 8 months as a biohacker. Who would have thought it would work this well?I appreciate all the support, and I am inspired to see many of the people around me making changes, too. This entrepreneurial life is a tough one. As a group, we are the top of the stats for most significant ailments—heart attacks, cancer, breakdowns, and stress-related health issues. Many of our careers are cut short when the stress we live with every day catches up to us. When your doctor tells you to reduce stress and drink less, it’s not that easy when your job description and the causes of stress are identical, and drinking may give you a short respite from everything. Maybe you’re like I was, and you believe you’re coping. Even so, it’s shortening your life and lowering your effectiveness. If you want to get ahead of the curve and add biohacking to your toolkit, reach out for help. I’m happy to help you. Biohacking is, by far, the best thing I’ve done for my professional and personal development for a long time. And, while I’m enjoying the time out of running businesses after 25 years of being a CEO, I know I’ve reached a whole new level and will be dramatically more effective when I go back soon. Stay young. Connect with Ben Ridler via LinkedIn. Hear Ben speak more about biohacking during EO24/7, EO’s annual virtual-learning event. Learn more and register today. This year’s event will feature profound insights from today’s top teachers in the fields of business growth and innovation. The post Benjamin Button Biohacker appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2CY39M4 |
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November 2020
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