If you communicate with 10-year-olds on a daily basis, you’ve probably heard the phrase “I want to be an Instagram influencer when I grow up” more than once. You may blame it on social media. You might kick your kids off their devices. Or you might talk the hind legs off a donkey about the importance of a “real job”. This won’t change the fact that the culture of influencing will continue to shape the trends in all industries, including event marketing.
In fact, influencing is already on its way to becoming a “real job” with a huge value behind it. Ninety-two percent of consumers trust referrals from the people they know. For event marketers, influencing is a gold mine because people who might be considered brand ambassadors or social influencers can make your ticket sales skyrocket in the blink of an eye simply by recommending the event to their audience.
Key reasons to invite an ambassador
First of all, not every ambassador is good for your event. So before you jump straight into ambassador hunting, do your research in terms of the expertise and audience that your ideal candidate should have. The most basic way to understand whether someone is a good fit is to check the content an ambassador creates and think how this content can work in your event’s favour. For instance, if you are organising a tech conference, an event ambassador who has a blog on VR tech and shares lots of content under tech-related hashtags could be the one for you.
Apart from social influencing, an event ambassador can also speak at your event or share their expertise with your audience in other ways on the ground. Here’s how Nathalie Nault, Representative for Quebec City’s Ambassadors’ Club, describes her responsibilities in an interview for Quebec City: “We present the host city, venues, local culture and history, travel and tourism information, and the top reasons why an event should be held in Quebec City.”
How to invite an ambassador to your event
So how do you go about inviting an ambassador to an event? Most importantly, how do you invite an ambassador who can make a valuable contribution? There are three key methods that should shape your strategy:
- Use an existing email list. The perfect event ambassador is not necessarily a trusted sponsor or an influential speaker. They could even be a random user who shares the same passion as you. Email prospects who you think could be the right fit, and research attendees who have been very active in responding to your event activities recently. Pick the most promising candidates, and send them your invitations as well.
- Hunt for ambassadors on social media. This one is a no-brainer: You go online, check relevant hashtags, and message the authors. Ideally, you should focus on people who can share the details of your event and get active engagement on their content.
- Recruit on site. Use your event connections to pitch an ambassador proposal on the ground. If you are looking into long-term cooperation, we recommend that you come up with a list of potential ambassadors based on an actual list of attendees and then approach each of your ideal candidates at the event. From customers to speakers, you can focus on anyone who seems to be interested in growing your event’s mission.
How to write a letter to invite an ambassador to an event
Each case is unique, but there’s one fundamental goal that every ambassador hunter should focus on: building empathy for an event. In other words, you have to make an event ambassador WANT to move the needle instead of just doing you a favour.
Here are several steps to creating a truly compelling message for prospective ambassadors:
1. Stick to formal. Whether it’s a roundtable meeting or a music festival, focus on keeping your invitation respectful, suitable, and concise. (Please note that “boring” isn’t mentioned here.) Of course, an eye-catching subject and a friendly tone are your secrets to success. Still, because it’s a business partnership proposal, a formal letter that explains all the details in the most comprehensive way is the best fit.
2. Mention a value offer. Time is precious, and even if an ambassador truly shares the vision of your event, he or she shouldn’t do it for just a “thank you”. When creating your email invite, think about ways to incorporate a brief description of a value offer—the details and terms of cooperation can be explained in an attached document—just to help the person understand the “why”.
3. Use attachments. The core function of an email invitation is to grab your prospects’ attention, not bore them to death with endless project details. However, some users want to understand the terms of cooperation before providing any response. Here’s a basic example of a classic ambassador invitation that clarifies the most important details and directs the invitee to an enclosed document:
Conclusion
Efficient recruitment of brand ambassadors can heighten recognition of your event and influence a large part of ticketing revenue. Use these simple tips on writing a compelling invitation, and win the attention of the most influential persona in your target niche.
