What is an internal ambassador?

What if your employees became your company’s ambassadors ? It is entirely possible to transform their role if we encourage the emergence of employee ambassadors.

What is an internal ambassador ? What exactly is their role ? Why is this so important ? We tell you everything in this article !

#1 – Internal brand ambassador: a nice definition

An internal ambassador is an employee who defends your company’s image and promotes your offers even though they do not necessarily have a commercial function.

For example, Eddy wears your brand’s corporate T-shirt when he accompanies his son to football on Saturday afternoons. At the family dinner on Sunday, Annie is full of praise for the taste of the new chocolate desserts produced in your workshops. 

Theo has shared your special « Wine Fair » operation for next week on social networks.

Eddy, Annie and Theo are your internal ambassadors. They are proud of your company. They have developed a strong sense of belonging. And they contribute positively to the word-of-mouth and the reputation of the company.

Do you recognize them? What are you waiting for to provide them with a van in your company’s colours with loudspeakers to go and preach your good word ? Let’s get back to business. What can these employees do for you in concrete terms ?

#2 – What is the role of an internal ambassador?

For many companies, satisfied employees act as influencers in their environment.  

However, not everyone plays the role of employee ambassador in the same way or with the same intensity.

Some will simply do a tweet or a Facebook post from time to time. Others will speak positively about their experience in your company. Finally, a few will become actively involved in a cause supported by your brand.

The internal ambassador drives the company’s mission

The brand ambassador acts as a spokesperson for the company. They are a brand evangelist… with your corporate T-shirt as a cassock.

Internally, with friends and family, or on social networks, they explain your company’s mission. 

For example, if someone asks them at dinner what they do for a living, they will not be satisfied with a succinct answer such as « I am a delivery driver ». They will happily launch into an 8-hour monologue about what your company does, why it does it and how it does it.

The internal ambassador defends the brand’s values

Your brand is not just about its mission (what it does). The brand experience also encompasses the values carried by the company. For example, E. Leclerc is not just a supermarket chain. It is also a brand that defends the purchasing power of consumers.

Your employee ambassadors are in line with the company’s values. In fact, they recite them like a mantra every morning on their way to work… They don’t hesitate to defend your values and testify to your corporate culture outside of their work environment. 

In a employer brand logic, employee ambassadors will also be able to defend your company’s employee experience.

The internal ambassador promotes offers

Internal ambassadors contribute to the dissemination and promotion of your product or service offers. Like Annie, they tell their friends and family about your latest product. These little chocolate cakes are really good…

Or, like Theo, they share on social networks the release of a new offer or the holding of an event. Finally, they can also relay your job offers to their respective networks.

#3 – Why is it important to have internal ambassadors?

For a company, the presence of internal ambassadors constitutes a certain competitive advantage, especially in support of your marketing strategy.

Here are 3 good reasons to support this type of action on the part of your employees:

Reason 1 : to improve visibility

Visibility is essential for a company. The more exposure a brand has, the more likely it is that new people will be interested in it. Your employee ambassadors spread your brand far beyond the advertising and marketing messages sent out by the company.

This is true in amateur football stadiums, at family dinners or during their pottery classes. But this is even more true in the context of digitalisation. Your ambassadors’ words on the web and social media reinforce the brand’s visibility and e-reputation.

Your internal ambassadors give you access to their personal network and allow you to reach a wider audience.

Sharing your messages by employee ambassadors would multiply their visibility by 24 !

Dynamic Signal Study

Reason 2 : to increase credibility

There is no point in denying it. Consumers have become very wary of marketing messages shared by companies and often say « what the hell are they trying to sell me? »  On the other hand, 90% of them trust the messages posted by their friends and family. 

Therefore, the internal ambassadors act as trusted third parties to their friends and family. By relying on your ambassadors, you strengthen the credibility of your company and the engagement of consumers.

Reason 3 : to promote your employer brand

45% of business leaders say they are experiencing recruitment difficulties

Manpower Survey

What if internal brand ambassadors became your field recruiters? Employee ambassadors are best placed to convey an attractive image of your company. You therefore have every reason to involve them in your future recruitments.

Do you know how many conversations start with « and what do you do for a living? ».  No, don’t look, we don’t have the answer… A lot, that’s for sure ! If, each time, you have an employee who answers: « I work for Trucmuche. Frankly, they’re great… and by the way, they are recruiting at the moment », you multiply your chances of attracting the best talent.