If your brand is targeting a high school or college-aged demographic, then recruiting college and student brand ambassadors is a must.
A lot of universities already play on this tactic—prospective students and current students are often given opportunities to become a brand ambassador for their school or department. This might require doing a few regular duties like cleaning, cooking, or handing out pamphlets. In return, the student gets a few freebies or extra rewards on campus like a free meal.
While a university is different to a brand selling sweatpants, for example, the tactic behind a student brand ambassador program operates in much the same way.
For brands targeting this young demographic, there’s no better place to source ambassadors. Since they’re part of the demographic you’re targeting, they’ll probably already be connected to hundreds of students their own age. This means they’ll know exactly how to tap into the “student life”, and promote your products or services in a way that truly appeals to your demographic.
College students are also a lot more flexible when it comes to payment. Instead of paying them directly, you can reward them with freebies, discount codes, or social leverage (especially if you have a large following yourself). Say that you’ll feature all brand ambassadors on your socials; a lot of student ambassadors will jump at the chance of being featured on a popular brand’s page, as it means more exposure.