- Why Building Community Is the New “Growth Hack”
- This article has been granted by author TAM PHAM
- The Nuggets translation Project
- Translator: Zhongyi Tong
- Proofreader: JasinYip, GodofChina
Building user Communities – the new “growth hacker” approach
We recently launched an ambassador program. Our goal is to build a strong community where our fans can give us feedback and we can reward their loyalty. In the meantime, we hope these ambassadors will help our company grow.
None of us are professional “community builders,” so we borrowed from companies that have built successful ambassador programs.
We feel it would be selfish of us to keep it all for ourselves, so we share it with you!
TheSkimm is a daily email newsletter that gives you everything you need before the day starts. They break down the freshest news into easy-to-read chunks so you can easily keep up with current events.
What does an ambassador need to do?
Avid readers of theSkimm share their own promotional links and earn points by subscribing to others. They need to collect 10 email addresses to become official “Skimm Ambassadors.”
What does the ambassador get in return?
- 10 subscription mailboxes = Skimm handbag
- 25 subscription mailboxes = T-shirt
- 50 subscription mailboxes = Skimm Newsletter acknowledgments
- 100 subscription mailboxes = umbrella
- 150 subscription mailboxes = phone case
- 200 mailboxes = wine glasses
TheSkimm encouraged Ambassadors to walk around in their merchandise.
“This will be the only time we encourage selfies.” – theSkimm
More rewards:
- Private Facebook Group invitation: Skimm Ambassadors can connect with other Skimm ambassadors around the world
- Private LinkedIn groups: Everyone can share job listings in Ambassador Skimm’s network
- Be aware of Skimm internships and job opportunities ahead of time
- Partnership subsidy: Skimm Ambassador Advocate Scholarship or early brand partner
Does it work?
TheSkimm quickly expanded their mailing list to 1 million subscribers within three years. They attribute their biggest growth secret to the ambassadorial program, which began on day one.
They now have more than 12,000 ambassadors in two Facebook groups: one for college students, the other for everyone else.
Here’s what we learned: theSkimm readers love the merchandise and show theSkimm to their friends and family. They also love connecting with other “Skimm friends” online and getting involved in topics they’re all interested in.
Huckberry is a bi-weekly online magazine that brings you unique clothes and gadgets, as well as members-only prices and product stories behind them.
What does an ambassador need to do?
Ambassadors have a dedicated page on the site, including an introduction, social media accounts, and favorite gadgets. The project was launched in early 2015.
In addition to volunteering for Huckberry, the ambassador shared multiple times on their social channels and personal websites during the partnership.
The team tries to involve ambassadors in a number of creative branding projects – Californian Dylan Gordon, for example, is on Huckberry’s Capsule Collab with designers Iron and Resin; And surfer Nick LaVacchia, who photographed Ty Williams for the Artist series. These ambassadors just “happen” to have some professional photographic skills…
Huckberry’s Ambassador program is seen as both a source of user growth and brand inspiration. Huckberry also uses ambassadors to promote local events in their home state.
What does the ambassador get in return?
Huckberry offers different incentives for ambassadors, including gadgets, support for special projects, and social promotions. Huckberry chooses its ambassadors selectively, so it can give out more personalized merchandise.
Does it work?
Huckberry saw 84% annual growth on Instagram in 2015, which they attribute in part to cross-promotion by Instagram ambassadors. The project is relatively new and currently measures its success in terms of site traffic, new users, and social growth. Their primary goal, they tell The Hustle, is to build a tight-knit family of explorers, innovators, and athletes whose careers are closer to Huckberry’s culture.
The lesson: Keep it personal. Create a close-knit family whose members appreciate the Huckberry brand and lifestyle.
Chubbies is a youth-oriented shorts store that is thriving (as they say) on social media.
What does an ambassador need to do?
Chubbies issues weekly challenges to encourage ambassadors to promote projects and create content.
“Recently our ambassadors occupied BSR Cable Park (a water Park) in Waco, Texas, and we got great photo and video content as they had a great day at the water Park; Win-win, right? They also lead photo and video shoots, plan holiday marathons, and organize big parties where ambassadors come from all over the country to hang out and get to know each other.” Mason, Chubbies’ content mentor.
“We don’t have a requirement to post on social platforms or anything mandatory, but when the ambassador has a good idea, we do our best to make it happen.”
Ambassador Chubbies also helps with new products and advises companies on how to get better.
What does the ambassador get in return?
Chubbies ambassadors earn prizes by winning weekly challenges that include jerseys, T-shirts, custom sports gear, wigs and sunglasses.
Ambassadors receive a discount code that can be used for online shopping. Chubbies also showcases ambassadors’ content to its 1.5 million users on social channels. Almost all of their Instagram posts are exclusive content submitted directly by users.
Does it work?
Chubbies now has 400 ambassadors across the country.
Their goal is to enrich the lives of their clients and bring more happiness to the world. This has made it easy for him to gather passionate fans on college campuses and spread the brand.
“The contribution of this project to the growth of the brand is immeasurable and we are very excited as we expect the impact of this project will only grow.” Mason, Chubbies’ content mentor.
We learned from this: highly appraises the ambassador’s work. Encourage them to create content that matches your brand to create a win-win situation.
Serengetee uses fabrics from around the globe to create pocket shirts. A portion of the proceeds from each shirt will go to a charity in the country where the cloth was made.
What does an ambassador need to do?
The Serengetee call their ambassadors “cadet representatives,” and their goal is to promote the Serengetee to the world. Student representatives win prizes through a points system. It’s like where you get coupons and redeem them at the end of the semester.
To earn points, you need:
- Post photos of you in your Serengetee on social media
- Sell shirts to your friends or family using your discount code
- Compete independently or together in a number of competitions
- Each is required to set up a “representative project” to publicize the Serengetee at the end of the term. Jeremy Uniszkiewicz created something called Serengetee what is it? “Explaining what the company does. Casey Daly created a Tumblr account dedicated to his experience with the Serengetee.
What does the ambassador get in return?
- Discount: 15% off everything you buy at the store.
- Merchandise: After you earn certain points, you can get free T-shirts or pendants.
- Free Guatemala trip: If your project happens to be the best example, you can get a once-in-a-lifetime Guatemala trip with Serengetee founders Jeff and Ryan.
- Delegate Leader: After your delegate phase is over, you can be promoted to delegate leader, and you can help other Serengetee delegates by sharing your experience in the Serengetee.
- Letters of recommendation: Representative leaders usually write letters of recommendation for student representatives to help with college, job, and scholarship applications.
Does it work?
Serengetee has grown to 2,500 student representatives since launching the company in 2012.
University representatives are divided into eight regions across the United States. They have their own campus representative leaders — usually college students — who govern the area. High school representatives are divided into two regions, east and West, with each region competing separately. Each region strives for the same goal, thus establishing links.
Social media heavyhitters like Jimmy Tatro started endorsing Serengetee, adding a whole new following.
The founders say the campus representation program has been an important element of their growth.
What we learned: college and high school students can be your most important brand asset on social channels.
The Hustle is an email newsletter for leaders in business, design, and technology. We discover, explore, and decrypt inspiring original content (aka this site).
After researching a few other successful startups, I stayed here.
What does an ambassador need to do?
Readers who love our content share their own urls and invite friends to subscribe to our mailing list. You will need to collect 4 mailboxes to become an official ambassador for The Hustle.
What does the ambassador get in return?
4 Recommendations = Invites to join our intimate community where you can connect with other Hustle ambassadors around the world.
Monthly Q&A: We invite interesting entrepreneurs to have an intimate conversation in our private group. Our first q&A is with Sam and John, founders of The Hustle. Our second Q&A is with Jack Smith, who co-founded two $100 million startups at the age of 25.
Hustle Networking: Places to list your skills and offer help to your Hustle peers. In return, you can ask other hustle partners in your group for help. This becomes especially useful when we have 1,000 people together, each with just one email to get help.
- 10 recommendations = T-shirt
- 25 recommendations = hoodies
- 50 referrals = Free tickets to Hustle 2016
This is a photo from Hustle 2015, our signature conference, and each ticket costs an average of $300. Ambassadors who win tickets get the chance to participate with our team and 2,500 other attendees, as well as to see presentations by 15 founders.
Does it work?
Since launching in January, we’ve collected 4,672 mailboxes, and our community has grown to 102 people (and growing). Click here to join us.
The key to review
Each ambassador program is unique. If you’re setting up your own ambassador program, find out what motivates your customers (or readers) to talk about your brand. Then create a project that lets them do that and support them along the way.