I’m going to set the record straight. I’m in love with Jaguar.
But like all great love stories, mine and Jaguar’s is one of age, heartbreak, triumph and ambassadorship. Yes, ambassadorship. We’ll get to that.
The Early Years
The love story actually started when I was a little girl. You see, my grandma had a Jaguar and I thought she was one of the coolest ladies ever. So elegant and fun, my granny was. Her Jaguar was champagne colored and exuded elegance and fun, just like her. I feel in love with it the minute I sat in it. She knew it, too. In fact, my granny always told me that one day she’d give it to me because my tush fit perfectly in it. Unfortunately she could not longer drive it. At the time I was far from driving age and while the memories and daydreams of me cruising down the street in it remained, I never did get to drive my granny’s Jag.
Until last year.
Triumph & Brand Ambassadorship
If you recall, this same story won me the opportunity to cruise down the streets of Miami in the brand new #FTYPE with Kelly Rowland. It was triumphant. The roar of the engine. The smell of the leather. The elegance. The fun. It was all there. This experience was enough to reignite my love for the brand. Of course in true Jaguar style I was treated to a first class experience. I was made to feel special. Just like you do whenever you step behind the wheel of one of their cars. Of course since that day I have been an avid promoter of the brand. I became a brand ambassador. And as you know from reading my blog, brand ambassadorship is one of the greatest social assets you can ever own.
I was so astonished by and grateful for the experience that I wrote heavily about it from a business standpoint. I wrote about the original contest idea and why it worked. And I talked about turning your fans into superfans.
London’s Calling
Fast forward to today. Just last week I was invited to London with a group of Jaguar lovers and online content creators by Jaguar for the reveal of their brand new baby, the Jaguar XE. (Follow the conversation with the Hashtag #FEELXE) Their mission was to get people in the US talking about the experience to help build the hype and to connect them further with the history of Jaguar as a brand.
This picture was taken by Misshattan. Follow her, she’s great!
Of course no detail went by the wayside. We stayed at the London Edition and were given a true British experience. We went to The Shard for the views and lunch, the Tate Modern for a private tour and were escorted in English double decker buses branded with #FEELXE for the main event, the reveal of the new Jaguar XE.
The car of course is elegant and fun just as you would imagine. I hope one day I’ll own it and make my granny proud.
Ok, you are probably saying stop bragging. And I don’t mean to. 🙂 I am just so impressed with Jaguar, what they stand for, and how they treat their fans online.
5 Things You Can Learn About Brand Ambassadorship From Jaguar
1. Make People Feel Special
Jaguar’s specialty is making people they communicate with feel special. Whether it is an exclusive event or just resharing the many fan photos they get on a daily basis, they are always right there with you riding shotgun in your Jaguar experience.
When you think about your own online strategy you should try to make your customers and fan feel special and feel connected. You don’t have have a huge budget to do it either. It’s the little things that matter most and can be as simple as remembering a birthday or monitoring what they are saying and responding even when it isn’t about you.
2. Keep Your Friends Close
Throughout my one year experience with Jaguar I have felt like they really care about me. Yes, they retweet and favorite my posts which of course I love, but they also make me feel like they know me.
In social media and influencer marketing you are only going to be as successful as the relationship you have with your online fans and customers. Get to know your audience and make them feel like they are a part of your world.
3. Conversations Are Everything
This is one thing that Jaguar does extremely well. They keep the conversation moving. Their team of community managers are spot on when it comes to responding, thanking and sharing. They don’t just reshare what you write, they actually respond with something meaningful.
Again this relates back to relationships. They are everything. As a business when you respond to someone online it shows you are there, you are listening and that you care.
4. Give Them Something To Talk About
Jaguar gave us something to talk about. In fact, they gave us a lot to talk about and guess what. We talked about it. From the dinner to the main event, there was always something to share.
While you may not be hosting an event, you can still give your Influencers something to talk about. A blog post is one that I love. When you blog and blog often you always have something for others to share that drives traffic back to your site.
5. Listen To Your Fans
Often times your fans will tell you exactly what they want from you. If you are listening you may be able to give them what they want, which of course will result in conversation overload. Jaguar, if you are listening and I know you are, I have the best idea! I can’t wait to tell you about it. Road trip!
How do you communicate with your fans and followers? Are you making them feel special?
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the #FEELXE experience. You can also see my videos on Vine.
