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How To Find And Use Brand Ambassadors Like William Shatner And Martha Stewart

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“William Shatner and Martha Stewart are well-known peddlers,” says Teri Sawyer, PR person for Pedego Electric Bikes. “Martha has sold everything from cookbooks to sheets. Shatner is renowned as the Priceline pitch man. Beyond peddling goods, these two are also enjoy pedaling. Pedego electric bikes, that is.”

Shatner and Stewart are real-life customers and authentic fans, so they peddle Pedego to their followers as brand ambassadors.

Ideally, brand ambassadors have a personal connection with the brand like Shatner and Stewart do with Pedego. Finding true brand ambassadors who are social media users and are willing to consistently promote a brand’s products or services is a marketing dream come true.

In contrast to a paid spokesperson, brand ambassadors have an ongoing relationship with the brand and that shows up in social media. Thanks to their social media influence, brand ambassadors can interact with the brand's audience. Brand ambassadors don’t have to be celebrities like Shatner and Stewart, they can be bloggers or podcasters who hold sway with a target-rich audience.

To learn more I spoke with Don DiCostanzo, CEO and co-founder of Pedego, about how his company leverages brand ambassadors. He shared the following tips:

Make it fun. “When a celebrity walks into one of our stores, the store owner lets us know so we can work with the store staff to ensure the celebrity is delighted. Celebrities including Shatner, Stewart and many others have become unpaid brand ambassadors based on the love they have for their Pedego bikes.”

Spread the love. “We help celebrities share the joy with loved ones by giving them access to additional bikes. Today, Shatner has 14 Pedego bikes, one for each member of his family. They ride all over Southern California together. He calls it his legacy for his grand kids. ‘They will always remember the rides we took together,’ says Shatner.”

Encourage them to post. “Stewart shared the joy of her new Pedego bike in The Martha Blog. When Martha posted a photo of herself with her bike on Instagram, a critic blasted her for riding a bike when she was ‘too old.’ Martha fired back at the age-shamer saying she “stays in excellent shape by doing many outdoor activities.” The story went viral, hitting the tabloids and even Bicycling Magazine. Even Shatner weighed in on Instagram to support Stewart, saying that she was still young at 77, and that, at 87, he enjoys getting exercise by riding his Pedego bike.”

Connect the celebrities with each other. “We found out that Snoop Dogg  was a Trekkie, while Shatner was a fan of Stewart. They had never met, until we set it up. Just like our non-celebrity customers, they had a blast talking about their Pedego bikes — only they did it on air.”

Support their interests. “Pedego helped Stewart surprise Snoop Dogg, the co-host of their popular ‘Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Challenge’ TV show, with a customized gold Pedego bike. He was elated with the gift, which was featured on an episode.”

Here is the brand ambassador bottom line for DiCostanzo: “Celebrities love to have fun just like everybody else. And, they have their favorite brands that they want to support. Pedego is one such brand because of the joy it gives them every time they hop on one of our bikes.”