Incentivize and engage your Ambassadors

It’s easy to assume that because ambassadors are passionate about their university, they will be naturally motivated and committed to their role. The reality, however, is that for many, this will be their first professional position. Like any employee, they will benefit from encouragement and recognition for their work.

Incentive and reward ideas

These options are great if you have the budget to financially reward your ambassadors

Offer an hourly rate

Position this opportunity as part-time work where ambassadors can build on their CV, experience and earn a salary.

Offer a stipend/fixed rate

You may want to include being a Unibuddy ambassador as a part of your wider ambassador program, and pay them a set amount weekly or monthly. Write this into the ambassador job description and set expectations.

Work out a scholarship agreement

Perhaps your student ambassadors can offer their experience and voice for a subsidy in their program or a scholarship.

Include as part of GA role

For Graduate Students looking to contribute to the academic success and mission of your university, include being a Unibuddy ambassador as part of this role.

Pay a commission fee

When a prospective student enrolls to study at your institution, you could offer the ambassador that chatted and engaged with that student a small commission fee for their efforts and impact.

Let them earn points and prizes

A little competition never hurt anybody – get your ambassadors on a ranking table to see who answers the most or spends the most time answering queries per week. At the end of each month a prize can be given to the top ambassador.

Engagement options

Some ideas if you’re not in a position to financially incentivize your ambassadors.

Share prospective student outcomes

Did a visitor or prospective student have positive feedback about their interaction with an ambassador? Share it with them! Or, if you can, let them know how many of the students they spoken to accepted their offer.

Present regular insights

By sharing some top-level insights with your ambassadors, they can start to understand and see the impact they’re having. You could try sharing weekly or monthly insights on how many conversations they’ve had overall or feedback from prospective students.

Present them with a volunteering award

You may already have a volunteering award or program at your institution, and being part of the digital ambassador program can contribute towards this.

Showcase them on your socials

They’re the face and voice of your institution after all – why not run a campaign showcasing who they are and how they can help prospective students. You could even shout about any recent achievements to help them build their own brand.

Run social events

Hosting social events is a fantastic way to build morale and community among your ambassadors. You could host an event in the student union or a day-time get together. You may want to consider things like quizzes, scavenger hunts or an exclusive workshop.

Provide a reference for their CV: have your ambassadors had a positive impact on your university goals or targets? Have you got feel-good stories from interactions with prospective students? Offer them a reference for their CV to help then land their next job or career! ese options are great if y

Include ambassadors in your content planning

Bring them into your strategic planning for the quarter or year. Run brainstorms and workshops where their opinions, voices and ideas can be heard and included to build campaigns.

Create an ambassador community

With Unibuddy Community you can create a space just for ambassadors to hang, stay connected and share ideas. Plus you can use it to share important announcements and information so they can stay up-to-date.