By Kayla Kennedy
College students are dissing traditional part-time jobs in fast food service or grocery stores to work for big brand names such as Victoria’s Secret PINK, Target, or Bumble on their campus.
Most teens and students spend four hours per day consuming media, according to a report by Common Sense Media. College students had $376 billion in spending power in 2019, according to a report by the Refuel marketing agency. It’s no wonder why large companies with more than 10,000 employees are willing to spend on average $120,000 to $480,000 each year to create and maintain college ambassador programs to promote products across social media, based on research by marketing expert Mark Collier.
Zenaya Forbes is a Hampton University senior marketing major with four ambassador positions, endorsing HerCampus Trendsetters, TikTok, Amazon, and SHEIN. She balances representing these companies while also being a full-time student, HU Marching Force Band dancer, the vice president of two clubs and a member of three more.
Forbes remembers when she was a freshman member of the HerCampus Online magazine chapter at Hampton, scrolling through Instagram and seeing an opportunity to earn free gift cards ranging from $15 to $50 value for just taking a survey. She then signed up for the HerCampus Trendsetter opportunity when she was able to earn cash and free products sent by the magazine. Later in college, she figured she could earn more using her creativity and love for social media assembling her ambassador gigs through TikTok, Amazon and SHEIN.
Ambassador programs usually take the shape of one of two forms. The first is a paid contract, and the second is unpaid with free merchandise and perks.
Just last month, Chili’s launched an ambassador contest awarding 50 college students the chance to win limited edition Chili’s branded apparel and a $100 Chili’s gift card.
“We launched this competition to re-instate Chili’s Bar as the after-game, Friday night spot,” said a Chili’s representative who wished to remain anonymous.
Other programs have a more guided system complete with timelines, budgets and a contract. Victoria’s Secret PINK Campus Rep application process has a heavier weight on referrals from current ambassadors.
“We like to think of our program as a family and always have an ear open for the insight of those already part of the family,” PINK Campus Rep Recruiter Carolina Miller said.
Each of Forbes’ ambassador programs is a paid position, and each had a unique onboarding experience. Her first opportunity with Campus Trendsetters through HerCampus was a smooth transition since Forbes was already a contributor to the magazine. The SHEIN campus ambassador program was a matter of getting approved and obtaining a referral link. TikTok and Amazon had a more corporate onboarding experience consisting of an online application, a social media review and virtual interviews.
Forbes thinks her post aesthetics paired with her raw and humorous reels on TikTok may have helped catch the eye of recruiters.
“Zenaya’s confidence and personality during the interview also made us feel like she could connect to the audience,” said Monika Moeng, an Amazon student recruiter.
Zenaya gets paid on two bases – commission and shared content, receiving checks weekly and bi-weekly.
“I’m not locked into a contract for all of my positions,” she said, “but my pay is based on what I put in, how often I post, what kind of content I share, and giveaways or events I host.”
Refinery 29 explains that each type of post has a different value based on exposure and required curation effort. To demonstrate the money value for each content type, an Insider reporter reveals the starting prices of influencer Gigi Kovach with 14,000 Instagram followers. Kovach charges $500 for an in-feed Instagram post with 5 to 10 images, between $75 and $100 for three Stories slides and $300 for an Instagram Reel.
Forbes’ weeks consist of three to five hours per week planning, creating and sharing posts for each brand. She also enjoys hosting events and giveaways. With her commissions included, Forbes earns about $120 to $350 biweekly through her four ambassador programs. Her income can fluctuate depending on factors mentioned above, time of post and if insight goals are met.
Forbes has gained networking skills, confidence and time management through her experience as a campus ambassador.
“My favorite part [of being an ambassador] is seeing people happy with the products I was able to promote and share,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed connecting with my campus in a unique way.”
As she prepares to graduate next semester, she hopes to continue her partnership with the brands she represents and land a job through the connections she’s made.
“I encourage everyone to apply to be a campus ambassador,” Forbes said. “Just choose a brand you use often or really enjoy and use your confidence and creativity to share it with your peers.”
Comments