Students are making connections with brands and their peers.

Story by Darcie Zudell

Design by Ally Parker

Countless phones light up as the sun slowly rises, launching bleary-eyed Generation Z members into the new day. Instead of putting out content meant for mindless scrolling, some college students are connecting with a purpose.

*Sam Spinale poses for a picture in Hero Cosmetic Gear*

In 2023, brands are adapting their approach to reach this generation. Traditional advertising on cable TV is losing its luster, while streaming services begin to dominate and cable subscriptions dwindle. Brands are realizing the importance of connecting with consumers through social media and are turning to college students as a valuable source.

Brand ambassadors are hired to promote a company on their social media accounts. They create awareness and build a positive connection using social media, events and community engagement. In return, they are compensated and garner valuable connections.

Erin Bishop, a junior studying media and social change, has been using social media since she was a little girl. As a college student, she aspires to work in the social media industry. While scrolling through TikTok, she came across an advertisement for a brand ambassadorship with Bumble, a popular dating app. She immediately decided to apply for the position.

Now that Bishop has been working as a campus content manager for Bumble for two years now, she has realized that brand ambassadorship goes beyond just making social media posts.

“There's more to it than just social media, there's impact events and content managing,” says Bishop. “There are different ways you can be a brand ambassador without having to post on Instagram.

Through her role, Bishop has gotten the opportunity to help plan events and attend entrepreneur workshops.

“Ambassadors can join Zoom with the CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd,” says Bishop. “She talks about being a woman entrepreneur and owning businesses and she gives insightful tips for making connections with people.”

Pursuing a career in communications means building connections, as having established contacts in the industry can lead to valuable opportunities. Bumble use Slack, the app, to communicate with its college ambassadors. Within the app, there is a dedicated chat channel for ambassadors to connect with each other.

“I have connections with people in different states,” says Bishop. “[Bumble] is really just bringing together a community of people that are interested in social media or influencing. It is really important going into this career because a lot of people want to do this, but no one really knows where or how to start.”

Being a brand ambassador involves some less glamorous job requirements, as admitted by Bishop. Apart from her position at Bumble, she also works two other jobs. Additionally, Bishop concedes that it can be awkward to distribute items sent to her by Bumble among other college students.

Rather than dwelling on the awkwardness of her situation, Bishop chooses to view it as a positive step toward entering the job market. She no longer feels bothered by rejection. In fact, she appreciates the rejection therapy. She believes that being told "no" will ultimately help her prepare for entering the job market and facing rejection.

*Sam Spinale poses for a picture in Hero Cosmetics gear.*

Brands offering ambassadorships to college students in dorms may not have considered the problem of sending them boxes upon boxes of products to distribute. Meredith Viox, a sophomore studying visual communications, worked as a campus ambassador for Extra Gum at the beginning of the fall semester. Viox claims that she is always chewing gum, likely due to the approximately 1,000 packs of Extra Gum she received in the mail. She had to transport boxes full of gum from the mailroom to her dorm.

“I have my car on campus, so I put [the boxes of gum] in my car and then drove it to the front of my dorm,” says Viox. “They sent me 10 boxes that were 30 pounds [each].”

Viox had some reservations about sharing sponsored posts on her Instagram. However, she found the process to be simple thanks to Extra's transparency in outlining their expectations for their ambassadors. Additionally, Viox received significant support from her followers when she promoted the brand on her social media platforms.

As Bishop explains, there is more to brand ambassadors than posting about the brand on social media. Students are also offered more leadership roles within the industry.

Sam Spinale, a senior studying journalism, works as an Amazon Prime student ambassador and holds a Campus Lead role for Hero Cosmetics. Though the workload can be a lot, Spinale says she enjoys being busy.

“These ambassador positions that I have are some of the most fun things I get to do in school,” says Spinale. As a Campus Lead, Spinale keeps her team organized and acts as a liaison between her team and their boss, ensuring all questions are answered. All three ambassadors highly recommend this niche job opportunity for college students.

“I think having that real-life marketing experience on my college campus is really going to help me,” says Spinale. “I think companies definitely understand the impact that social media can bring to their company.”

Spinale encourages anyone in interested in brand ambassadorship to reach out to her with any questions. Although social media jobs offer vast opportunities and financial rewards, they are still perceived as illegitimate by some people. These careers challenge traditional ideas of what constitutes a "real job." The stories told by brand ambassadors show how significant and valid their roles are in shaping the future of work. They blur the lines between traditional and emerging career paths through social media.

“I say that people who don't think social media is a job are delusional,” says Bishop. “Gen Z is like the biggest target audience that brands are really trying to connect [with]. There are so many branches [of communication] that connect back to social media.”

Where to follow the ambassadors on Instagram:

@ xxerinbishopxx

@ samspinale

@ meredithviox