Top Tips for Choosing the Ultimate Brand Spokesperson

When it comes to representing your brand, finding the right spokesperson is crucial. They should understand the core values and mission of your brand and should also embody them naturally.

Here are some key factors to consider when selecting the ideal spokesperson.

1. Industry Understanding: It is important to choose someone with a strong background in your industry. This positions them as a credible and knowledgeable figure, capable of speaking confidently about your products or services. This doesn't have to be someone in the C-Suite - look deeper into your employee base and see who might resonate with your audience.

2. Effective Communication Skills: They should be able to convey messages clearly and engagingly, capturing the attention of your audience and getting your brand's message across effectively.

3. Relatability and Charisma: Your spokesperson should be relatable to your target audience. Geography matters: if your audience is in a particular country or region, choose someone who is fluent in the language and understands the culture - it helps if they are also locally based. A charismatic personality draws people in and helps build a connection with your audience, making your brand more relatable and trustworthy.

4. Social Media Presence: In today's digital age, having a strong social media presence is crucial. Your spokesperson should be active and influential on relevant platforms. This allows them to connect with your audience directly and amplify your brand's reach.

5. Consistent Representation: Your spokesperson should consistently represent your brand's messaging across different channels and situations. Build out a communications strategy that considers all opportunities to showcase the brand message, such as events, podcasts, conferences, award dinners, radio and TV. This ensures a cohesive and unified brand image that resonates with your target audience.

6. Commitment and Availability: Choose someone who can commit time and effort to perform their role effectively. Ensure their availability aligns with your brand's needs for events, interviews, and other engagements. This ensures a seamless representation of your brand at all times. They might not have time to be the brand spokesperson and the person who answers media inquiries - look to build out a tiered or layered team of executives that share a brand message across all outlets. In that case, consider placing your spokesperson at larger events, their direct reports at smaller events, and the managers to answer daily media. Just make sure the messaging is consistent.

7. Crisis Management Skills: In challenging situations, it is crucial to assess how well your spokesperson can manage and communicate during a crisis. Their ability to protect your brand's image and handle difficult situations with grace is vital. You need to take a step back and ask: is this the best person to use in a crisis? If not, begin training a team that just handles crisis response. Sometimes it's important to separate your brand spokesperson from a hit to the brand - you don't want people to think of a past crisis every time they see your brand person on TV.

8. Previous Experience: Evaluate their previous experiences as a spokesperson or in similar roles. Check past performances to ensure their suitability for your brand. Not everyone is good on a stage, some people work best 1-1. Recognize that there may not be just one spokesperson for your brand.

Who do you think could be the ideal person for your brand based on these criteria?