This is an article “Making Referrals Work for Your Online Presence” by Marc Primo Warren
Each comment on your social media account has the potential to either be a huge boost to your online presence or a cause to its decline. For sure, all of us have felt that excitement when we talk to our friends about an awesome new product we’ve discovered or that annoyance when a brand’s customer service falls short. But more often than not, followers and customers talk a lot about what brands they believe in and share experiences that can influence others to try them out.
Today, there is such a thing as an always-on marketing mentality online wherein brands that are trying to boost their online presence bombard their social media accounts with a variety of content to get more engagement and impressions. The more you can establish positive talk about your brand on the web, the more you can expect better online presence.
To give your customer referral campaign a boost, here’s a simple guide that can deliver huge results.
Set clear goals
Knowing what you want to accomplish is the first step in building your customer referral program. Determine whether you need to increase your online presence first before you start thinking about revenue or vice versa and plan out how you can deliver results from there.
If you already have a significant following on Facebook for example, creating a marketing funnel that’s designed to attract your lookalike audiences would be the ideal next step. This will work if your main audience act as your ambassadors to other audiences within your network who haven’t tried out your brand yet.
Setting clear and correct goals will lead you to the right direction you need to take for better online presence so determine where you are now in terms of search rankings and engagement and start working upward to reach your goals.
Review your sources
After setting your goals and tapping your lookalike audiences, looking for other sources for referrals is the next step. You can do this online via follow-ups chats and social media engagement, or offline via sending out marketing emails or meetings with the right clients and networks.
When reviewing other sources for referrals, you’ll want to look at those who already have a first-hand experience of your product or brand and work to make them its advocates. Regular customers or followers are your best bets in pushing your brand across networks without really incurring much costs for marketing other than effective communication and genuine discussions.
Reach out tactically
Speaking of engaging your followers or customers through genuine discussions, you may also want to plan out how you can efficiently connect with them when asking for referrals. You really can’t ask for referrals outright the moment someone signs up via your mailers or press that ‘like’ button.
Establish a good connection with them first by creating a step-by-step guide in how you’d want to communicate with them. Drat a couple of marketing email letters to keep them engaged but don’t be too much of a 'hard sell' because that’s always a turn-off. Instead, remain transparent and focused on their pain points so you can discuss with them other potential positives if they decide to go onboard your referral team.
Promote your brand through incentives
One good way to encourage your followers and customers to join your referral team is by offering them incentives for their support. Aside from giving them a good experience with your brand, product or services, help them speak more about what you can offer by giving them complementary gifts or trials. That way, it would be easier for them to discuss your brand with their friends and family and get possible referrals.
Giving out discounts, rewards or points are good ways to boost your referral campaigns via your followers or customers. Making them the VIPs in your team will encourage others with similar buyer personas to get to know your brand better and be your online ambassadors in no time. If you want to find out more about Marc Primo Warren our services or just say hi, please reach out here.
コメント