Social media marketing methods are changing constantly. If you’re not always following the trends, it can be difficult for you to keep up.
Word of Mouth in Social Media Marketing – How to Use It
However, if you get easily caught up in all the trends, you might be forgetting some old tricks that can still work today.
Listed below are some of word of mouth techniques that never go out of style. Despite the latest trends, these tried-and-true strategies will still help your business be ahead of the game.
The Word of Mouth Marketing
It’s still the most important, effective techniques to drive sales and traffic. According to a survey, 92% of consumers would opt for a product recommended by their family and friends over other forms of advertising.
Studies after studies showed that word of mouth is still the most effective technique to market your brand and product. Unfortunately, only a few marketers have mastered it.
As Mark Zuckerberg said, a referral from a trusted friend is the holy grail of advertising.
But how do you master the art of word of mouth? How do you get referrals from previous and current clients so you’ll have a continuous flow of customers?
1. Offer Them Bonuses
That is, reward your current customers for referring your business to their family and friends. You can offer your existing clients a gift card or a check when they refer a certain number of people to like your Facebook Page or follow you on Twitter, for instance.
These referral bonuses will always put your business in a win-win situation. However, you just make sure that you’re providing them equal bonuses.
2. Write a Thank You Note
It could be a handwritten note or a direct message to thank your existing customers for referring their friends to make business with you.
Making a handwritten thank you note is something that’s no longer being practiced today. Thus, when it arrives to the mailbox of your customers, it would be an unexpected surprise.
In social media marketing, writing a thank you note can be tricky. You may thank your clients through your social media accounts by tagging them in your post.
And once a year, why not send them an actual mail that says “thank you.” It takes a little time to do it but it can make a difference to your company.
3. Give a One-Big Surprise
If you can’t reward each of your customers for referring your business to their family and friends, you can just invest in a one but big-time prize. It could be an iPad or a gift basket.
Your customers must refer you to others to be eligible for the draw.
- This trick will widen your referral pool.
- It also gives your existing customers a real reason to act now and refer you to their family and friends.
4. Ask Them
You may not have tried it yet but asking for referrals is simple but it gets stronger responses. But asking them should be interesting.
If you and a certain clients have worked on a project and it’s completed successfully, you may ask that client if he/she could talk about that project to his/her friends and the successful results. Doing it this way is more objectified.
Final Thoughts
Your customers must be well taken care of. A word of mouth may be an old school method but it’s worth more than $10,000 in advertising.
How about you? What are the other ways you’re using to keep your customers talking about your business?
