The New Referral System – Like & Retweet

The new referral system for online marketers and business professionals has become the Like Button and Retweet Button on the Social Media Websites.  Gone are the days of asking or expecting a satisfied clients to refer us to their colleagues to keep the leads flowing.

 The new protocol is to ask to be liked or retweeted on the social media sites.  The advantage is that once you’ve become liked or retweeted you’re visible to a host of potential clients and prospects.  This is where the Internet Branding and Reputation Building begins.

Industry online review sites and some guest survey’s are now intermingled with social media sites or at least they can be using certain dashboards.  Most people who travel are familiar with Tripadvisor as the website that travelers frequent to make unbiased comments on the hotels and restaurants.  This website is also an opportunity to establish your presence on the internet and manage your reputation.

Consumers are savvy and well-educated regarding different brands, products and services.  They also understand their purchasing power and the power of the online content websites.  It’s not difficult to overcome negative comments once they’ve been posted on the World Wide Web,  but it’s impossible to overcome them if you don’t respond or comment .

Sales continues to be a numbers game, if you make enough direct sales efforts you will eventually reach the mark.  However the methods have changed tremendously with the onset of social media and content management websites.  Our sales efforts were limited to our prospecting pool, local or perhaps with our region.  The like and retweet buttons has made it possible to reach the masses in just one click of the mouse.  In most cases this has increased our prospecting pool ten fold. 

How you engage and communicate with these new prospects should be carefully considered and planned prior to creating a business marketing page.  It should be included in your Annual Strategic Marketing Plan.  I would suggest creating a budget for online marketing and definitely create a tracking system to gauge your success. 

The content and management of your social media site is extremely important if your goal is to capture leads, maximize opportunities to create an Internet presence and build your brand reputation.  You certainly want a hefty return on your investment, so its important to create value in your product and service as your following increases. 

Once your done your research, created your strategy and of course registered on the popular social media sites, start engaging and start counting those new online referrals.  Their Endless!