adsolutions:In the world of customer referrals, creating a vibrant social referral program can be a serious strategic advantage for your business. Social referral programs can help you increase your visibility, boost sales, and improve your reputation through word-of-mouth marketing.

In the world of customer referrals, creating a vibrant social referral program can be a serious strategic advantage for your business. Social referral programs can help you increase your visibility, boost sales, and improve your reputation through word-of-mouth marketing.

Social referral programs are so valuable and effective because of the role that social media plays in our daily lives. More and more, consumers are turning away from traditional research methods like visiting a brick-and-mortar store, reading Consumer Reports magazines, or looking for spec sheets for products. Instead, they're relying on Yelps, Tweets, blog reviews, and forum posts that show them what other people are thinking.

So how do companies find success with social campaigns for customer referrals?

3 Tips for Social Referral Programs

1. Figure out the venue

Many businesses choose to use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other social networks more or less exclusively, but the channel you want to use depends on several things, including how much you value who your target audience is, which networks most of your current customers use, and what kinds of platforms you think are most relevant to your business.

In order to maximize referrals, you need to promote your program on platforms where your existing brand advocates are already active and already have a community of friends and followers.

2. Promote your program

Your social media program is going to work better if you start by promoting it internally among your current employees and loyal customers. Get the ball rolling by asking your employees, customers, and friends of the business to share information about the referral program within their own networks.

Check out this resource from The Cline Group on using brand ambassadors to spread the word about your product on social media and beyond.

3. Track results

Many companies are now using online referral codes or other identifiers to see where their site visits and sales are coming from and how customers discovered their brand.

Invest in tracking tools that will help you find out which social networks and which marketing techniques are driving the most referrals and new business. There are also a number of affordable and easy-to-use platforms on the web that you can use to set up straightforward and trackable referral campaigns on popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Once you harness the power of the social web, you’ll find that referrals from your existing customers and brand advocates will be a huge driver of new sales and positive brand sentiment. Just keep in mind that if you want the referrals to keep coming, it’s a good idea to thank your brand advocates for their participation!