Research has shown that recommendations from friends are one of the most popular ways people decide what they are going to spend their money on. Taking advantage of social referrals is a great strategy to include in your inbound marketing – content marketing that actively engages with customers, making communication a two-way street.
The proliferation of the Internet and social media has changed the way people view companies and purchase products. Your business should follow suit. Traditional advertising techniques won’t cut it anymore. With the shortening attention spans of customers and their selectivity of what and who they buy from, it’s important to employ strategies that engage.
Inbound Marketing Effectiveness
Customers respond to inbound marketing better than more traditional marketing. They feel like they were invited into the conversation. Conversely, traditional advertising and marketing is an uninvited interruption. One-sided bombardment doesn’t have reach the same level of communication.
Because people are growing more skeptical of advertisements and question their truthfulness, they have come to rely on consumer reviews and recommendations from trusted friends. Social influence has great power. The numbers back it up.
Killer Infographics designed a great visual illustration about the increase of social recommendations and the effectiveness of inbound marketing.
Highlights:
- 75% of people don’t accept advertisements as truth
- 61% of people use search engines to research a product before they purchase it
- 90% of people believe brand recommendations from friends
- 70% of people believe consumer ratings
Ecommerce Marketing Software – All-In-One Inbound Marketing Software
Social Recommendations Made Easy
Curebit is one company that facilitates these social referrals for online stores and their customers. Basically, this is how it works if your company opts to use Curebit.
- A customer makes a purchase in your online store.
- After checkout, the customer is given a special offer and informed that if any of his friends makes a purchase, they will both receive $5 cash-back (or whatever deal your company chooses).
- The happy customer then shares the deal on Facebook, posting it on his wall which friends see in news feeds.
- One of the customer’s friends then clicks on the offer and makes a purchase.
- The rebate is then emailed to both the new customer and the original customer!
Curebit also allows you to track how many referrals your site receives, and which deals are gaining the most clicks or being shared most often.
Social Referrals
Let’s face the facts and take advantage of the new social aspects of online marketing. How do you get customers to refer your product? Leave your thoughts and questions in the comment section below.
Andrew K Kirk
Entrepreneurial-minded marketer and Founder of Face The Buzz, which helps small-medium businesses and startups harness the power of online marketing. His clients have raised over $3.5 million in funding while working with Face The Buzz.
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