Launching a website is a big deal for just about any company. There are a ton of steps that go into making the website perfect. You have to choose the right domain name, build up your brand, design a logo, work with web developers, perfect the customer experience, and make sure it loads fast.
But even if you have the best-tasting chili at the county fair, no one is going to come by and try it unless you have a tent and sign set up.
Today though, we’re going to focus on referral program methods and how they can help build up your business and your website growth.
Every company wants to have a high customer retention rate and acquisition rate. If you’re keeping your current customers and adding more customers, then business is pretty good.
Referral programs help mix the best of both worlds. You can reward current customers for their loyalty and business while also having them invite people they know. After all, people are more likely to trust someone they know than any ad they see.
It’s not all just about friends referring friends though, as you can use other practices to build your referral traffic through online means.
So let’s get started!
Link-building is all about getting high-quality website links scattered throughout the web. With more high-quality links, your website is going to be seen as more secure and valuable, boosting your visibility on search engines and other websites.
With link-building, you’ll have to work hard to put your website on hundreds if not thousands of other web pages. Link-building is a long-term solution and it may take a few months to see your traffic built up. But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was your successful website.
It’s important with link-building to make your website look like a natural part of the content piece. Studies show that the majority of customers do not trust paid ads, so it’s best to make it look natural.
You might have heard the term thrown around more in the last few years, but influencers are social media personalities who, well, influence people and post a lot of content on their pages.
Partnering with an influencer in your industry is a fantastic way to generate traffic to your website. It’s seen as a win-win for all parties involved. The influencer is paid for their marketing efforts, the customer usually receives a promotional code for a purchase, and your business gets more exposure.
An influencer may also run a blog or podcast, so you can work your way into their posts or next aired episode.
Content is king, and you can be the driving force behind that content. Find blogs in your niche market and see if you can write a guest post. Talk about an issue in your market with your business being a solution.
Create a Facebook group or start posting in similar Facebook groups. It’s important for people to recognize your voice. Look to other platforms, like Pinterest or Reddit and become a voice there as well. Encourage people to share as well to help build up links and grow your presence elsewhere.
Even though digital marketing has taken over lately, there are still plenty of offline methods that can help you grow your online presence.
You can host workshops, encouraging people to visit your website for more information or have a commercial on TV, the radio, or print media.
Even though email marketing is all the rage, direct mailing still works wonders. After all, people still love getting snail mail in their mailbox.
One fantastic way is running promotions or giveaways. Encourage current customers to refer their friends to your website. At the first purchase they make, your customers can receive a promotional item or discount. Everyone loves receiving free stuff.
Yes, it can be hard to track the success of offline campaigns on their own, but if you’re pairing these campaigns with increasing website traffic you can track progress over time.
After speaking about the role of influencers, we move onto another part of the social media behemoth. Facebook advertising is not as expensive as traditional advertising and has shown to be more effective.
Facebook is fantastic because it lets you retarget those who visited your website. Through the use of tracking codes and cookies, you can build up personalized ads that speak to them about a certain product or service.