Five Ways Content Can Boost Referrals

• 12 years ago

Among B2B marketers, referrals are often the lifeblood of a business. Yet too often, we don’t take the time to educate referral sources about our business. For example a property manager may know about your tuckpointing service, but they may not know you also clean brick. Remember that customers aren’t the only audience for content. Content marketing can educate referral sources about your business and keep your brand top of mind. Here are five tips for boosting referrals with content:

1) Make it clear what you do and for whom.

If you are a builder, it is probably easy to figure out that out from your website, but do you communicate the types and scale of projects you work on. Are they single family homes or commercial buildings? Do you specialize in starter homes or high-end custom homes? Will you remodel a space, or do you only construct new buildings? These are all important questions for anyone who is thinking of recommending you.

2) Play up your affiliations and third party credentials.

Use photos, logos and text to make it clear what industries you are involved in. List any special credentials your firm might hold. Are staff members LEED certified or is your business a member of a professional organization? This is all important information to include on your website.

3. Keep top of mind with referral sources.

Use email marketing to reach out to referral sources with relevant information and details of your referral program. Create content that appeals to a broader audience and make your content easy to share through social media. Make incentives memorable and relevant to your audience. Follow your referral sources on Twitter and connect with them on LinkedIn. Keep track of them through job changes.

4. Let your referral sources brand your content.

Would it make sense to share content with your referral sources’ customers? Offer the opportunity to co-brand your material. Who wouldn’t be happy to get good quality content for free.

5. Give recommendations on social media sites.

Still, the best way to get recommendations is to give them. Use sites like Linked-In and Yelp to spread the word about the people you enjoy doing business with. Consider adding a list of businesses you recommend to your website.

Let content help you build your referral network.