The key to being referred is having people know, like and trust you. There are lots of ways to achieve that. Being an authentic person is key, as is doing what you say you will. But social media can accelerate the process, if you do it right.

Knowing

First people have to know you. This goes beyond meeting you for the first time, although social media can certainly facilitate that.

I met my web designer through social media. One of my contacts followed him and tweeted a lot about him. He sounded interesting, so I started following him. I think it was a few weeks before I figured out what he did. We finally met in person and stayed in touch both in person and through Twitter.

I met him through social media, and because of his tweets, he stayed top of mind with me. Knowing was covered.

Liking

Social media can make or break this one. What you communicate will directly affect this. I started following Bob Burg, again because someone I knew mentioned him. I liked his tweets, and when his new book came out, I didn’t think twice about getting it, reviewing it and promoting it. I liked him and the book. He had that part covered very well.

Trusting

Knowing and liking are the easy ones, relatively speaking. Trust is harder. I know and like people whom I do not trust enough to refer. Why? Because I’ve seen them and their business in action, and I didn’t like what I saw.

Your actions in social media can both enhance and damage trust. If a problem about your business is reported through social media, you can ignore it, reducing trust, or you can address it promptly, enhancing trust. I actually like it when someone goofs. Then I get to see how the person or business handles adversity.

But trust isn’t just how we handle problems. It’s also demonstrating that we walk our talk. It’s why I’m skeptical of people calling themselves “social media experts.” It’s easy to check what they do vs. what they say.

I’ve gotten clients and referrals based on my blog. Because I’m consistent and write well, people tend to trust me, even if they don’t yet know me very well.

Know, like and trust are powerful. They will make or break your business. Use social media well to help you succeed.

Tags: Relationship building, reputation, social media

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 8:07 am and is filed under social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.