Is referral marketing worth it?

Referral marketing has become extremely popular over the last few years due to the increase in social media activity and over night success from viral content. Let's talk about referral marketing and the influence it can have on your business.

Referral marketing involves word-of-mouth advertising. These days referral marketing occurs on the web via social media or blogs.

Referral marketers include influences, bloggers and celebrities. Of course the smaller the influence, the smaller the referral fee, and as such, bigger names ask for bigger referral fees.

If you cant afford to pay for the referral, smaller influencers may accept free items in exchange for their advertising. These types of adverts or referrals often only generate a few follows and minimal leads. Sometimes influencers may take advantage of your position by not following through with the agreement which is why an incentive may need to be put in place.

So is referral marketing worth it?

This depends on the outcome you are looking for. If you'd like to promote your product for a low cost it may be something you should consider. Sometimes getting a review on your E-store is all you want. In this case a simple free-bee might just achieve that goal.

You have to set realistic goals and have realistic expectations. A free item given to a micro-influencer will definitely not get you thousands of followers, but it may generate a few leads. Mega influences or celebrities with millions of followers may be seen by many people but it's important align your business with the right influencer niche that suites your vision.

People are unfortunately unpredictable in some ways but predictable in others. That is why it's important to have a referral strategy in place before you give out thousands of dollars. We'd recommend an incentive after the referral advert is posted to ensure your brand receives a worthwhile advert.

It is also tough to pin-point if the lead came from the referral unless stated. If the referral advert had a link to a product or service then this would be seen as an affiliate link and therefore affiliate marketing.