Word of mouth marketing is certainly talked about all the time, but the reality is that very few people understand how to properly use this powerful tool. Getting word-of-mouth referrals actually takes a bit of work and determination, and it doesn’t happen magically, so if you expect it to work that way, you’re bound to be disappointed.

Many people mistakenly believe that there is absolutely no way to control any aspect of the spread of your business (except to pay for marketing expenses, of course). Free word of mouth is something that most entrepreneurs, particularly freelancers, see as something that happens or doesn’t happen, and they don’t understand how to try to make it happen for them.

taking action

The reality is that there are some positive actions you can take to help spread the word about your business in an effort to generate some business and perhaps acquire new customers. One of the most important things you can learn is how to network. Networking is absolutely essential to generating good word-of-mouth referrals, but you need to learn how to do it properly to make it work for you.

With the growing popularity of social networking sites, there are endless opportunities to advertise your business and let people know who you are. However, for many people, social networks remain something of a mystery that, frankly, they are a little wary of. How do you know who you are connecting with? And, more importantly, how do you know if that person is legit? Is trustworthy? It’s dangerous?

These questions tend to keep people (except those under 25) from avidly engaging in social media. People are wary of connecting with strangers online, and they should be. What you have to learn is how to protect yourself and make sure you connect with people you trust. The best way to do this is to only connect with people you really know, or who are “connected” with someone else you know and trust. By following this general guideline, you should be able to remain relatively safe in the world of social media.

Understand your customers

You must also maintain an active and up-to-date contact list of past and current clients. Stay in touch with people even if you haven’t done any work for them in a while. This will keep you on their minds, if only subconsciously, and could land you a side job in the future. You can do this by sending cards to people for Christmas or Hanukkah, birthdays, or for important events in their businesses. Even if you just send someone a short email to the contact base, you’ll keep your name (and your business’s) top of mind.

You must also develop a very good understanding of how to cultivate healthy working relationships. People like to work with people they know and can trust. If you’ve done good work for someone in the past, try to keep that working relationship and build on it. You never know when someone will refer you to a business partner, so learn to be vigilant when it comes to dealing with your customers.