When I compared what the best networkers and the best word-of-mouth marketers were doing, I found plenty of similarities.
The best word-of-mouth marketers (and networkers) use four ingredients to run their word-of-mouth marketing campaigns:
- Credibility
- A marketable personal brand
- Top-of-the-mind visibility
- High levels of social capital
Over the next few days, I’m going to explore each of these themes.
Credibility
Let’s start with credibility. Credibility is an intangible quality which is difficult to accurately define, as it means different things to different people.
I personally define someone who is credible as a person who has developed a reputation as someone who “walks the walk and talks the talk” AND delivers on all their commitments.
Before someone is willing to risk their reputation, by recommending you to someone within their network, they want to know that you are credible ie committed, will conduct yourself appropriately and will be able to deliver on something they put you forward for.
Part two, on becoming more visible, will be published tomorrow.
Heather Townsend, Britain’s queen of networking, helps professionals achieve business and career success using social media and networking. Follow her Joined Up Networking blog for more useful tips and tricks. She is the author of the current best-selling book on networking The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking which has 68 five-star reviews on Amazon.
