How do you get more advocates or referrals on Twitter? I thought that I would highlight some top ways to create advocates and receive referrals via Twitter.

Sadly for many on Twitter, they are too busy trying to sell all day long that they are missing something much bigger than their efforts. To create an ‘army of peeps’ that love what you do, really get what you are offering AND love to promote, refer and advocate you all day long is surely the ‘aim of the game’…. So how do you do that? Here are some of my top tips…

Become memorable

This is where so many peeps go wrong. They are totally forgettable. You read someone’s Bio on Twitter and it says… website developer or coach. These are just some of the titles that people use. Unfortunately, nothing wrong with those titles, but the way I and so many people remember things is to place people ‘in boxes’. Therefore when someone says website developer, they are now placed into the ‘website developer box’ with the thousands of others that are already in there. The result is that you become instantly forgettable. So how about… ‘website developer for rock stars’ or ‘website developer for doctors & dentists’…

The result is not what you think. You dont just get referrals from people that refer you to their doctors, dentists or rock stars. You get referrals from all sorts to all sorts as people remembered you… Thats what you are after… To be memorable…

Have a niche

When I started out, people kept telling me not to have the niche ‘Twitter consultant’ but to broaden that to ‘social media consultant’. I resisted that idea, and I am so glad that I did. I now have a steady stream of advocates and referrals because I made it easy for people to remember me AND to know exactly what I did and did not do. So make it easy for people to refer you. People in my view these days want a specialist and not so much of a generalist. But here is the funny thing. Even though all I do is Twitter, I still get people asking me for advice on Linkedin and Facebook. It has not stopped people referring me for other things. I simply pass them onto other people.

Demonstrate your knowledge & expertise

If you want more referrals and advocates then you must continually demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Answer people’s questions, invite people to ask you questions. All this is easily done via Twitter. But you need to do this on a regular basis. People need to continually see you doing it. Remember you are after advocates. Its them that want to feel and be confident that if they refer you, you are the right person. Also be consistent with your expertise. If one week you are the expert on DIY and then the following week on facebook, people wont refer you as they dont know what to refer you for… facebook or DIY…Also, talk about the problems you solve and not just your services.

Advocate and refer others

If you want to receive referrals and create advocates, then you must refer and advocate for others. Look out for people in your own network who you can assist or help. Learn more about them, their product or service, and always be on the lookout for opportunities to refer or advocate for them.

Be Interesting & Interested

Twitter allows you to tell us who you are and not just what you do. So go on… tell us more about you, share your views, your opinions, your ideas, photos, and generally be interesting. Share websites, articles, blogs that you have found that you think will interest others. In essence, stand out from the crowd…..

@MarkShaw is an award winning ex sales guy that advises and trains businesses, and individuals on how to utilise Twitter to gain more business & to be effective with their time.  He is the author of the book Twitter Your Business & has been on radio, published in the media and given talks all throughout the UK in his capacity as a Twitter expert.