Taking the time to have an online presence is tricky, and we want you to feel good about your investment over here in our little corner of the Internet. For this reason, we gave you a Referral Dashboard, so you can see and track how being an active participant in the Alignable community is impacting you. (Insider Tip: You’ll find your dashboard just above the Ideal Customer block on your profile).

For some of you, the numbers on your Dashboard are encouraging and exciting. For others, you’re probably feeling a bit underwhelmed and defeated. But keep your chin up!  Whether your goal is to beat your personal best numbers or to pump up some poor performance, we’re here to help.

We’ve introduced some new functionality that should increase each number on your Referral Dashboard.  The best part? Once you learn about the new features, adding these new steps to your routine is a piece of 🍰!

So stick with us and finish this post… we promise it will be worth it. (Don’t just take our word for it. Read about the success Dawn has had using her dashboard for lead generation).

Here are some new features that will help you elevate all Dashboard metrics:  

1. Asking & Answering Questions From Your Profile = More Eyes 👀 On You

   We’ve added questions you can answer directly to your profile. For those of you who have never participated in the Advice forum, this is a great way to get your feet wet.

   

   When you post an answer, we will add your response to your profile and will share it broadly to the community (talk about great exposure!).   

   Advice forum answers are seen by thousands of business owners every day and can be replied to, liked, shared and forwarded. This means that by adding content, your business will be in front of a massive audience, boosting your overall referrals, impressions, profile visits, and Advice forum metrics.  

   Answering questions directly from your profile benefits you in a few ways:

   • It’s the fastest way to respond
   • It increases your overall impressions
   • It elevates the activity happening on your Q&A posts
   • It brings more new visits to your profile
   • It reinforces your credibility -- this content shows that you’re an expert
   • It builds trust and makes your profile visits more impactful. When people visit your business page, they want to see a complete profile and they also want to get a sense of who you are and how you operate. Your willingness to help others by answering questions makes you seem more trustworthy, approachable and human and increases the likelihood that visitors will reach out to you.   

   Have a question of your own you need help with? No problem! Post it in the block on your profile and we will make sure our community of experts gets you answers, fast!

   

   You can ask for advice, seek recommendations for a local vendor, post a job opening at your business, or even vent about a frustration you’re having in your industry.

   Not sure if this is worth the time? Trust me, it is! Q&A content goes a long way in generating impressions and profile visits. Read how Jon uses the Advice forum to secure new clients and why Jenny and Jeff love the Advice forum for lead gen.

2. Forwarding Advice Forum Posts = Content Is On 🔥🔥

   If you write or discover a phenomenal response, don’t be afraid to brag about it and share it.  Now you can forward your answer, or someone else’s answer, to other members. The more you share content, the more people will read it, like it, and respond. Add all of that up and you’ll see healthy increases in your number of impressions, as well as your profile and advice forum visits.

   

   Bonus: When you forward someone else’s content they’ll be much more likely to follow what you post and return the favor. That’s a win-win in terms of getting your name out to a wider audience and gaining more valuable impressions.

   Here are some reasons you might share an answer:

   • You had a stroke of brilliance and want others to read it
   • You find a fascinating answer that you think more people should see
   • You discover an answer that solves a problem that many people have
   • You posted an answer to a question that you think a friend could benefit from
   • You want someone to respond to or share an opinion on your answer
   • You’re really excited about an interesting conversation happening and you want your network to know about it

3. Forward Recommendations & Generate Business Buzz 🐝🐝

   You guys, we aren’t going to lie, we are REALLY excited about this one. With this new feature, you’re able to highlight your credibility by forwarding the recommendations you’ve given and received to the people who should see them.
   

   

   Not only does this help build trust with your prospects, but it’s also a great way to refer your favorite businesses to other people who need their services.

   You’ve worked hard to give and receive recommendations, and this helps you make the most out of them. Use this tool to drive new visits to your profile and increase the likelihood of generating referrals from others.

Try some (or all) of these tactics and watch the numbers on your referral dashboard climb!