{"id":6636,"date":"2026-05-05T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/?p=6636"},"modified":"2026-05-05T14:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:41:14","slug":"social-currency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/social-currency\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Social Currency? Definition, Benefits, and Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\nblockquote {\r\n    border-left: 5px solid #0088cc;\r\n    margin: 0 0 1.5em;\r\n\tfont-style: normal;\r\n    position: relative;\r\n\tpadding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;\t\r\n}\r\nul {\r\n\tfont-size: 18px;\t\r\n}\r\nli {\r\n    margin-bottom: 15px;\r\n}\n<\/style>\n<blockquote><h3 style=\"font-size:22px\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Social currency is built upstream of any campaign, through product, service, value, and story delivered consistently.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The 'bank account' rule: every share is a withdrawal. You need deposits in place before you ask customers to refer you.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The most effective referral incentives aren't payments to the sharer. They're gifts the sharer gets to give to their friend.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\t\r\n\t\r\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some brands get talked about. Most don&#8217;t. The thing separating them isn&#8217;t budget or even product quality. It&#8217;s social currency. That&#8217;s the reputation customers spend when they recommend you, and the deposits a brand has to make before any of that recommending happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This post covers what social currency is, the dimensions it shows up in, and how to build the kind that actually drives referrals. The frame underneath it: social currency isn&#8217;t a campaign you run. It&#8217;s a balance you grow over time, then draw from when it&#8217;s time to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What is social currency?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social currency is your influence on social networks, online and offline communities, and the degree to which your business gets shared by others. It&#8217;s your brand&#8217;s VIP pass into customers&#8217; conversations, their feeds, and (most importantly) their recommendations to friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The journey from browser to buyer is straightforward. Turning customers into people who actively recommend you is where it gets harder. That gap is what social currency closes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A study by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/Vivald-iPartners_Social-Currency.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vivaldi Partners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> describes social currency as &#8220;the ability of brands to fit into how consumers manage their social lives in today&#8217;s digital and mobile age.&#8221; It applies to the relationship between your business and consumers. When your business consistently provides information and value, you build social capital and solidify your position.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What it means for individuals and brands<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People share what they think makes them look good. They&#8217;ll only pass along what they believe will maintain or boost their reputation among peers. Whenever a person shares information, they put their reputation on the line and &#8220;spend&#8221; social currency. They don&#8217;t share boring or misleading things, because they risk losing status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brands need social currency for the mirror reason. When someone shares your brand, they&#8217;re spending their currency on you. If their network likes what they see, the social currency of both the sharer and the brand goes up. If their network doesn&#8217;t, both lose. With positive social capital, growing brand awareness and customer relationships gets significantly easier.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Social currency and brand loyalty<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Vivaldi Partners study showed social currency drives brand loyalty. Brands with high social currency can also command premium prices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apple is the obvious example. By building its social currency over decades, the company doesn&#8217;t just lead smartphone sales by volume. It commands a premium. Most Apple customers stay loyal even when competitors offer similar functionality at half the price. They&#8217;re already lining up for the next release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/word-of-mouth-marketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">word-of-mouth marketing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, social currency is a means to an end. You don&#8217;t just want people talking about your brand. You want them (and their friends) to buy. Building social currency <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/referral-marketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">makes your referral marketing strategies more effective<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15713\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/vivaldi-partners-social-currency-.jpg\" alt=\"vivaldi partners social currency\" width=\"728\" height=\"563\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/vivaldi-partners-social-currency-.jpg 728w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/vivaldi-partners-social-currency--300x232.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/ejoachimsthaler\/vivaldi-partners-group-social-currency-2012-final-sept18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>The dimensions of social currency<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social currency shows up in six dimensions. To build it, you need to deliver at least one (ideally several) to your audience:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Affiliation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Creating that &#8220;I belong here&#8221; feeling among your customers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conversation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Getting people talking about you, and joining the conversation yourself<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Utility:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Creating value that helps customers look smarter (and cooler) among peers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Advocacy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Building the kind of brand loyalty where customers will recommend you and defend you<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Information:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sharing insider knowledge that makes customers feel like the smartest person in the room<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Identity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Helping customers express who they are through your brand<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.incite-group.com\/customer-experience\/what-your-social-currency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19592\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/social-currency-wheel-chart.jpg\" alt=\"social-currency-wheel-chart\" width=\"600\" height=\"588\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/social-currency-wheel-chart.jpg 600w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/social-currency-wheel-chart-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These dimensions describe how social currency <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shows up<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in customer behavior. There&#8217;s an upstream layer worth naming too: what <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">generates<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> social currency in the first place. The four word-of-mouth drivers are product, service, value, and story. A great product earns conversation and advocacy. Strong service earns loyalty. Real value earns repeat sharing. A clear story earns identity and affiliation. The dimensions are the visible surface. The four drivers are the engine underneath.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When planning your <a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/brand\/\">brand strategy,<\/a> think about both layers. What can you do in your operations to earn the conversation? Then, how do you make the resulting word of mouth more shareable?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can add a dimension of social currency to every interaction, your relationships deepen. Apple invested at this level for years:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Utility:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Apple delivers functionality in a way that&#8217;s easy and seamless. They obsess over removing friction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conversation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/apple-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">product launches and events<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are practically national holidays for tech enthusiasts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Identity:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Apple fans rallied around &#8220;Think Different.&#8221; Today, Apple products signal a certain status. Owning one says something about who you are.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each dimension keeps Apple customers loyal even when competitors are cheaper. You don&#8217;t need Apple&#8217;s budget to apply the same principles.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The social currency bank account: deposits before withdrawals<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think of social currency like a savings account. Before you can make a withdrawal (asking customers to refer you), you need to make some deposits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a customer doesn&#8217;t see your brand as having social capital, they&#8217;re not risking their reputation by recommending you. It&#8217;s that simple.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the same logic as the &#8220;are you ready for a referral program?&#8221; question. A referral program doesn&#8217;t manufacture social currency. It captures and amplifies what&#8217;s already there. If no one&#8217;s deposited anything for you, an incentive isn&#8217;t going to fix that. You earn the conversation first. The program operationalizes it after.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you make deposits? Show up consistently on the platforms your audience uses. Share content that makes them look good when they share it. And actually be worth talking about. That comes from product, service, value, or story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don&#8217;t have to tackle all six dimensions at once. Start by being a friend to your customers. Answer their questions. Thank them when they tag you. Every positive interaction is another deposit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Different customers respond to different dimensions. If a customer follows the crowd, they&#8217;ll respond to affiliation. If another values utility, they&#8217;re more interested in solving their problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5 benefits of social currency for your business<\/h2>\n<p>When you start consistently making deposits, the benefits compound:<\/p>\n<h3>1. Greater insight into your customers<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Positive social capital deepens the relationship between your business and your customers. You&#8217;ll have a clearer view of what they want, what they don&#8217;t, and where the gaps are. You&#8217;ll also see how they perceive you, which helps you <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/boost-referrals-with-reviews\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manage your brand reputation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>2. A larger circle of influence<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social currency expands your market footprint two ways. First, it raises trust. Seeing other customers rave about you is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/examples-of-social-proof\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social proof<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in action, and it builds trust faster than any ad. Second, when a brand earns enough social currency, it becomes an influencer in its own industry. It gains leverage with other influencers and solidifies its position.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>3. Organic growth and higher-quality leads<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When your social capital reaches a certain level, you experience a snowball effect. Customers are already motivated to share. As that compounds at scale, you get a steady stream of high-quality leads who arrived through trusted recommendations rather than cold outreach. That&#8217;s exponential growth, not paid growth.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4. Loyalty and word of mouth that compound<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social currency drives the kind of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/customer-loyalty\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer loyalty<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that lifts you over competitors. Target and Walmart sell many of the same products, but Target has earned social capital that gives it a higher repurchase and loyalty rate. That loyalty also fuels word of mouth. Customers who are proud to support you will shout your name from digital rooftops, and that public advocacy brings more people in.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>5. Premium pricing power<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you&#8217;re trying to hold a premium price point, social currency is a major lever. It changes how customers perceive value, by adding something money can&#8217;t buy: the feeling that owning or recommending you reflects well on them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>6 ways to build social currency<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the strategies that actually move the needle. Each draws on specific dimensions of social currency.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>1. Find influencers and brand ambassadors<\/h3>\n<div data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"32ean\" data-offset-key=\"8cl42-0-0\">\n<div data-offset-key=\"8cl42-0-0\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-best-practices\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">influencer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/brand-ambassadors\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brand ambassador<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> promotes your company, you&#8217;re borrowing their social currency. They&#8217;ll only promote a brand they believe offers value to their followers, so the endorsement carries weight. Focus on finding representatives whose audience trusts them and whose values match yours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/what-is-influencer-marketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Influencer marketing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/brand-ambassador-program\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brand ambassador programs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are among the most effective ways to generate social currency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Affiliation, conversation, advocacy<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>2. Form a community<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build spaces where your customers can connect over shared interests. If you sell organic cleaning products, start a Facebook group for non-toxic home enthusiasts. You&#8217;re not just selling spray bottles. You&#8217;re creating belonging. People stay loyal to communities far longer than they stay loyal to brands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Affiliation, advocacy, identity<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>3. Show what&#8217;s unique about you<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What makes you different from every other option out there? Your quirky approach to customer service, your founder&#8217;s unlikely story, your obsessive attention to one detail competitors ignore. Those things are often more valuable than your actual product features. Highlight them in your marketing and you&#8217;ll drive sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Utility, affiliation, advocacy<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>4. Make your referral reward a gift the sharer can give<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any form of advertising, which makes <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/referral-marketing-strategy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">referral programs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> one of the most effective ways to grow. But how you structure the reward matters more than most operators realize.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The default move is to focus on what the referrer earns. &#8220;Refer a friend, get $20.&#8221; That framing turns the share into a transaction. The sharer feels like they&#8217;re selling out a relationship. Their reputation drops, not rises.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The better frame: structure the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/referral-rewards-incentives\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">right incentives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so the share is a gift the customer gets to give their friend. Their friend gets the discount, the credit, the bonus. The customer gets the satisfaction of having delivered value to someone they care about. That dynamic protects social currency instead of spending it. We call this the friend factor, and it&#8217;s why the most effective referral programs lead with what the friend gets, not what the sharer earns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also recognize top sharers publicly. Highlighting top-referring customers reinforces affiliation and identity, which earns more shares without making any individual share feel transactional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Utility, advocacy, conversation, affiliation, identity<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>5. Share insider knowledge<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharing key information with your customers is one of the simplest ways to build social capital. Knowledge bases, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/preply.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">online learning portals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, guidebooks, explainer videos, and other informational resources make customers feel smarter for engaging with you. That&#8217;s a deposit they&#8217;ll spend later, when they bring up your brand in conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Information, conversation<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3>6. Create a sense of exclusivity<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Share brand &#8220;secrets&#8221; with your most loyal customers. Things the general public doesn&#8217;t know. A secret menu item, a members-only event, a private sale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever the secret is, the offer of exclusive info raises your social capital among select customers. It drives them to talk about your brand with friends so the friends can enjoy the same benefits. Those friends share with theirs, and your social currency compounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimensions: Utility, information<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Social currency examples<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These four examples each lean on different dimensions. None of them are running a campaign. They&#8217;re all making deposits.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Starbucks<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starbucks has built decades of social currency through limited-time drops, seasonal favorites, and a brand identity customers proudly carry. A holiday cup launch isn&#8217;t just packaging. It&#8217;s a conversation starter that millions of people share without prompting. The point isn&#8217;t any single tweet or promotion. It&#8217;s the consistent rhythm of giving customers something worth sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11783 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/starbucks-450x373.png\" alt=\"starbucks social currency\" width=\"450\" height=\"373\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/starbucks-450x373.png 450w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/starbucks-450x373-300x249.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>In-N-Out<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ever had an Animal Style burger at In-N-Out? It isn&#8217;t on the regular menu. Animal Style burgers and fries are part of the secret menu, so you had to learn about them through word of mouth before you could order. In-N-Out makes people feel like insiders, and that&#8217;s the deposit. Regulars pass the secret along because doing so makes them look in-the-know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18401\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/in-n-out-social-currency.jpg\" alt=\"in-n-out-social-currency\" width=\"450\" height=\"244\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/in-n-out-social-currency.jpg 931w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/in-n-out-social-currency-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Milk Train<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Milk Train is an ice cream shop in the UK that built a totally Instagrammable experience around their &#8220;cloud&#8221; dessert, a combo of ice cream and cotton candy. People like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B2tqWG7JH7c\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@atyourshervice<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can&#8217;t help but post. The product itself is the deposit, designed from day one to be shareable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18402\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/milk-train-social-currency.jpg\" alt=\"milk-train-social-currency\" width=\"450\" height=\"327\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/milk-train-social-currency.jpg 814w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/milk-train-social-currency-300x218.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Trendy Butler<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trendy Butler runs what they call a &#8220;Friends &amp; Family Program&#8221; rather than a standard referral program. The naming alone reframes the experience. You&#8217;re not earning a commission. You&#8217;re letting your friends in on something. That language preserves the social currency of the share, because it positions the customer as someone giving access rather than getting paid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11784\" src=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/trnedy-butler-384x411.png\" alt=\"trendy butler social capital\" width=\"384\" height=\"411\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/trnedy-butler-384x411.png 384w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/trnedy-butler-384x411-280x300.png 280w, https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/trnedy-butler-384x411-300x321.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>The bottom line: deposits before withdrawals<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social currency isn&#8217;t a campaign you can run. It&#8217;s a balance you build through how your business operates day to day. Strong product, strong service, real value, a story worth sharing. Deliver those consistently and customers start spending their reputation on you, because doing so builds theirs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you&#8217;re ready to capture and amplify what they&#8217;re already saying, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/referral-marketing-strategy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a referral program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is how you do it. The program doesn&#8217;t manufacture social currency. It just makes it easier for the people who already have you in their pocket to actually pull you out.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social currency is the deposit you make before you can ask for a referral. Here&#8217;s how to build it, and why it compounds over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2579,2676],"tags":[3280],"class_list":["post-6636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","category-word-of-mouth-marketing","tag-social-currency"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Jessica Huhn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6636"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38981,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6636\/revisions\/38981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}