2 Killer Mistakes To Avoid in Social Media Marketing
People are flocking to social media sites in droves, and for good reason. Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming a primary method of “prospecting” for customers for your business.
Indeed, social media can be an extremely effective way to get more people to take a look at your business opportunity
But it must be done right.
There are 2 major mistakes that I see people doing repeatedly in Social Media:
Mistake #1: The Hard Sell
Most of you probably already understand that the “social” in social media means just that — you must take the time to “socialize’ with people, allow them to get to know you and see that you have value to give before they will take a look at your business.
So how is this done?
It is done with consistency and becoming an online presence in your Web 2.0 community of choice. And it is done with giving value to your followers without asking for anything in return.
It is done by learning the art of the “soft sell.”
For those of you not familiar with the term “soft sell”, it basically means that you don’t lead with your business in social media. The fastest way to lose followers and even get banned by some of Web 2.o sites is to blast people information about your business opportunity or product.
While you may truly believe that you are adding value to people’s lives by providing this information, everyone on the Net is getting bombarded daily with thousands of pitches and new opportunities, and yours is just one more on the list.
You must stand out. And you can stand out by providing free value to your followers, no strings attached.
The “hard sell” — banging people over the head to look at your business — will NEVER work in social media.
MISTAKE #2: The Follow-Up Link
The other big mistake I see people making in social media is their follow-up link. That is, where you are sending your followers for more information.
As most of you probably already know, there is always a place on every 2.0 site to put more information about yourself (for example, a profile). This is also the place to put a link to a website where your followers can go to learn more about you.
What do most people do?
They put a direct link to their business opportunity or product site. OUCH!!
Most times, people aren’t ready for that. They want to know more about YOU, the person.
If you are providing cool stuff on Twitter, for example, your followers may want to see what else you are up to. This is where a personal blog or hub is perfect.
By sending your Twitter or Facebook followers to your blog, you are allowing them to get to know more of what you are about. And of course, you should put a link or a page on your blog regarding your business. That just makes good sense.
But to send your followers directly to your primary business capture page is a recipe for disaster in social media.
There are many other mistakes people make when using Social Media as a prospecting tool for their business, but these are two of the biggest offenders.
A Unique Method For Understanding Your Target Market
There are few things more vital to the success of any network marketing business (or any business for that matter) than having a clear understanding of exactly who you are marketing to.
Most people in the industry call it your “Target Market”, and the sooner you get this right, the faster you’ll start making money.
In fact, if you develop a crystal clear picture of your target prospect and that market is profitable (that is, they will have a genuine interest in buying your product), then you can basically PRINT MONEY whenever you wish.
But how do you develop that clear picture of your target market, your “Ideal Prospect.”
It’s not as easy as it may sound, but I heard a great technique yesterday on a training call that I want to pass on to everyone on this blog.
Here’s the process:
- Name your prospect. This makes it personal and allows you to talk about your ideal prospect as if it was a real person.
- What do they need? When describing your ideal prospect, think about who would need your product the most.
- Relate to your Ideal Prospect. Relate the description of your ideal prospect to your own life experiences. What made you purchase your product or join your business opportunity? What problems were you having? What needs were met by your decision? It’s much easier to market to a prospect that you, yourself can relate to in a very strong way.
- Get VERY specific, the more the better.
I did this exercise last night and I want to share it with you today. You will be able to see just how specific I got when describing my ideal prospects, who I called Nate and Natalie (I didn’t want to be sexist, so I made both a male and female version of my ideal prospect).
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Meet Nate and Natalie
Age: Middle age between 40-55.
Occupation: Professionals working between 50-70 hrs per week with a lot of responsibility and very stressful positions.
Marital Status: Married (but never seeing each other due to work and kids’ schedules) or separated/divorced for the same reasons.
Home Owners: Yes, two story home in suburbia so that they can commute an hour to work into the city. Maybe a vacation home in the mountains or beach, but they never have time to go there.
Family: Kids who go from sitter to sitter when younger, or who come home from school to an empty house. The kids have very structured lives, going from activity to activity. The family rarely sits down to dinner at the same time, since no one is home early enough.
Health: Fair to poor. Lack of exercise – not enough time or energy. Poor eating habits: too much fast food and processed food (can you say microwave dinners?). Because of this they are both 20-40 lbs overweight and too tired/lazy to do anything about it. The pop Tums like they are candy.
Mental State: They have given up on trying to keep in shape. They feel guilty for not spending more time at home for their spouse (if still married) and their kids. They are tired of missing their kid’s school plays and baseball games because of work. They are sick and tired or being sick and tired. Something has to give!
What They Do To Relax: Nights are spent vegetating in front of the TV trying to escape their stressful day. Weekends are spent working and then catching up around the house. Usually a weekend barbeque is planned to try and unite the family, but hardly anyone shows up.
Ephiphany: They wake up one morning with the feeling, “Is This All There Is? They look back and realize that their life has been spent on all the wrong things, that they really haven’t helped anyone on this planet.
Or maybe a significant health issue or event causes them to take stock of their life and realize that something has to give or they will end up in an early grave. They start questioning exactly why they were put on this Earth, and what people will remember about them when they’re gone.
They start looking for other ways to pay the bills that will allow them to have more time for family, friends, and most importantly, themselves. But they also need something that will not only give them freedom but will be lucrative enough to allow them to pay the mortgage and the orthodontist for the kids, and get ready for their kid’s college costs. They need pay for their 2-story house and their vacation home. Not to mention their retirement (if they have the money!).
And – oh yeah – they’d like to feel like they can make a difference in the lives of others.
This is where we come in!
You know what the great part is? I KNOW THIS PERSON.
I WAS THIS PERSON!!!!
And it can’t get any easier than marketing to yourself.
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Develop this kind of picture for your ideal prospect. When you do so, it becomes amazingly easy to develop a marketing strategy that is laser-focused on this target market.
To your success!
How Much “Skin” Do You Have In The Game?
Rosemary and I just returned from the beautiful Dominican Republic, where we were taking in some sun and relaxing, followed by our company’s Private Wealth Conference.
With Natalie Stahl at the Paradisius Resort
At the Conference, we met up with our good friend and fellow entrepreneur, Natalie Stahl. Natalie is CEO of Platinum 7 Profits and a very seasoned business owner.
We sat down over a few drinks in the lobby and were discussing some joint projects we are working on, when the subject of SUCCESS came up. More specifically….
What does it take to “make it” when starting a new business?
Natalie made a point that makes a lot of sense. She told me that, in her experience, any new business owner doesn’t have a chance unless they have “skin in the game.”
If this saying is not familiar to you, it means that you’ve got to have a lot at stake when starting a business, namely money.
Not money you could make, but money you’ve put in to your business as start up capital.
Why?
Anyone who has their own business understands that the obstacles are plenty and the urge to give up can be fierce. This is especially true at the beginning, when one usually makes mistake after mistake before they “get it.”
And if you don’t have a lot at stake, a lot of SKIN in the game ($$$), then giving up is WAY TOO EASY.
I’ve been a student of human nature for quite some time, and I am coming to the belief the GIVING UP may just be part of human nature. Maybe that’s too strong, but my point is this. Most people (97%) of new home business owners will quit before they come to profit.
Why? Because most home businesses, especially MLM require relatively little capital to get started, less than $1-2000. This amount of money is not enough to keep people from throwing in the towel when times get tough, when results don’t come fast enough, and when quitting seems easier than the work needed to make your business profitable.
Rosemary and I are good examples.
Our first business was in MLM. It was a decent company with good products. But we were very green, and knew nothing about starting a business. Our start up capital was about $1500, pennies when you consider that it can take hundreds of thousands of dollars to start a brick and mortar business or franchise.
The obstacles came fast and often when we started. We gave it a good try, but within a year it was easier to justify quitting than spending the time and energy needed to see a profit. WE QUIT.
A while later we were ready to try again, but this time we got involved not in MLM, but in a Direct Sales company. We were drawn in by the products, the marketing system, and the lucrative compensation plan. But to be at the top of the plan, to make the most profit per sale, we needed to put down $20,000.
This was a lot of money to us back then. We hesitated, kicked the idea around, and came up with all the pros and cons. But the bottom line was this….
We knew that, with that much money at stake, we would never give up. It was just too much money to give up.
We had “skin in the game”.
It was admittedly a leap of faith, a big risk to take.
But no business was ever started without risk.
To your success!
Income Claims in Network Marketing — Are They Real and Should We Care?
THE INCOME CLAIM
If you’ve done any searching on the Internet for home based businesses or a Network Marketing company, you’ve undoubtedly seen them with headlines shouting, “See the Proof”, “Check Out My Bottom Line” or variations on the theme.
The question is…..
Should be care?
On the surface, it seems logical enough. Search out someone who is having the success you covet and do what they do. But there are a number of problems associated with income claims as proof of success in network marketing, or anything else for that matter.
- Are these income claims real? Maybe I’m overly skeptical, but there are scammers out there who can make ANYTHING look real. I’ve seen videos of bank accounts, company commission statements, you name it. But it’s not that difficult for someone with programming experience to create dummy sites that look just like your bank company site, for example. In today’s age, seeing is NOT believing.
- What does this income represent? Even if the income claims are real, what do they really mean? Most business owners, when trying to influence others to make a decision based on results, will only show you the shiny side. It’s not different with income. The figures you see out there on the Internet almost always represent Gross Income, and do not take into account such costs as marketing and business operations. It’s one thing to say that you are earning $10,000 per m0nth with your online business. It’s quite another thing when you find out that it took them $12,000 to get those results. All of a sudden, the income claims don’t look so inviting! If someone isn’t talking about ROI (Return on Investment), I don’t even listen to it.
- Can you assume that this person can TEACH you how they are getting their results? I’ve seen several top earners in this industry who simply do not have the ability, the means, or (unfortunately) the desire to teach others to duplicate their success. Just because they are making that kind of money online, that doesn’t mean that you will. Simply joining someones team, regardless how successful they are, in no way means that you’ll come close to achieving the same results. There are several reasons for this, which I’ll cover in a separate post, but suffice it to say that NOT EVERYONE CAN TEACH and NOT EVERY RESULT IS REPRODUCIBLE.
The bottom line? Know what you’re really looking at when you see ads or websites with income claims. If you decide to pursue things further with this person, ask about their ROI, and don’t be “wowed” by gross income. And ask them how successful their team members have been in reproducing these kind of results.
To your success!
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