It’s Friday which means today we’re going into our three things you must know, and we’re going to be talking about direct marketing stuff. Whenever you’re buying into sort of those larger companies and you’re selling products for them, like in the old days it was like Tupperware, Avon and Mary Kay and now there are a gazillion of them for like fitness, weight loss, makeup, nails, lashes, all the things, all the things.
We’re going to talk about three things you need to know if you’re in that space because 1) I see a lot of people doing it really, really poorly. 2) I don’t think the training that you get from them directly is as solid as it could be. 3) There is a fair amount of you who are leaving a lot of money on the table by doing it in a way that is actively repelling customers instead of bringing them in which is the goal.
If you are not in the direct marketing space, if you’re not somebody who does this. If you’re a solopreneur who has your own products and services, this is still going to be worthwhile to listen to because we’re going to cover some of the sort of basic rules of social media and the things you need to know when it comes to selling via social. Pay attention either way, but this really is for those folks in the direct marketing space because I think some of the advice that some of you are getting is, well, wrong. That’s what we’re going to talk about today, three things that you must know as a direct marketer to sell on social media.
Number one thing you need to know.
You’re still a business. I see this a lot where you’re selling from your profile, you’re making friends with people, you’re auto-adding people into a group, which is not a good idea. Basically, you’re treating this business as sort of a hobby and something you do on the side, which is fine. It’s legit, just something you do on the side and not a major revenue source. That’s fine, but it doesn’t make it any less business, so it needs to be treated like a business. That means it needs to have a business page.
It’s actually against Facebook’s terms and conditions to use your Facebook profile, the thing you started initially when you opened your account, primarily for commercial purposes is the language in the terms and conditions. That means if you’re mostly or at all really using Facebook profiles to make friends and message people and add them to groups and auto-invite them to events and whatever, you’re doing it wrong. What’s happening is you’re actively pushing back your customer base because who you’re speaking to are not your customers. Where you need to be doing that is a business page. If you want to run a group, great, but find a way to funnel people into that group where they choose to be in that group, not you automatically adding them to the group. That’s really the difference.
Treat this like a business. Facebook page needs to be a business page, not a Facebook profile. Don’t be auto-adding people to groups. Don’t be auto-adding people to events for virtual parties where you’re going to sell and things like that. You need to structure this in the same way that it’s a business. That speaks on a larger scale to knowing who your customers are. Yes, you have the customers of the company who you’re selling on behalf of speaks to you, but find a set within there of the people who you speak to. The times I see this executed the best is in some of the weight loss and essential oil spaces where … Essential oils work for a mass amount of people. These weight loss products work for a mass amount of people. Who in that mass do you connect with? Who can you provide value to?
Again, treat this like a business. Build your ideal clients, your ideal customers and extend that even to your ideal team members because a part of direct marketing and making that really profitable is finding people who sell underneath your team. I am fully aware of that, but again, that’s only going to work if you treat this like a business. Do the work to find out who you’re selling to, to build a page that speaks to them, to build the content that speaks to them, that builds the community that they want to be a part of, not that you are sort of forcing them into and they keep having to leave and then they end up blocking you and unfriending you and all of those sorts of things. That’s not productive for your business. Again, treat this like a business, okay?
Number two thing you need to know.
Consistency still matters. Even if this is something that you are doing on the side. Maybe it’s a second stream of revenue to your primary business, maybe this is something you’re just starting with and you’re just trying things out. The most important thing is going to be consistency and that means not just consistently once a month going, “Okay, here’s your last chance to get your orders in for whatever,” but instead being consistent with value and being consistent with a message, a message that speaks to people who you want to be buying. Going back to the essential oils example, maybe your target market is moms who are busy and trying to get 600 things done, and so they’re dealing with stress, and they’re dealing with kid stuff, and they’re dealing with all of the things. Speak to them all of the time with value, not just sales messages, consistently provide them value, consistently speak to them and consistently be in front of them.
Consistency is going to be critical when it comes to your social media. Again, that doesn’t mean blasting out a sales message every other day saying, “This is what we’ve got, come buy it.” You have to find those value points. You have to find those points where you can connect with them. Going back to point number one. Just like any other business, you are a business even if you are in the direct marketing space. That doesn’t make you any less a business owner. I kind of look at it almost like you’re a franchise holder. You know what I mean? You need to follow certain rules, but at the end of the day you are your own entity and you need to market it as such. Make sure that you are being consistent with your social media, whether that’s on Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn, or Pinterest is a great option. No matter what it is, make sure the consistency is there because it will make or break you.
Number three, make sure you are following the rules.
I know I kind of talked about this a little bit in number one when I talked about you needed to have a business page, but I’m not just talking about the terms and conditions of these sites, although that’s super critical, but also the rules of marketing. Again, you are a business. I know I’ve kind of gone back to this over and over again, but I think it’s something that’s so, so critical for you to understand. You have to be following the rules of marketing. You have to be promoting value. You have to be building relationships. This cannot be something that you go into and you expect to day two make a billion dollars. That’s how it happens.
The people who are really, really, really successful in business, especially in direct marketing, get that more than anything else maybe, is a relationship-based business. It’s all about building relationships. It’s all about building credibility, so make sure you are doing that work. Make sure you are putting in the time and the energy to build those relationships. Follow those marketing rules. Again, its about value. It’s about consistency. It’s about following the terms and conditions of these sites. It’s about knowing what needs to be done to support your business when it comes to marketing it. That really is, I think, the thing that so many direct marketers sort of fall off the cliff with, is you’re not realizing it’s a business, so you’re not following these rules.
To recap: 1) Remember this is a business. Treat it as such. 2) Consistency matters. Even if this is a side hustle for you, you have to be consistent. Do the work to make sure that you’re consistently putting out value. 3) You have to follow the rules. You have to follow the marketing rules about value, about consistency, about the terms and conditions of the sites you’re using. You have to, have to, have to make sure that you are in line with that because it’s absolutely critical. Okay?
I want to close in with just sort of a rapid fire things that you need to stop doing because literally everybody is complaining about it. Don’t auto-add people to groups. Don’t auto-invite all of your friends to parties on Facebook. Don’t spam email everyone in your email contact list saying, “Hey this is what I’m doing, come buy this.” Don’t focus on your product and what you’re selling alone. Find the value.
The big one I’m seeing right now is you find somebody, you send them a friend request, you send them a message, you say some nice things, kind of start talking to them and then you send them this massive sales pitch. Now, I applaud you for attempting to build a relationship, but when the entirety of our correspondence is three previous messages, never in any of those messages did I mention anything relevant to what you’re trying to sell me, don’t then try to send me a novel sales … Like literally a sales page via Facebook message.
I’m seeing that one a lot lately. Don’t do that. Again, going back to our first three things, treat it like a business, be consistent with value and everything else, and follow the marketing rules. Then make sure you just avoid these last few don’ts that I’ve kind of blasted in here because they really are mission critical, and they’re actively, actively driving away your potential customers because you are losing people before they can ever hear what amazing value you can provide. All right? All right.
Now, last note. I have nothing against direct marketing. I don’t have any problem with it. No I’m not interested in any potential selling opportunity you would like to offer me because I know I will get the because when I’ve talked about it in the past I’ve always gotten them. I am not a direct marketer. It’s just not my gig. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I have chosen not to do it for a reason. Take this information and prosper with it, all right?
If you have any questions, you want to learn to use Facebook pages and Facebook Live and those kind of things more effectively to help sell these products because you are treating this like business and you are investing in its growth, head over to Hit the Mic Backstage. That’s the place to get all of the social media training you need to grow your business, direct marketing or otherwise. I will see you backstage. Bye guys.
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