Social Networking is simply the big topic right now, and
even more so if you are in network marketing. First the
only social networks were all free to join networks like
MySpace and Facebook. Their networks are open to anyone and
everyone, have grown like wildfire and became increasingly
well known. Even network marketers have joined and marketed
their opportunities or products through these sites. It
certainly does work even though these social networks
aren't even target audiences who would be more inclined to
their offers.
However, the value of marketing on Myspace and Facebook is
quickly dropping. This is due to the massive release of new
and niche focused social networks. The fact is that this
year alone I have seen an increasing number of professional
social networks geared towards network marketers launching
and becoming increasingly popular. To name a few:
TalkMoola.com, Zenzuu, Friendswin, Yuwie, and Wowzza. A
couple older ones are DirectMatches, AdLandPro, and even
Ryze. Honestly I wouldn't even be the least bit surprised
to see a few more start-up this year - that is how much it
is catching on! It is also obvious why they do become so
popular among network marketers, because there is no better
advertising than targeted advertising. Exposing your
business opportunity, system, or product to other network
marketers is simply the most effective thing to do. Once a
network marketer joins you they already have had their foot
in the door and are somewhat knowledgeable about the
industry and can greatly help your business. However if a
random person from MySpace sees and joins your business
they are not nearly as valuable to you because they most
likely have no idea what they are doing or what network
marketing is even about.
So when network marketers are invited with the ability to
join a social network full of network marketers it is
almost a no-brainer. Just to clarify why I said "almost"...
It is because not all network marketers have caught on to
the power of social networking yet or how to properly use
social networking to explode their businesses. But the
ability to further expose themselves and their business to
other like-minded people is extremely valuable and
profitable for most. The old way of network marketing is
out, and I see the future holding tight to social marketing
through professional social networks. Even so, many of
these new business social networks are offering incentives
for those who join. These range from revenue sharing,
direct affiliate commissions, and various MLM pay plans.
This only supports the increasing awareness and exposure
that I believe these new networks will and deserve to
receive.
All professional social networks, however, are not created
equal. Here are a few things you need to look out for when
deciding which ones you will utilize in exposing yourself
and your opportunities.
1) Somewhat Targeted or Extremely Targeted?
When looking over your social networks find out if the
people involved in the social network are the type of
people who would be interested in what you have to offer,
or are like-minded to you. This means that if you are a
network marketer looking to provide an opportunity to other
network marketers then the people involved in the social
network should be strictly network marketers. Does the
social network include people looking for a date or love?
If the social network includes this or niches totally
unrelated to you then this weakens the potential of that
network for you. However, if the social network is only
network marketers or business opportunity seekers then it
is an incredible source for you.
2) Are there limitations on contacting your friends in bulk?
Building up your friends list on social networks is one
major thing you need to do to get the most exposure. This
means accepting friend invitations from those within the
social network and also seeking out other like-minded to
add to your network of friends. The larger your list of
friends the more active you will appear to be and the more
people will take heart to what you have to say. It also
means more people who you can send messages to through the
social network. Some social networks limit the amount of
people you are able to send a message to at once. For
example you have 100 friends and they limit you to only 30
people per message, this is a negative thing and is
especially bad if you have a much larger network of
friends. On the other hand, some social networks will let
you add unlimited friends and you can send them a bulletin
or message to all your friends at once anytime with ease.
This is what you should be looking for because whether you
have 100 friends, 1,000 or even 10,000 you can send them
all a message just as easily as if you were sending it to
one. This means potentially huge exposure for you. If you
want you can even consider it like an instant contact list
of targeted prospects! However, I do warn about sending too
much unwanted messages to your friends, you should try to
connect with them and send them as much quality information
as you can instead and then lightly introduce what you have
to offer. If you consistently send what they would consider
as spam messages they will just block you or remove you
from their friends' network, so using the social network
properly is important.
3) Are the members free, paid, or both?
The quality of the membership is another factor. If the
membership is mostly free then they are less likely to be
purchase ready. However, if the membership is all paid and
everyone is used to paying to be a part of the social
network then these are the highest quality members you can
get in touch with because they will have the money to
invest in working with you. Mixed is fine though as this
factor is not as important as the first two.
4) What are the other site incentives?
This is the least important but should still be mentioned.
Other incentives could be the pay plan such as revenue
sharing, affiliate commissions, or some type of matrix
structure. It could also be other services provided with
your cost of the membership such as training, tools, or
other bonuses. Keep in mind, even if they do not offer
great incentives but the rest of the above factors are
positive I would still be excited to join.
Right now there is not a huge selection of targeted
professional social networks but I am positive that the
future will hold true for more and more becoming available.
Personally I like to take advantage and join any social
network because that is extra exposure for me, and any
extra exposure is always a good thing. However when
choosing to be most active in select networks you may want
to consider the above factors. I have created many strong
relationships, learned a lot, taught a lot, and profited a
lot from those relationships within social networks. I
recommend taking advantage of any professional social
network, especially niche ones that have like-minded
individuals similar to yourself. The benefits can be
enormous.
----------------------------------------------------
Darren Olander is dedicated to teaching others how to
create a success online through internet network marketing
strategies. He is a site owner, article writer, coach &
marketing consultant enjoying the benefits of working full
time from home. Learn more about him at
http://www.darrenolander.com
No comments:
Post a Comment