Social Media and Network Marketing (MLM) Working Together

Let's think about this for a minute. Network Marketing has always been about building a business based on a person's relationships. While very few people have a large enough warm market to build a large business, a persistent MLM entrepreneur can eventually experience the success they desire.

That requires time, persistence and a willingness to build the relationships required to achieve that success. Going to your conventional networking events, your local coffee shop, or pretty much anywhere you can find new contacts is great, but a very slow and painful way to go.

What happens in most cases is that the new Network Marketer are so anxious to add new people to his/her business, the moment they meet someone new they immediately overwhelm them with info concerning how great an opportunity they have to offer. Do this often enough and people begin to run when they see you coming.

There is a VERY good reason that we have two ears and one mouth. We, Network Marketers, should use them proportionately. Regardless of what you are selling, yes - you are selling, but that is a topic for another day.

As I stated regardless of what you are selling you should be a professional and ask the questions required to qualify the person you are speaking with as a good candidate for your opportunity. Please understand that not everyone you know is a good prospect for your business opportunity. In fact most people that you know have no desire to build a MLM business. They are very comfortable with their life as it is and are not willing to put in the effort required to build a business. As such they are NOT good prospects.

While Network Marketing has been around for years, fast forward to Web 2.0 and the Social Media channels that are available to the MLM industry. While there are more and more savvy Network Marketers showing up in the various social media sites that are available, many still have not learned that they cannot vomit all over everyone they have connected with.

The same still holds true in the world of Social Media that holds true in the world of conventional networking. Whether you are building a relationship via the keyboard from thousands of miles away or sharing a cup of coffee in your favorite coffee shop the same rules apply....more on that later.

Just a few of the sites that you should be participating on are: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Through active participation on these sites you can build a solid list of contacts, establish yourself as a leader in the MLM industry, build traffic to your website site, and earn the right to talk to new prospects about your opportunity. Yes, "earn the right to discuss your opportunity".

Do NOT pitch everyone that you are connected with, especially when first meeting them. Let me ask a quick question at this point.

In which of the following cases do you think it is an easier sell?
You are trying to convince a prospect that they really want to join your business opportunity.
or
You are answering the questions of a prospect that wants to know how to join your business opportunity.

Spend the time, do your homework, and establish yourself as a leader and you will find the second scenario above happening to you on an ongoing basis. Imagine having 10 to 20 new prospects each day that want information on how to join your MLM business.

Social media channels are no more forgiving than your contacts that you meet in person. Keep trying to force your latest business opportunity on everyone that you meet and you will soon find yourself without any friends.

Focus on building relationships through participation, establish yourself as a leader in the MLM industry, provide VALUE to your relationships by providing good content, and do NOT pitch everyone. Within a very short amount of time you can build a very large contact list of friends by leveraging the technology available through the multitude of Social Media sites available today.

While there are a large number of Social Media sites available as mentioned above the most popular sites are: Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The most important steps that you can take to start this process of building your Network Marketing business through Social Media are:

- Establish a marketing plan to include the sites, strategies, time spent, goals, etc.
- Put together a complete profile that establishes you as a leader
- Consistent and ongoing participation
- Improve yourself: Learn, Learn, Learn

There is a lot more to this topic that I will cover, but that will have to wait for another day. If you are not taking advantage of Web 2.0 and the Social Media channels available to you as a means of building your MLM business you are doing yourself a huge injustice.