The most important thing to remember about network marketing in the digital age is that the business of network marketing is a person-to-person business. Learning the art of reaching out to people on social media and having direct conversations with them, not as a business owner, but as a person, takes time and finesse.
Facebook is one of the hottest spots for conversations nowadays, and it is a big part of any marketer’s strategy. Instagram is for building a visual brand, LinkedIn is for becoming an authority in your industry – but Facebook is where people participate in discussions under their real names, with their real-life interests indexed and searchable.
One of the most important parts of any business owner’s strategy is accessing opportunities to have 1-on-1 conversations with potential customers and clients, and Facebook groups are a fantastic avenue for that.
Here is how you can leverage them for your benefit:
#1: Find Where Your Audience Is
Facebook’s Search tool is very powerful. You can search for any keywords, filter results to only show groups, and at a glance see how many members are in them and how active they are. Facebook shows the number of members and daily posts in any group, even those that are closed for the public.
That’s not the only way you can search for groups. Facebook’s search also allows you to look for accounts of people who have liked Pages that are related to your business, and you can see what other groups they are in by quickly scanning their profile. When you have entered a few Groups, Facebook’s Explore Groups tab will start showing you related content regularly, neatly divided into categories, so you can quickly see if any new groups appear over time.
#2: Become an Authority Poster in Different Groups
Most groups do not allow self-promotion. You will indeed be banned if you only engage with the group members by sharing your business details or soliciting them to take a look at your products and services. However, there is a way to make people interested in asking you questions about your product without getting banned, and that is sharing your knowledge and expertise for free!
Let’s say you joined a group centered on women of your target age group who are trying to achieve wellness. Of course, you will be doing this to make contact with potential customers of your wellness products. Many conversations will revolve around problems they are trying to solve, and you can always pitch in with a helpful suggestion, even if the solution isn’t one of your products.
There might be some discussion about new hacks the members are using, or progress checks, and you can share knowledge there as well. It’s important to make it completely clear that your business is a byproduct of your interest in the area of the group’s focus, and not the other way around!
#3: Start Your Own Facebook Group
To make your own rules and discussions, you should start your own Facebook Group. If your complete social media strategy is going well, you already have a pool of potentially interested people to invite. That could be the audience of your Facebook Business Page, your email list, your Instagram and Twitter followers, as well as interested friends and members of your family. It is recommended that you share the invitation periodically on your social media channels so that those who are interested don’t have to scroll back to find it.
If your authority in other groups is well established, perhaps the admins of the group will allow you to invite other people to join. If the rules allow you to privately message members, you can ask the members you have previously communicated with to join privately. Remember, do not proceed with any of these actions without the explicit permission of the admins. Even if you are not allowed to do any of these things, group members will get curious about you, look up your profile and strike up conversations with you.
#4: Follow Common Sense Group Maintenance Rules
Maintaining a Facebook Group that fosters conversation and keeps the flow of information going is a fine art. You might think that the best way to promote a business is to make all the information publicly available, but most business groups are set to Closed, or even Secret. This is done because people are more comfortable sharing information when they aren’t posting it publicly.
The most important thing to remember is that the names and descriptions of Closed groups are still searchable! If you want your Group only to be visible to members, you should set it to Secret instead.
#5: Master the Art of Sharing and Discussion
The value your potential customers get from your group must be even higher than the value they get from your other free content. That’s why you should offer special discounts and exclusive information that your group members won’t be able to access anywhere else. This is done to build trust further – and when you have your audience’s trust, they will be willing to talk to you.
From your participation in other Facebook groups, you have a lot of data to mine about the posts that spark discussion, but there are also handy checklists and guides. Most groups post periodical discussion threads where the members can talk about their most pressing problems and the pain points of their journey.
The existence of Facebook’s Reply function means that every comment gets separated into its own thread within a thread, so you can have a 1-on-1 conversation with anyone who commented. Sharing your knowledge this way makes your group members more eager to engage in conversations because it adds a personal touch and leaves a positive impression.
Once you can reliably get your prospects to engage with you through Facebook groups, you’ll be wondering how you managed without doing that before. Groups are a gold mine of engagement, and for a clever network marketer, a perfect way to grow influence and following.If you’re interested in learning more marketing tips, follow us on Facebook! Also, you’re invited to join our Facebook group: Wake Up Your Health! We look forward to connecting with you!
