Y’all, while we have been living in a virtual world for a while now, 2020 has really stepped that up a notch. It’s now more important than ever to have an online presence when growing your direct sales business. And you know what? Online presence is something a TON of people in direct sales don’t tackle.
Many direct sellers focus on the “traditional” way of selling – using your group of friends and family just to sell when you can. But if you’re searching for that wild growth that will transform your family’s life, you need to be online building a tribe.
But you can’t build your online empire overnight, ladies. If you’re thinking about your business’s longevity and growth, there needs to be a method behind your madness when growing your online presence. That’s what we’re going to tackle today. Where to start, and how to grow, rather than squirreling your way around the world wide web hoping for success!
Don’t worry – it’s less daunting than you think!
Want a proven plan for growing your direct sales business without feeling like you're chasing your tail? The Direct Sellers Business Blueprint explains the 4 key areas you must master to build a simplified, systematic business. It will even tell you which area to tackle first, so you can stop feeling overwhelmed or confused about what to do next. The best part? It's completely FREE!
I hear it all the time, “Facebook is dead.” It isn’t. And in fact, it is actually the #1 social platform as of October 2021. As someone who has now built two businesses virtually, I’m here to tell you, you must be on Facebook!!
When using Facebook to grow your business, you need a business page and a customer group. If you don’t have these two things, I recommend you start right there – push all the other platforms for later because this is where you need to start.
You should not be doing business from your personal Facebook profile. By creating a business profile, you’re creating something public, something that can be shared, something that search engines can rank, and something that will capture the attention of potential clients.
Then, once you have a business page, you start your customer or VIP Group. Your customer group is where you can get slightly more personal. It’s built of those ladies who are a part of your tribe, coming to your parties, hosting, buying your products. This is where you really build those client relationships.
Once you have both in place, you need to generate content!
Make it a goal to start with three posts a week, then work up to daily posts. Consistency and engagement are key to making your online presence work for you and your business. It doesn’t have to take up all your time, and you will reap the rewards.
So, step one for growing your online presence: Make a business page and customer group on Facebook!
Once you have that down, you can move into other avenues.
The second most popular way to grow your direct sales business online is Instagram. It’s essentially the photo version of Facebook and owned by Facebook so that you can connect your pages for more consistency. Not only can you share static photos, but you can also leverage videos and live video streams you can save for later.
But things to think about before you move on to other platforms like Instagram are: does this product fit your platform? And are your ideal clients hanging out there? If your answer is no to either of these questions, you don’t need to worry about being there, friend!
If you have a product that isn’t super photo-centric, like essential oils, it will be harder to get people to follow you and buy your product. Instagram is a hot spot for those who sell food-related items where you can share recipes or crafty products like DIY home décor items.
Instagram takes a while to get followers. The algorithm is a little trickier than Facebook. So take a course. There are many awesome free resources about how to master Instagram out there, so when you’re ready, check them out!
YOUTUBE
As of October 2021, YouTube was the #2 social media platform after Facebook. A lot of people are intimidated by YouTube because it’s video. But, think about it – if you go live on your Facebook business page, how is that any different? In a way, YouTube is less daunting because it’s recorded video. You can do all the editing you want before posting the video!
In my opinion, YouTube is super underutilized in direct sales. How many of us build our businesses from product demos at parties?! And how many times a week do you check out a YouTube video for a tutorial on something you don’t know how to do? I don’t know about you, but I go to YouTube every time I don’t know what to do.
Any product that has a how-to involved should be on YouTube. Whether you sell beauty products and want to show how to do a quick 5-minute facial for a bit of self-love, or have a kitchenware business and show how this one product has changed your dinnertime routine forever – film a video and put it on YouTube! These are also great because you can share across platforms.
To use it effectively, though, you can’t just film a video, post it with a cutesy title, and move along. You need to be strategic about the keywords you use in your titles and descriptions – what are people searching for? Use that in your title.
Once you have a few fresh videos out there, you will have many options on where to share and gain traction – that brings us to our next platform…
I love me some Pinterest. This is another tool that I think is highly underutilized in the direct sales industry. Many don’t realize that Pinterest isn’t a social media platform; it’s a visual search engine.
What do you search for on Pinterest usually? Recipes, beauty and hair tips, crafty things you can make at home for the season, right? It’s where you find inspiration.
So, if you’re selling any of those types of products, this is a perfect place to be. Pin your original content from your pages – your microblog, videos, etc. Don’t share the corporate video your marketing team sent to all the sellers in the company. Your content needs to be original to you to stand out here.
Create boards for different categories and pin your stuff to those boards. You should also save things you love that are related to your business. If you look at our Pinterest page, you’ll notice that all the content isn’t ours. It’s our favorite content from others too – and sometimes that brings people to our page.
Pinterest is a long-game tool, it won’t bring wins as quickly as Facebook or Instagram, but it helps bring long-term growth. Those pins can sometimes take 3-6 months to gain traction, but once they’re out there, they’re out there forever!
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
This is by far one of the most underutilized business tools today, but especially in the direct sales business. This free tool helps you create a location-specific business listing.
For example, when someone looks up Pampered Chef, or your business located near you, your business listing will pop up in the local search results.
You can also use your Google My Business Page to share fun things like events you’ll be attending or seasonal promotions or offers. It’s a great way to build your local presence and get discovered by new friends.
TIKTOK
TikTok is the newest social media platform on our list. If you’re not familiar with TikTok, it’s a social media app that allows users to create short videos (up to 3 minutes long.) No surprise that short videos work for engagement, right? Since its launch in 2016, TikTok now has over 1 billion users, and the brand estimates the same 1 billion being active per month. That is a lot of exposure!
Just like YouTube, a TikTok short video allows you to tell your story in a fun and relatable way, building your exposure to an often younger audience. There are also many opportunities to repurpose these videos on your other social media platforms, which makes it a good platform for direct sellers.
If you enjoy moving at the speed of light, Twitter is an excellent place for you to be. This social media platform is the most fast-paced. If you struggle to post once a week on your Facebook, maybe hold off on Twitter for a bit, as many of those successful on this platform post multiple times a day.
It’s a great place if you’re trying to be an influencer or top leader in your space or have a blog, but if you don’t have a ton of content to share, I’d recommend it trying out other platforms first.
And finally, do NOT try to do everything at once! Tackle one thing, one platform, at a time. We recommend that you start with one, master that platform, and then move on to the next one. You do not need to be everywhere today or even this year. Online growth takes time. If you’re trying to do all the things all at once, there is no way your strategy will be effective. Your brand will grow beyond your wildest imagination by taking it one step at a time – learning, implementing, and repeating!
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Want a proven plan for growing your direct sales business without feeling like you're chasing your tail? The Direct Sellers Business Blueprint explains the 4 key areas you must master to build a simplified, systematic business. It will even tell you which area to tackle first, so you can stop feeling overwhelmed or confused about what to do next. The best part? It's completely FREE!
Mary Haynes is a highly successful direct sales leader turned strategist and coach. Her passion is helping party plan people streamline and scale their businesses using simple, proven strategies. Her goal is to eliminate business overwhelm so direct sellers know exactly what to do and when to do it. Mary is also a homeschooling mama that lives in sunny Florida with her husband, 4 kiddos, 2 dogs, and various other backyard animals.
