If you’ve been around direct sales for a bit, you’ve heard about the dreaded (insert scary music) summer slump. Ever wonder how to avoid it? Wondering what you can do to prevent it? Here’s the deal: you have to start preparing for it now. Don’t wait until mid-July and say, “Hey, I had heard that summer could sometimes be hard for direct sellers. So what should I do now?”
Part of avoiding the slump and not losing momentum over the summer involves keeping your already warm social media followers engaged. I’ve got some tips to help you tackle the summer slump and keep your peeps engaged over the summer.
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WHERE YOU SHOULD BE ONLINE
First of all, as a direct seller, you should have a Facebook business page. You should also have a Facebook VIP or customer group where you’re hanging out with your followers. You might be on Instagram. You might even be on YouTube. You get the point. You should be visible on social media in different places. That’s all well and good, but how do we keep people engaged across all the channels?
There are a couple of key things you need to tackle as you’re thinking about keeping people engaged over the summer. I’m going to tell you a little secret – ready for it? Summer was usually my biggest month aside from November because I planned for it. No joke. I planned, and I had a strategy that I implemented over the summer, and you can too! Here are my top tips on how to do it.
BE CONSISTENT ONLINE
Now, I know this is a hard one to accomplish over the summer. I get it, y’all. But being consistent means posting daily, which does not mean spamming your personal profile with sales photos. It means consistently posting on your Facebook business page and in your customer group. If you’re on Instagram, you need to post there, too. Consistently put some videos on your YouTube channel. At least one post a day on your social channels and one video a week on YouTube is a good rule of thumb.
GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED
Be sure to ask questions in your posts. Talking to people and engaging with them is the primary goal. Even though they’re traveling or sitting by the pool, they have their phones, and you know they’re scrolling through Facebook or Instagram looking at everybody’s summer travels. So, make sure you’re asking questions to get conversations started.
USE LIVE VIDEO
You might not like me for this one but use live video. It’s amazing for stretching your reach and increasing your followers. If you’re already doing live videos, take a peek at your stats. Every single time I look at mine, my videos have way more reach than my static posts (i.e., just my image posts). I bet yours do, too!
Also, make sure you’re going live from your public Facebook pages, not just inside your customer group. Think about it – if you show the most amazing way to do a summer recipe or how to make homemade mosquito lotion and I see it, I’m going to share the heck out of that thing. Right? If it’s only posted in your customer group, I can’t share that as easily as I can with just one click on your business page.
FOCUS ON TRENDING TOPICS
What are people talking about over the summer? Think about what products and topics you can feature that are top of mind. Here are just a few –
- Outdoors
- Grilling
- Summer activities for my kids
- Camping
- Travel
- Weddings
If you’re stuck on what to talk about, my favorite place to research trending topics is Pinterest. Search for the company you represent in the top search box, then pay attention to all the words that pop up just below. Those are all current trending topics related to your brand.
Another way to find what’s trending is to ask your people. Create a poll and ask them what they want to learn about next! Pay attention to the comments in your group and on your business page. Also, pay attention to what other consultants are talking about. You know their posts are popping up in your feed. Check their posts for ideas!
CHANGE THINGS UP
Another way to keep your people on their toes over the summer is to change things up. Change up the day you go live. Do a special summer series. Change up your party format. Now is the time to mix stuff up and offer something fun and new to your current customers, potential hosts, and regular social media followers.
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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.
