The Game of Networking_MLMers ARE MANY. NETWORKERS ARE FEW.

by Rob Sperry

  As your posts get better, they will be shared and you will build an audience that expects you to share your insights. One of my friends started posting his morning insights every day. Eventually he started posting 2 to 3 times a day. He is very insightful and now has close to 200,000 followers. The first year he didn’t get much traction at all, but he kept at it. His insight got better, as did his following. Some of his posts are now shared over 1,000 times. Whether it is to your face, or behind your back, you will get a ton of criticism at first. Deal with it. Learn from it. Push through it. Stop worrying about all of the people who won’t ever help build your dreams and focus instead on those who respond to your content.

  Keep in mind the ultimate goal: you are seeking connections that lead to real relationships! The more connections you have, the happier you will be and the more success you will have. The stronger those connections are, the more your happiness and success is amplified.

  I always try to stay in contact with my top 20 best contacts every two weeks. A lot of times my inner circle rotates people in and out, but I always make sure to have at least 20 of my best contacts who are not a part of my network marketing business that I stay in touch with at least every other week. If someone came to your mind, but you feel like it would be more like a chore to reach to out every two weeks, then that person probably doesn’t belong in your inner circle!

  I know this may sound repetitive, but as you know, your goal is to find a way to serve and provide more value to these 20 contacts than you receive. Don’t focus on using them or you have failed miserably! Focus on how you can help them. If you provide value with the right intentions, you will be rewarded. It may not even be directly by one of those 20 contacts. It could come from your association from them. It could come from you becoming a better person by providing more value for others. I really don’t know where exactly the value will come directly from but I can promise you that the universe will conspire to help you. I am not someone who typically throws out phrases like ‘the universe will conspire to help you’ but there is no other way to better explain this principle.

  The most important principle to accomplishing our success is asking ourselves “How can I help enough people to get what they want?” “How can I serve with no expectation but to serve?”

  Building a positive, selfless, servant driven relationship with our distributors is important. In fact, it’s so vital that if we ignore it, we won’t be able to sustain anything that we build. We’ll always be pushing the boulder up the steepest of mountains, wishing, hoping and praying.—James Yates

  There are going to be people who read this book and say, “Wow, great book! That was insightful.” There are also going to be people who actually take these principles and put them into action. I am about to tell you one of those little things I do that makes me a disciplined networker, so take notes and be ready to implement this into your lifestyle as well!

  In a world where it’s so simple to just send out a direct message on social media or draft a quick text, you have to take the time to do something that so few people do: Just stay in contact! A few times a year I go through all of the contacts in my phone. I try and send texts out to those I haven’t been in contact in a while just to keep up with our relationship. I know this sounds so simple, but I promise if you just stay in contact a few times a year, you will make a tremendous impact.

  Casey Eberhart is a keynote speaker, trainer, business strategist, and an expert in networking. He gives a ton of relevant and updated info on networking. I met Casey at a networking event where we were both speaking. He listened to my speech on networking and immediately we connected and shared with each other our insights on how to better network. He pointed out that he reaches out to 10 people a day to just connect with them. He makes no mention of business. He focuses on being a good friend.

  If nothing else, try to make sure you have every contact in your phone added on some social media platform, like Facebook. This way, even if you aren’t sending them direct text messages more than once or twice a year, they can continue to keep up with your life indirectly through social media, and they will feel closer to you, even if you haven’t personally talked in a while. I have so many friends on social media that I feel like I know so much about them, even though I haven’t had a good conversation with them for a while!

  If you want to knock out a few birds with one stone, start a group text. Obviously you can’t just lump people together and take the lazy way out, because you’ll do more harm than good if you do that. Each of your group texts needs to be centered around a specific niche group. Maybe you play golf with some friends, that could be one group. Maybe you go to church and always find yourself running into the same two or three families that know each other, that could be another group. Maybe you had really great relationships with some friends back at school that you’ve lost touch with, it’s time to bring the group back together! Maybe you have a group with your favorite sports team. Find ways to reconnect with people.

  You don’t want to overkill your group messages, and there are times where it may be better to text an individual rather than lumping someone in a group, but that is a judgment call. Group texts or messages are a lot of fun, and a great way to stay involved with multiple people at once.

  In a recent article network marketing rock star Amber Voight said this about her social media strategy:

  You need to become influential. You do this by bringing value to other people’s lives. You make friends with lots of other networkers and direct sellers, and then post things to help them, even if they’re not in your company. Rather than post about my business, I share general network marketing tips and inspirational quotes or videos, because that’s going to help people grow, and as they grow, their business grows. It will come back to you, but some people just don’t get that part. They think, ‘How can I benefit if they’re not even in my company?’ The Universe always rewards you, often in unforeseen ways.

  John and Nadya Melton always show a great balance of business tips, humor, and real life on their social media. Every time a new friend adds John or he adds a new friend, he always sends a voice memo through Facebook messenger. The fact that John takes that time with every new personal contact is phenomenal. I love that he sends out voice memos, as it makes it more personal. Very few even take the time to say hello to their new contacts, let alone make it personal with a voice memo. John takes it a step further and will reach out consistently to his contacts. For years, I hadn’t personally met John, but due to his social media posts and our back and forth voice memos, I always felt like I personally knew him. These are some of the ways John and Nadya separate themselves from most network marketers.

  There are some common threads that run through all these stories of successful and inspirational social media marketers. In order to better understand them, I encourage you to find several people with solid engagement and follow them. Study them. What do they post? How often do they post? What type of content do they post? Remember to find your style and that followings aren’t built overnight. They take time!

  In large part, social media will become your resume, so keep it polished! Make sure that your profile picture is sharp. This is the first thing someone scrolling through your profile will see. Your picture should be high quality and convey your message—do you want to be seen as fun, successful or family-oriented? Additionally, depending on which social media format you are on, there may be a section to fill out about yourself. Keep it simple, yet profound. Be brief on who you are and what you are interested in.

  There are so many different social media platforms out there, and I’m not going to pretend to be a master at every one. I know it can be overwhelming, so start with one and master it. Then move on to the next. Take a deep breath. You don’t have to learn all of these at once. In fact, many top industry leaders only master one of these platforms. So start with one, then you can decide if you would like to add more.

  CURRENT RELEVANT PLATFORMS FOR NETWORK MAR
KETING

  Networking is marketing. Marketing yourself, marketing your uniqueness, marketing what you stand for. — Christine Comaford-Lynch

  Now that we’ve established how to use social media and its importance, let’s quickly run through current platforms. Social media is constantly changing, so my main objective is to teach you principles that are timeless to help you adapt.

  FACEBOOK

  Facebook is currently by far the most popular social media platform; over 70% of the adult population uses it. It is definitely the best platform for increasing awareness of your brand. Due to its use in just about every business and social function, it is still a social media platform that has lots of value and is worth learning how to use correctly.

  Facebook Posts with a photo generate 120% more engagement than simple text.

  Posts shorter than 250 characters have 60% more engagement than longer posts.

  Posts on Thursday and Friday have 18% better engagement rates than other days of the week.

  Posting a question doubles the engagement over non-question posts.

  Videos typically get more engagement than photos do.

  According to Panorama Emoticons receive 33% more comments, are shared 33% more often, and are liked 57% more than Facebook posts without emoticons!

  Here is my scoring for how well I am doing on Facebook: if someone shares your Facebook post, that is worth the most. Sharing your content is the ultimate compliment; it gets the most amount of new eyeballs seeing your brand or audience — 30 points for each share. Yes, that’s a ton of points, but shares are that valuable!

  Others commenting on your posts is also very worthwhile, as that indicates your post was worthy of someone taking the time to say something about it. I give four points for each comment.

  Someone liking your posts is worth one point. Likes are still worthwhile, and a compliment, but if you get shares, you almost always get additional likes and comments. If you get comments you almost always get likes, but if you just get likes, you may or may not get shares or comments.

  Another thing I’ve noticed is that videos get more engagement than pictures and posts. I don’t have a score yet for views on videos, but I do track and monitor how many views I get on each video I post. I admit, videos were really uncomfortable for me at first. I am not someone who strives for attention, so it was very awkward. I felt like a complete idiot on my first ten videos or so, but the more videos I filmed, the more comfortable I became. I was able to re-watch my videos and see where I screwed up.

  Recently, I posted a video that I thought was awful. In fact, I almost considered not posting it. I personally thought the previous five videos were better, but I decided to just post it anyway. Of course, it ended up being the most liked video of the last six videos that I posted! I say “of course” in my most sarcastic tone. You just never know what will relate to others. I have had so many posts that I thought would do really well and they haven’t, and I have had so many posts that I thought would be awful and they ended up being very popular.

  A simple comment on someone’s post goes a long way. I know it sounds silly, but trust me when I say it makes a big difference. Commenting on Facebook is a huge step towards building both trust and Likeability. Those who share, comment, and like your posts are your most loyal followers. Treat them right! Comment back. Follow back. Reciprocate the love! Engage others in your posts by replying to their comments, liking their comments, and asking questions every so often in your post. I like to say things like, “Do you agree? What am I missing? What are your thoughts? What’s your opinion?” This creates a more loyal following, makes others feel important, and the additional comments help the Facebook algorithm so the amount of users that see your post increases.

  Evan Klassen understands social media very well. He has created one of the best brands out there. Most people would never guess that I met him through his social media brand. After he commented on my social media posts, I wanted to reach out to him. I sent him a private message and we later connected at an event. Evan has now become a trusted friend, and it is all attributed to him commenting on my Facebook posts. Evan’s social media advice is to pick one social media platform to learn well and become great at it.

  There are some great features on Facebook that can help you organize your friends and make your use of social media more efficient. Let’s say there is a person that posts content you absolutely love and you really don’t want to miss any posts from them. Go to the profile of this superstar and in the drop down menu, you will see an option to make the person a “see first.” This means that all of their posts will show up at the top of your news feed and you can follow them without much effort at all. I have a few close friends on Facebook, and I always get their updates. Instead of just grouping everyone on Facebook, using these little-known features can allow you to eliminate distractions and focus on what, or who, is important.

  Instead of telling the world what you’re eating for breakfast, you can use social networking to do something that’s meaningful. — Edward Norton

  Make people feel a part of your posts. Social media is about connecting others to your life. It is about giving them insight into who you are. It is almost like you become a reality TV show. Make others feel connected.

  STOP! Feeling overwhelmed yet? Take another deep breath. Remember you don’t need to learn all of this. Read through this once and find that one part you want to implement.

  Social media can be extremely effective, especially if used in a respectful manner. Use it to brand yourself. Use it to connect with people. Use it to build your business, but just use it the right way!

  Okay, break time is over! Now back to learning more social media strategies.

  When I hear people debate the ROI of social media,

  it makes me remember why so many business fail.

  Most businesses are not playing the marathon.

  They’re playing the sprint. They’re not worried

  about lifetime value and retention. They’re worried

  about short-term goals. — Gary Vaynerchuk

  INSTAGRAM

  Instagram is one of my favorite platforms. I love Instagram! It to me has a much more personal feel to it. It is simple—photos or video—and uses a lot less text. Unlike Facebook, when you comment on Instagram it won’t automatically notify any of the others who commented (although there is an option to get post notifications from people you follow if you choose). Instagram Stories (similar to SnapChat) can also be immensely valuable if you use it correctly. It is definitely for the mobile-savvy generation and 57% of users access the site on a daily basis, mostly on their phones.

  You get extra points for originality and sincerity. Don’t post a similar picture three times. Yes you read that correctly. Many Instagram posters post a picture of their vacation or their kids several times in a row. They post almost identical photos! There is a balance between posting often enough but not too often. If you are posting five times a day, you better be a celebrity or you better be a business with a very specific niche or brand. Even still, I would recommend that you post anywhere from one to three pictures or videos per day. Also add witty captions, they always get props. The photo is obviously important but the caption can make all of the difference.

  Instagram is also a platform perfect for reciprocation. If others follow you, there is a much higher chance that they will continue to follow you if you follow them back. It doesn’t matter how much someone likes your content: unless you are a celebrity, if you don’t follow them back they will be offended and typically stop following you. Respond to comments just as I taught you earlier in the Facebook section. You want to reward those who engage in your posts.

  So which businesses should be on Instagram? Image-friendly businesses and businesses that want to appeal to younger demographics work best. As mentioned earlier, Instagram Stories are very similar to Snapchat, so I would recommend reading through the Snapchat section that follows to get a better understanding of t
he best way to use it. The principles are exactly the same.

  Now, let’s change the subject. Does anyone really like eating Spam? You know, the slimy processed meat in a can — no thank you! I guess if I had nothing left to eat and my life depended on it, it would be just fine. Most people, such as myself, believe that Spam should be kept as food storage for life-saving purposes only. Just as Spam is a last resort for food in emergency situations, net-spamming should be viewed in the same way for our businesses.

  Net-spamming is not the same as networking. And net-spamming does not leave a good taste in your mouth, especially when received from a friend. Refrain from net-spamming your friends about what you’re selling or needing from them on any social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Social networks are called social networks for that exact reason: they are meant to be socially engaging. If somebody wanted to sign up for spam networks like Spambook, Instaspam, Snapspam, or LinkedSpam, they just need to turn on the TV and watch commercials. How many people enjoy commercials nowadays? Exactly. Each social networking platform has a “block” and a “delete” button for a reason. Don’t be the reason.

  Our business model is so powerful, but an outsider may perceive us as nuts when we post constantly pitching our business! Posting about your business isn’t wrong. I have been teaching you my social media strategies but let’s have some fun. Let me show you some of what NOT to do regarding social media that’ll make you laugh.

  These are the top six people who drive me nuts on social media:

  The Misplaced Twitter User: “Just woke up.” “I’m eating now.” “What to do today?” “I’m stuck in traffic.” “I feel like I have no friends.” Really? You don’t say? I wonder why that is?