I felt the need to write this post after being asked the following question by one of my online family member…

“Now that I have a massive following within the social media circle, what now?  What should I do with them? How can I use this platform to catapult my business?”

I thought it to be a very good question, and so right now I will highlight the four (4)  critical steps to social media success.

Step #1:  Engagement

Humans, by nature, yearn to be seen and heard.  Many people feel disconnected in their own lives  though they have families, belong to large organizations and work with big groups of people.  To fill this isolation gap,  they turn to social media.  This platform was designed with the sole purpose of connecting and interacting with people…being heard and seen.

One way to begin the connection process is by simply starting a conversation.  Ask questions…remember, people love to be talked to.

Another great way to engage your friends and followers is by answering questions. If the opportunity surfaces where you can help someone out, then by all means, do so.  Say that person has a question about a specific topic that you have the answer to, offer your help in a sincere manner.  This simple deed, alone can help to build equity and eventually propel your business forward.

Finally, make sure that you comment on their status updates and/or pictures.  A good thing about Facebook is the ability to provide feedback on people’s updates, so take advantage of it.

Consequently, a follower on Twitter or a friend on Facebook will sense that you are interested in what’s happening in their day to day lives.

Step #2: Do Not Sell Your Product Or Services

Regardless of where you are in your marketing career, it is critical to recognize that your objective isn’t to simply push your products or services, but it is rather to engage interactively with prospects and customers to create a relationship that supports your objectives.  No one wants to be sold to, instead, people are looking to experience meaningful connection.

Step #3:  Provide Value

The momentum that you create in your business has a direct linkage to your willingness to help other.  As your knowledge base broadens, share what you have learned with others.

It’s all about researching–>learning–>practicing –>sharing.

Devote most of you time to adding value by writing messages and posts relevant to the people you are talking with.

Step #4:  Share Other People’s Stuff

Whenever you come across content that you like, you want to make sure that you pass on that knowledge to others.  So, if you are on Facebook, you can simply share that information with you friends.  On Twitter, you can utilize the Retweet function.  Once you begin to share other people’s work…. they, in return, will begin to share your content.  It’s all about Reciprocity….you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.

So, there you have it…four steps to social media success that you can begin to implement immediately.

I would love to hear your thoughts related to this topic, so PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!!!

photo credit: Ruhrstadt-AgenturCom4

Lead generation is a major topic in the Network Marketing Industry today.  I have a few tips on how you can generate hundreds of leads every month with very low overhead.  This can help you maintain your new recruits, because you can teach them to do the same thing.

Jump Into Social Media

Before you start any marketing campaigns for lead generation; it is important to start making a name for yourself, creating buzz and gaining trust.  You can do all of these things through social media involvement.  The most common mistake that Network Marketers make is targeting random leads.  When using social media you want to:

Talk about things outside your niche. You are a real person.  Are you not?  You have real feelings and you like to do different things.  Do you walk around all day saying, “Hey, look at this store,” and “Hey, check out this newspaper?”  Then why would you want to do that on a social media exchange?  The only type of lead generation you will get from that type of interaction is random lead generation.

Define the personality you want to reach. Is your lead target an extrovert, intuitive, feeling, or perceiving?  You will want to use language that would make the personality type that you are targeting more attracted to you.  Effective lead generation begins with this type of interaction.

Ask a few questions on a daily basis. These questions should be targeted.  You should be asking questions that would lead a person into wondering who you are and why you’re so interesting.  You want to get your leads interacting with you and trusting you.  These questions should relate to what you have to offer.

Send out about 10 useful or entertaining links daily. It is good to track these links.  Use a sight like Bit.ly to track which of the links that you send out that are clicked on the most.  This will help you figure out what your leads are more akin to.  You will begin to create a targeted lead generation strategy at this point.  (Remember to stay within the realm of what you have to offer, unless its one or two links of something fun, interesting or inspiring to you.)

Share at least one blog post, article or video every week. Your targeted questions, link tracking and defined target can help with the selection of the media that you want to express to your social gathering.  This media should not be random.  This media should bring your prospect to the point of taking action.  Their first action should be to give name and email, then confirm.  Never leave this lead generation up to chance.

Test a different landing page every week. Like I said about the entertaining links, you should use this method to find out what produces the best lead generation for you.  You can test different capture pages that basically lead to the same end: more conversions and targeted lead generation.

Answer a few peoples questions everyday. This helps to create buzz.  You are also interacting with someone elses targeted or even random social interaction.  This process can draw interest into your own social world and create another targeted lead.  Your social media purpose is to:  Help Them Sleep Better at Night.  When you answer their question, you can help do this.  Then they like you and ultimately learn to trust you.

Targeted and FREE lead generation begins with social media.  You can ultimately make more money off less leads through social media.  Take these awesome tips and run with them.

Sarah Johnson is a hard working Internet Network Marketer and Coach that specializes in helping struggling networkers to generate more leads and sign-ups for their businesses. Please click on the following link to learn more…  Lead Generation Tips for Social Media