MLM and Social Media: Where to Focus for Maximum Impact
We get asked all the time about MLM and social media. What’s the best way to promote products through social channels? Is it enough simply to post product links on Facebook?
Any MLM social media strategy needs to take into account one simple fact: the web is in a constant state of change.
When the World Wide Web first became accessible, we all visited Web 1.0 sites that were nothing more than colorfully formatted directories of information. You could search for content, read it, look at pictures, and move on. That’s about all there was to it.
Web 2.0 was far more interactive. Suddenly, we could submit data to websites and see customized content in response. We saw the beginning of eCommerce, which is now so ubiquitous that we take it for granted.
Today, we’re seeing the advent of Web 3.0, which promises to be far more predictive. Web 3.0 technologies, which are still evolving, will help websites to “understand” users and provide them with context-based content.
Social media is following a similar path of evolution.
How New Technology May Affect Your MLM Social Media Strategy
When the first social media platforms became available, people felt like they were active if they simply shared photos and updates. They consumed other people’s content that showed up in their feeds—or they specifically searched for it.
Since then, social media has grown up. Instead of just sharing posts and links and seeing a static feed, people can see dynamic content based on their preferences.
In the next wave—one that we believe will have major implications for MLM social media strategies—we’ll begin to see the integration of real-time media with shopping carts. For example, you might present a video of someone demonstrating your product. As the presenter touches each product, it will pop up in a live catalog on one side of the screen.
When the viewer clicks the item, it will be added to their shopping cart. At the end of the video, the viewer will have the chance to check out and pay for the items.
All of this will soon be happening over social media. And yet some direct selling companies think they’re doing social if they merely have a Facebook page. So, is it even worth trying if you’re not on the cutting edge? Can you bring along your MLM social media strategy slowly?
That’s a good question.
What to Do When You’re Not Sure What to Do
Saying that your company uses MLM social media tools is like saying your company sells products. It’s not very specific.
If your company has a presence on the major social platforms, that’s a start. And no, you don’t need to be on the cutting edge to get a benefit from social. But you also shouldn’t be standing still.
Platform and social marketing companies can now provide all your sales reps with customized product content in a dynamic library. As your rep mentions your products through social channels or demos them online, their audience will automatically be presented with purchase links, with full credit going to the sales rep. These content libraries also allow sales reps to build robust and graphically rich media presentations and media shares that can really set one company apart from another.
All of this is far easier and more graceful than expecting your sales reps to copy and paste product page links into Facebook posts along with hackneyed comments like, “Have you tried our new product? It’s awesome!!”
At the very least, start considering ways to incorporate these predictive technologies into your MLM social media strategy. And know that Thatcher will be supportive all the way. We have the tools, partners and experience to help your organization do more.
Thatcher’s Prowess® software already offers content library functionality that lets you store customized product content and push it out to your sales reps, and we’re excited about what the future holds. Through our partnerships with Rallyware and Turnkey Social, we’re constantly finding new ways to offer you more dynamic social media technology, so that your sales reps can reach their full potential by doing much more than just sharing links and images.