In part one of this series we covered six different tips for using Facebook the right way, today we will cover six more.
1. Use Facebook Live Frequently
Facebook Lives are my bread and butter. The majority of my sales are from utilizing this platform. When I first started using them they really didn't generate sales and I was frustrated. Then one day I had five sales from one Live. I wondered what I was doing differently and went back to watch an old Live and compare it to my most recent. I noticed the difference immediately! In my old Live I was awkward and strange because I was trying NOT to be awkward and strange. I was concerned with saying everything exactly right and not letting people see me mess up or look unflattering. In the more recent Live I was myself. I was a little bit of a geek and there was a whole lot of laughing. Be yourself because that's who your audience wants to see!
I try to go Live four times a week. I make sure to be myself, share what I am passionate about and talk about more than my products. I do Lives on what is going on in my life as well as my business. This is all about being well rounded and showing your audience you are more than a direct sales bot.
During your Live interact with your audience. Answer questions as they are asked, greet people as they join and ask questions of the people who are watching. What makes Facebook Live unique is it's ability to allow live interaction so use it!
After you have finished your Live go back and answer those questions that were asked again. Why? Facebook algorithms and attention to your audience. Each time you comment on a Live it is going to bump it back up to the top of your friends’ news feed and give more opportunity for people to see your video on replay. Plus answering again in the comments gives you the opportunity to expand on your answers and provide more information.
2. Utilize the Comments Section of your posts and Lives
We just went over this a bit in the section above but knowing how to use the comment section to your advantage is a huge thing in Facebook. Every time you reply to a comment you are letting Facebook know that this conversation is not over and should still be in your friends' news feeds. Use this to your advantage!
You should be replying to every single comment on every single post. You shouldn't be word vomiting though. We all love our business and want to share everything about our products. This is a positive thing but it can quickly lead to word vomit. Overwhelming people with information they didn't ask for is a sure way to turn someone off. You should answer only the questions asked and nothing more. If the question asked is, "how much does this cost" do not answer it in the comment section, instead tell them you will send a personal message.
Why? If you remember from the last post the whole point of Facebook is to start conversations. In that personal message, I am not going to just give a price. I am going to ask them how they are, what they are doing, etc. and I am going to start a conversation that could possibly lead to sales. When you respond to the comment with a price you have ended the conversation, not just with that person but with anyone else who would have asked you the price but now knows it and will not comment.
3. Keep Your Storefront Clean
For those of us without a brick and mortar store, Facebook is our store front. Remember to look at it like that. What would will people see when they look at your Facebook? What impression will the draw?
The most obvious thing to address from the beginning is will your customers know what you sell? Can a person who has never met you before look at your Facebook page and within a minute know you own your own business and what you sell? The easiest way to insure this is by having your business info in your bio and links to your website there as well. Customers should not have to hunt through posts to find your website and a way to order.
Another question to ask yourself is, is there dead weight on your page? When customers look at your page are they going to see a bunch of posts that didn’t land well and have no response? Are they going to think no one is interested in your products? Two times a week I scroll through my feed and delete posts that didn’t do well with my audience. Not only does this help me clean up my page but it also helps me look for patterns and shows me what kind of posts do well and which ones don’t.
4. Engage With Your Audience
We’ve talked about Facebook algorithms before, they determine which friends see your posts. The best way to use them, is to engage with your audience. Comment on your friends’ posts, like their pictures and send them personal messages. All these actions tell Facebook that you are an important part of the network and that your posts matter.
You can add thousands of friends and expand your market BUT if those friends aren’t seeing your posts what does it matter? I like to work through my friends list alphabetically. I go to their profiles and look at what they have been up to in the last couple days. I engage with them, authentically. I don’t post fake comments. I respond how I normally would have if their post had been in my newsfeed. I have a large friends list, so to be able to see them all I have to move pretty quickly through my list. I try to this to 50 friends a day. If your friend’s list is smaller you could shoot for 5 or 10 friends a day.
Every engagement you have with your friends tells Facebook your relationship is real but some weigh more heavily than others. Personal messages have the most bearing on the algorithm. I do not spam people ever but I do have a simple trick that allows me to send personal messages to friends in a non spammy way. Instead of posting birthday wishes on my friend’s wall, I send them a personal message with my best wishes.
Whatever you choose to do just keep engaging!
5. Consistency is Key
Every tip I have shared, works. I know it because they work for me. However, none of them will do you much good if you do them once and never again. In all things in your business, consistency is required. People quickly forget what you do and who you are. That is just the nature of the world. It is our job to remind them daily that we are here and we are working our businesses.
6. Don’t Become a Direct Sales Cliché
I like to focus on the positive and actions we can take to grow. These two blogs have been all about what you should DO. But let’s talk about things you should not do.
Do NOT spam your network. It is never a good idea to copy and paste other people’s posts and use them for yourself. Why? Because the end result is your friends having a newsfeed filled with the exact same post from multiple people. It takes away the authenticity of what you are trying to tell them. They no longer believe the post is true.
DO NOT cold call. I can’t stress this one enough. Everyday my inbox is filled with messages from people I have never talked to before in my life, telling me I should join their business. It doesn’t work. Okay, maybe it does a handful but while you are getting those one or two people who respond to that you are driving away hundreds who are now unfollowing you. When you utilize attraction marketing, people message you! In fact just last night I had a message from someone I had never spoken to before asking ME for more information on my business.
DO NOT slam other direct sales businesses. You will never hear me putting down any other business. I may not agree with other companies but I will never say that. It leaves a bad taste in the mouths of our customers. Plus I want to spend my time building other people up, not putting them down.
DO NOT encourage kitnapping. Listen to me, this is a mistake. I know there are companies that want you to do it but it is never a good idea. You want your business filled with people who want this is as badly as you do. There is nothing worse than seeing a dead leg in your business. I would much rather make commissions off of sales to someone then talk them into signing up and see them do nothing with their business. Don’t turn a solid customer into a poor business owner just because you want to grow your team. It’s not fair to them or you.
DO NOT add people to groups without their permission. This is one of the things people hate the most. I am part of hundreds of groups that I never asked to join. It is annoying. You don’t want people in your private groups that are annoyed to be there.
DO NOT invite someone to do something with the only intention being pitching your business. Be upfront about what you are wanting
DO NOT over-hype your product. Being dishonest about the results of y our products may get you customers but it will NOT get you return customers. Think long term.
Everything presented here has been a brief overview. If you are interested in more in-depth training let me know. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
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