Using Social Media to grow your Direct Sales Business- Facebook

I thought I would step away from showing all of the awesome things Uppercase Living has to offer for a moment- and give some advice. But before that, don't you like my latest project?!

Okay, moving on...... As a Direct Sales person, there are times when I feel defeated.  This isn't as easy as posting pictures and people buying the product? No.. no it definitely isn't.  I'm not saying I'm an expert- I'm still learning myself, but there are a few things I have learned so far.

Facebook

Facebook is something everyone uses on a personal basis- but not everyone knows how to use it professionally.  How can you capture your audience and get them to pay attention to what you're saying? 

1. Post interesting things- The more interesting a topic is, the more people will "engage" in your post- and that is how you get your posts to show up on people's news feeds.  Do this by posting about something that many people are interested in, like "How can my customers use my product to make their lives easier? How can my customer use my product to change?" There was a key word there- change.  Most posts that people engage in are things that those people want to change.  What are they changing? Their finances, their appearance, their home, you name it, there are a ton of people who want to change it! Capitalize this- show how your product changes, and you will interest them.
2. Post pictures- Pictures get more engagement because it is immediate gratification.  They don't have to click on a link to see what you're talking about, they can see it right then and there! Plus, people are more likely to share pictures or videos than plain text posts, or posts that are just links to other posts.
3. Post at the RIGHT TIME OF DAY.  Have a Facebook page?
   They give you this handy tab called "Insights"- if you click on it, you can view all sorts of information about your audience.  The most important when posting is under the sub-tab "Posts".  This shows you exactly how many of your audience is on, at what time of what day. 
   Planning on a post? Check out when a majority of your fans will be online, and either remember to post at that time, or if you're like me and forget, you can schedule a post! (Oh yeah, really nifty. Just use the little clock in the lower left hand corner of the post box. You can thank me later!)
4. Start a conversation! Post something that will get your audience to engage in a conversation- this will cause your post to appear not only more often in your audience's news feed, but in their friend's news feeds as well!! Again, it's all about ENGAGEMENT.  The more likes, shares, clicks, and comments you get, the better.
5.  Get people to talk about you.  Every time a customer posts a photo of your product, or of their results from using their product, have them make sure they tag your page in their post.  Posting pictures? The power of the hashtag is proven- why do people use it if it doesn't work? Create a hashtag to link to your business.  What's mine? #UppercaseLivingwithErin - I encourage all friends who are small business owners to create a hashtag.  It's trendy, and it links everything back to you!
6. GIVEAWAYS- Everyone loves free things, and everyone shares free things with others. It's as simple as that.. sharing=engagement, right?

 So there's that, take my advice and run! You can do this- don't give up. It's a long road, but you'll get there eventually.  Check back later for more posts on how to use Pinterest and Blogs for your Direct Sales business!