Network Marketing Online; What Not to Do

One of the most difficult paradigm shifts to make when deciding to do your network marketing online, is precisely that which many people don’t even realize they’re missing.

Network Marketing Online and Offline; the Best Approach

But when deciding to promote your MLM business online, you have to get away from the idea that you should lead with your company, compensation plan, and your team.

You may have some success if you are just out there building real relationships in social media and finding people who you truly connect with and are ready to join you in your business.

But that may be less than optimal if you don’t have all day to sit and chat on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

You do want to learn what it will take to build your most valuable asset, your list, because in the end, you do not own your company, and they may go out of business, change the compensation plan, ditch the direct marketing model, or even be sold.

Your list consists of everyone you know, everyone you meet, and everyone you connect with online and off.

The other thing that you want to be sure and do is to be able to leverage your time. But here you can’t make the mistake of thinking that all of the automation possible with technology will build a business for you.

The thing that you most certainly do NOT want to do is to set up a few accounts, and start putting your links to your company replicated website or team blog out there, before you’ve even made real connections with people.

Even if you have just met someone, and had a short email or chat conversation, you have not built up a real relationship that would in most cases have the person at the other end clicking on your link.

If you think about it, people who are good at PPC (Pay Per Click) are targeting very specific keywords and expect only a small percentage of click-throughs, or for that matter, sales, for the number of clicks they get.

The Bottom Line for Network Marketing Online

It seems completely non-intuitive for those who have been building their business off line, especially those who have been successful offline, that there is an element called marketing that is truly necessary once you decide that the internet or social media marketing arena is where you want to go.

And more to the point, that this marketing requires something other than just presenting your opportunity or product.

I had a question recently, which prompted me to write this post. He is someone who had recently taken advantage of my coaching, having deciding he wanted to take his network marketing online.

He couldn’t see the difference between having a generic website with information that will help your target market, with a capture form offering something of value, and his primary company’s team blog that had been provided by his upline (it did include some training, and a portal for guests to sign into).

He had noticed after going through some of the training from one of my programs, that there were some similarities in the content provided by that and his team blog (although I am positive that would be not so much in the internet marketing topics), and that people could sign in to his team blog  through a capture form.

The other part of the question was whether a customized capture page that he might create should direct people to his team’s page.

The answer to that is no!

It takes some value on the front end, and a serious consideration to the needs and wants of your target audience before you’ll have them taking any interest at all in your primary company.

When I looked at the team page I could see that it was completely company oriented (which by the way,  IS something entirely appropriate for any MLM team to provide for its people to stay up to date with events, recognition and duplicatable company training).

But as to the similarities between this team blog with a capture form and an attraction marketing system such as one you would create from a simple internet marketing framework, WELL….

There is a HUGE difference between the two!

The most obvious distinction is that the team page is obviously company related, with company announcements and team events all over the front page.

This will immediately turn off any other networker currently in another company!

The first thing to consider when trying to understand this clarification is the definition of your target market.

When network marketing online, you can easily target a market of other network marketers, where offline marketing is wide open as to whether you are talking to the entrepreneurial minded person or not until you have engaged them.

A market which is comprised of people who will already be interested in your team or company website is going to be very small, unless the company has reached critical mass and huge momentum (which in some cases can be a red flag and stuff for another post).

What you might want to consider is that your target market may be one for your product itself, or your business opportunity, or other network marketers (all completely different target markets).

While you do need customers for your products, in more cases than not you are probably interested in people who will want to build a business. So your audience will differ based on which of these markets you choose to focus.

And if you have been online for very long, you may have noticed two categories of people who are marketing online to the business entrepreneur category.

The first are those who are posting links to their company replicated website and team videos and duplicatable material.

Then there are those working to train and help people to learn about internet marketing and related topics, helping others to learn the business of marketing in general.

The reason for the latter is that there is an aspect of marketing and business that is crucial, and which you just cannot overlook.

It is the most important and crucial key to your business success, and one which in fact, offline marketing success is based.

That key is relationships, plain and simple.

The elements of know-like-and-trust are absolutely paramount to creating and maintaining relationships. And the way to build know, like and trust is not to promote your business too soon.

This is why the idea of building a list is so important. If you are offering something that will help entrepreneurs build a business, learn how to do something that will put more money in their pockets, then you will want to follow up.

The followup is where you foster that relationship, whether it be through an auto-responder, it still should be via phone.

But if you are throwing your links around to people that you have not even made real connections with first, that won’t happen.

And in the case of the company replicated website, if you’re targeting other entrepreneurs you won’t get far, in other words, they are probably working on their own business, and it is highly unlikely that if not through a connection that they will end up on your team’s website list or company opt-in marketing page.

But in the case of something like generating your own leads, you are providing an option that will help them get the training they need (outside of the team training their company offers), obtain leads for their business, implement an email marketing campaign, and help them offer training to their prospects, allowing them to build relationships which will potentially become future business prospects.

When you do follow up, having obtained someones email or phone number, your FIRST objective should be to find out more about them, and in the process begin building the relationship.

Building trust requires that you show your interest in THEM and helping to solve their problems.

So your job in going online to promote your product and business is NOT to promote, but to learn and serve!

The things you will want to learn are those that will help other serious entrepreneurs, the category of people that you most likely would want to do business with.

In the process you will meet other professional network marketers who have the same mindset as you, who you will find a great market for building relationships, even though some will not be looking for a company.

I have known people that I met through social media now for almost two years, and some who are even just now joining me in business.

It is because of the relationship in those cases.

The ones who joined my business sooner were ones that were looking sooner than those looking now.

But even if they do not, I still very much value every connection I have made regardless of the lack of a direct business connection.

So if you approach your target market with the will to serve first, and then only when you find that they are willing to consider your business present your opportunity.

Using this approach when network marketing online, your success will be much greater, much easier, and much more enjoyable!

To find out how to create your own internet marketing framework for generating your own leads online, check out this free 30 minute video….