The Good and the Bad of Facebook Lead Generation

Facebook lead generation is a really hot topic in the network marketing industry.  Recently Facebook has been outranking even Google itself in terms of traffic!  And, if you do it right, your facebook lead generation can be completely free!  What could be better?  A free source of leads from the highest traffic site online, and you’re probably already spending time on Facebook anyway!

Now, most people attack Facebook trying to get leads and do it all wrong!  I was inspired to write this article by one such person.

Facebook Lead Generation Gone Bad!

Yesterday I was on Facebook and saw that a  network marketer I had connected with had left a nice post about his son!  I am expecting a new baby boy any day now, so I left a comment about my own kids.  It was a nice interaction and I felt that we had something in common…..for about 5 minutes!

His next comment on the post was “Do you or anyone you know drink Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate at least on occasions?”

Now obviously anyone answering that question would have to answer “Yes”.  And his next move would obviously be to introduce them to the Organo Gold opportunity, which I presume he’s in.

Ok, there are several things wrong here:

1.  This was a new connection and I had reached out by commenting on his post.  He responded by INSTANTLY trying to pitch his business.  If I didn’t know a lot about the network marketing industry and didn’t immediately recognize a pitch I may have responded, but would have been put-off as soon as I realized what he was trying to do.  He didn’t take the time to get to know me or allow me to ask what he does!  This is a great way to get kicked off of people’s friends list!

2. The post had NOTHING to do with coffee or tea, so going so completely off topic makes it seem like he’s desperate to make money!  This tells me that he’s not making money in the business already, so even if I hadn’t heard of Organo Gold, and had watched his presentation, AND wanted to join, I would have looked around for someone actually making money in the business who could teach me how to market.

3. People assume that if they join you in business they will have to do whatever you did to find them!  I’m sorry, but NO ONE will start out if they think they have to look like a complete jerk and ask everyone on Facebook if they drink coffee.  They simply won’t want to do it!

4.  This guy LED WITH HIS COMPANY!  He started the interaction with a question designed to get us talking about his products.  Leading with your company does not work!  This is a relationship business, and if you aren’t building strong relationships BEFORE you introduce your opportunity you will fail….because even if I did want to join as I said earlier, I would find a LEADER to join.  This is the basics of Attraction Marketing!

Facebook Lead Generation Done Right!

I hate to break it to you, but Facebook lead generation is NOT about putting links to your presentation everywhere, or adding as many friends as you can and hoping some of them will click your link.  Facebook is an AMAZING tool for networkers because you can easily build relationships with people, but you still have to take the time to BUILD.

I heard one networker talk about the “spray and pray” method…..spreading your links everywhere, then hoping someone bites.  Come on!  That is clearly NOT a solid business strategy!

3 Basic Rules for Facebook Lead Generation

1.  Choose your friends wisely!

-If you add people who are spamming network marketing groups they will probably spam your page with links too!  Take the time to find people who are discussing issues, or posting quotes or ideas….click on them and actually LOOK at their page, do you have anything in common??  Is this someone who looks like you would actually enjoy getting to know?  I recommend adding 10-20 people a day, so you ABSOLUTELY have time to have a quick look at everyone before you send your request

2. Add a PERSONAL message with your request

-Even if someone accepts a request without a message they won’t remember you!  Add a quick message saying where you found them, mentioning anything you have in common, and saying you’d like to get to know them better.  Ask a question if you like!  Nearly 100% of my friend requests are accepted, and over 50% respond with a message asking more about me!  Do I send them any links? NOO! Not unless they ask what I do, and then I send them to my blog so they can get to know me as a network marketing leader.  They can find out about my company later!

3. Treat Your Friends as Friends

-Anyone on your friends list should be treated the same as your regular friends!! Like their posts, comment on what they are talking about, share posts about your day or funny things your kids are doing, etc.  You need to let them see you are a real person, and you build a relationship by treating them like a friend, not a prospect!

-You can post your new blog posts or content to then get people learning more about you from a business perspective, but ensure they also see you as a person!

As you can see Facebook lead generation is a PROCESS.  It takes time, and remember the point is not to “spray and pray”, but to create solid relationships that make people WANT to work with you.  This will be an AMAZING tool in your arsenal if you treat it properly and have fun with it!  You will actually feel good when you do your Facebook lead generation this way, because you will make genuine connections.  And that’s what it’s all about!

Feel free to comment below with any questions or ideas you have on Facebook lead generation!

P.S. Don't be afraid to Be a Rebel!

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There are many social marketing tools out there, and we have already discussed some in previous articles, but for MLM recruiting nothing beats LinkedIn. I learned these techniques from Larry Beacham, the “King of LinkedIn”.

Now as always, you first have to boil it down to who uses it, and what they are looking for. You can’t go on LinkedIn with the idea that you are going to tell everyone how great your business is and they’ll all jump on board. You can’t invite strangers to connect with you, because they will send up red flags against you.

LinkedIn is for business professionals to network. So the people who are on LinkedIn are looking to connect with other professionals to grow their business networks, and find people who can assist them in their business or career. Think about the mindset of someone using LinkedIn. They want to learn strategies, tools and tips for success. You must always, in any type of marketing, position yourself and your marketing based on what people using that platform will like to find. With that in mind here are a few success tips that will help launch your LinkedIn Network Marketing success:

Who are you Being?
Now on Facebook or Myspace it might be appropriate to put a photo of you on the beach, update your profile with the great lifestyle you are leading, but on LinkedIn you must always be professional. Have a nice professional photo on your page, discuss your background and business in a professional manner. You are establishing yourself as someone who can truly assist others in achieving their goals, so discuss your role as a business owner from that aspect. Who do you assist? What areas do you specialize in? It doesn’t have to be stiff and unfriendly, just professional.

What are you Providing?
As always, I’ll keep beating you over the head with this one: provide great relevant content! People on LinkedIn discussion boards are looking to learn. As a simple strategy, join several groups that are specific to your target market. Write one article every day that genuinely provides them information. Information they can actually take away and apply. Put that article as a discussion on each of your groups. It’s fine to have the same article on multiple discussion pages, as long as it’s good content. Sign your name, number and website at the bottom of your article, and let people come to you.

How are you Connecting?
It’s important not to rush to connect with people on LinkedIn. How you connect is very important. Many people just click on names and ask to connect, but they haven’t had any contact with the person before. Once you’ve connected to someone on LinkedIn you have access to their personal contact details and their network of people, so people are a lot more guarded about who they connect with. Always wait until you have had some form of conversation first. If someone comments on your article, then invite them to join your network and remind them with a personal note that you shared a discussion. This means that not only will almost everyone accept your connection, but once they do they are more likely to check out your profile, view your websites, and remember you.

Like everything the key here is consistency. Your online reputation is important and you are branding yourself as a leader. It is well worth the extra time to have leads that actually know you and want to work with you. If you do this everyday (5 days a week), you will become known to people as someone who consistently delivers high quality info and is a leader in their field.

Remember in Network Marketing, the leaders always win. Everyone wants to work with someone who can truly assist them in their success. Build a strong reputation (and it only takes a few weeks consistent work, I had several leads from this strategy the FIRST DAY I implemented it) and the rewards will be never ending.

Keep in mind: You MUST be actually delivering good content so you still have to educate yourself so that you have good advice and tips to give!

This is just scratching the surface of what you can do with LinkedIn. You can get access to the full FREE 70 minute webinar training that Larry Beacham himself did with our team just fill in your details below to join the newsletter.

Fill Out The Form For Your Free LinkedIn Training!

Using Social Media Tools for Marketing is the best thing you can do for your business. To see why see my post about Why I No Longer Advertise My Business. Social media marketing is about spending time getting to know others and letting them get to know you. Providing good quality relevant content to others around the web.

Here are my top ten social media tools for marketing (in no particular order):

1. Blogs
My absolute favourite (obviously)! Blogs are a place where you can really establish yourself, stretch out, make it your own. The downside of blogs is you have to drive traffic to them. I use other social media tools for marketing my blog. I make connections on the sites and then when they get value from and want to learn more about me they go back to my blog to check it out.

2. Article Marketing
Great way to get your content out online. You can submit articles to directories, use social bookmarking sites, put them on your myspace or facebook page, submit them to other blog posters for content, etc.

3.Microblogging
The obvious example is Twitter. Connect with others who have similar interests, keep them updated on what you are up to, any new content you’ve produced that they might be interested in, etc.

4.Videos
Create informational videos. A lot of people hate reading or learn better from a video than from a post. You can also demonstrate things on video. This is great because people get to see and hear you, making you even more real and less anonymous.

5.Podcasting
If you’re a talker, talk your content. Interview people in your industry. Create a series of podcasts that relate to your area of interest and again provide good info. Distribute it to podcast directories. I listen to podcasts ALL THE TIME. If I have busy work to do online, putting a video together, etc, I like to listen to good quality content and keep my brain working while I do.

6. Events and Meetup sites
Taking online networking offline. Find people in your area who share a common interest. Making connections and real friendships offline can be really beneficial for your business because the people really do know you. It can also be a great way to meet people to mastermind with, or if you feel your current social group is holding you back this can help you meet people who share your new and improved mindset.

7.Social Networks
Find people you know or with similar interests, join groups, fanpages, share pics and videos, let people know what you’re up to. This would be Myspace, Facebook, Bebo, etc. This is one of the best ways to let people get to know you.

8.Professional Networks
Such as LinkedIn. Don’t make the mistake of viewing this as a social network. There is a different tone to this type of network. People here are more interested in your professional qualifications and expertise than in pictures of you and your family. This can be a fantastic place to promote yourself. Be sure to be respectful and professional, and provide relevant information.

9. Discussion Boards and Forums
Great place to find people who share common interests. Again the key here is to provide useful and relevant responses to the questions people are asking. Don’t blatantly market yourself, again be present, be consistent, and be relevant; provide your website details and let people come to you.

10. Social Bookmarking
Putting it all together. Connect people to your information online, get links to your content all over the net. Make sure you put a relevant blurb or excerpt so people can see what information to expect. This is helpful for search engine optimization as well because it creates high quality links to your site.

Most importantly: Link it all together! Link your social networks to your blog and microblog, link your videos to your articles, let people know where you are and where your content is.

You must be consistent, you must provide quality, and be genuine. This is not advertising, so don’t sound like an ad and don’t try to sell yourself or your business. Attract people to you by what you provide. Have fun, and happy networking!

Obviously everybody these days is on some form of social media online. It’s the new way that we communicate and work together.

People are essentially social. Gone are the days when we trusted big companies and brand names, now we prefer to know who we are working with or giving our money to. We want to know their stories, their likes and dislikes, we like to work with people like us.

Using social media tools for marketing allows me to simply be myself online, provide valuable information and content to anyone who is looking for it, and I attract people who share common interests and feel that they already know who I am, to my business. The benefit is not just that they know who I am and what I’m about, but I get to deal with the type of people I want to work with. I want to work with people like myself and my team, big-thinkers, positively motivated, want to be a force for good. Nothing is more frustrating in business than wasting your time with people you just do not resonate with. It’s frankly depressing when you try to deal with people who are negative and pessimistic.

When you advertise you have absolutely no control over the type of people who respond to you. You know nothing about them, and quite often they have a “show me” attitude. They approach the interaction with suspicion because you are a stranger to them. When you attract people to you using social media they already know that you provide value, they know that you are a moral person, and that you are genuine. These people only contact you if they feel they would like to work with you, so by the time you are spending time with them they simply have to decide if they like what you are offering, they already know they like you.

For several months now I have not advertised my business at all. I have not placed any ads (well, apart from ones on Craigslist, which is also a community). By only using social media tools for marketing the difference is now I get to collaborate with others, I get to provide a service, I get to find the people I want to work with and who want to work with me. One of the best parts is…it’s absolutely free! You just have to spend some time to create good content for people and to make connections.

This is a great video that outlines some of the statistics of social media tools. It goes a bit fast…but you can pause to catch some of the stats. Really fascinating…

If you want to be successful in the new economy, start using social media tools for marketing in your business now! The possibilities are really endless, it’s not just about having a facebook page! Check the social media section for more information how to do it.