Monday, May 18th, 2009
I am sure most of you have seen the post on Mashable by Adam Ostrow about MLM Invading Twitter. I recently set up the propelhq twitter account. If you are here you know that we develop social tools for the Direct Sales industry or MLM.
Once I created my new twitter account I instantly began to receive spam followers and messages. People that I initially thought would be interesting to follow soon began to spam me with direct messages and a slew of spam tweets. Working as a Social Media/Technology vendor in the Network Marketing industry for the last few years I have spent a lot of time getting to know the industry and how social networking fits in. Spammers and scammers are horrible for social networking and direct sales.
In recent meetings with top distributors we discussed how they were using Facebook as a” tool”. Quickly the conversation went south. As soon as I heard how they were using it I jumped in. Their thought was by building out their profile and screaming “business opportunity” and “join my team” and “you have to try these products” they would attract and recruit new people. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Social networking and relationships in general are about providing value and the mutual exchange and sharing of thoughts, ideas, interests etc. Not force feeding content down someone’s throat. When I am on Facebook or Twitter I want my time there to mean something. Nobody wants to be plastered with spam and posts / comments that scream scam.
So what can you do? How can you do it right? The big question that everyone is trying to figure out is “can you build your MLM business with social networking and social media?” The short answer to all of these question is – if people are asking you for it and you are giving them something of value then, yes.
While thinking about this post today I came across a blog post from Randy Gage. I don’t know much about Randy, I have never met him, I did not read much more than this post-yet, but I think he did a great job of addressing this topic-read it here.
Here is one of my favorite paragraphs from his post:
“I believe in providing value, giving people a reason to view my stuff, and then offer options (coaching programs, seminars, books and other learning resources) where they can spend money if they like my work and want deeper assistance. So I don’t really make any sales from posting on Twitter directly, but I rake in a lot of dosh because I Twitter.”
All of these tools are a great way to communicate and network when used appropriately. I am still searching for some good tweeters and bloggers that are not going to spam me and make me feel like I am getting scammed. If you know any please comment here or find me on twitter @propelhq.
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Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
What is PropelHQ you ask?
Simply put, PropelHQ is the top destination for Direct Sales professionals, their teams, customers and prospects. It is a place to network, collaborate, help people and have fun. Some of the highlights include:
Who Created PropelHQ?
PropelHQ is the brainchild and is being developed by the team here at Ignite Media (IgniteHQ.com). We are the leader of social technologies for the Direct Sales (MLM, Network Marketing) industry. We have built social apps and consulted with both large and small Direct Sales companies in the area of social media, social networking etc. Using all the knowledge and expertise gained from these experiences, PropelHQ offers the power and functionality of Ignite’s enterprise solution and has made it available to individual distributors. If you are interested in a private social community for your team or your company, social media consulting or speaking engagements please contact us.
When will PropelHQ be available?
The team is hard at work-working ’round the clock to get PropelHQ opened up to the public the first week of June. We will be looking for individuals to beta test and help spread the word. If you are interested in this opportunity please contact us using the contact link on this site. Beta testers will have full access to all tools and the network at no charge. We will be looking to you for feedback and ways to improve the application.
We will keep you updated over the next few weeks as we prepare for takeoff. Check back here often for updates and the latest news.
Thanks for checking us out!
Posted in consulting, gathering, social media | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
My grandma, bless her heart, handed me a stack of photographs yesterday while I was visiting her. She was sooo excited about all these pictures she had taken over the last year. She told me that she had developed over 30 rolls of film. This got me thinking a bit. When was the last time you used a “film” camera? Or got a roll of film developed? I think for me it was about 10 years ago in high school. I don’t even know what to do with all these photos. I guess some will end up in frames and the rest will end up lost in a box somewhere.
A lot has changed in the last 10 years. Well for some of us, I don’t think Grandma will ever change :) The way we watch TV, thanks TIVO, the way we listen to music, watch movies, get our news, communicate, and so on. Some of these changes took place well over 10 years ago but it has only become part of our lifestyle and routine in the last 10 years. One of the changes that is taking place as we speak is how we interact with eachother. Web 2.0, Social Networking, Social Media, Social Marketing, Social Optimization are all buzzwords that are popping up all over the place. Again, they have been around a while but it has only been recently that they have gained wide accpetance and crossed generation barriers.
The social web has changed how we interact with eachother. It allows us to reach many people, friends, family, colleagues, strangers, customers with a click of a button. It is extremely easy to find new friends as well. A simple google search and I am only milliseconds away from joining a new conversation with thousands of new friends. This is a powerful movement that is taking place and one that is changing the way we communicate and interact with eachother.
Businesses are recognizing this change and are finding new ways to interact with customers and potential customers. A business can now quickly find their enthusiastic devotees as well as their unhappy customers. Businesses are using these social methods to listen and connect with the consumers. As a result the people have a voice and companies are making decisions based off of real people and real feedback. Businesses that have accepted this change in behavior and understand why it is important are rising to the top and consumers are quickly and easily finding them. The companies that are not changing and moving with the people are being pushed down and will eventually be lost.
Though the economy is not in anyone’s corner at the moment, the economy itself will not be the reason these companies are lost. The companies that will be lost will be the ones that lost track of their customers. The online social movement is a way for companies to plug-in and interact with their customers. Be a part of their daily routines and lives. Social marketing is all about the people and making your business all about the people.
It’s a new style of business and one that is popular with your customers. Businesses have said it for years “our focus is on the customer”. Now it’s time to put those words into action. Embrace this new style and put it into action–Your customers have.
Tags: Business, customers, social marketing
Posted in Small business, listening, social media | 1 Comment »