By Ann Eastham
Contributor, Career Services
A recent trend in social media is the idea of direct marketing to consumers (also called network marketing). While this form of multi-level marketing and sales has been around for ages (think Mary Kay consultants and door-to-door salesman), social media has given it a whole new life. If you’re active on social media, then you probably know what I’m talking about; these are your friends who are hosting virtual parties to sell a variety of products, posting incentives to either join their team, and promoting their loyal customer programs. However, this kind of direct marketing can overwhelm your friend’s newsfeed and can cause an unintended result; the loss of that friend and professional connection.
I have personally unfollowed several people I would otherwise like to keep in touch with based on how they use social media as their marketing tool, and I know I’m not alone in this. However, I do have several friends who I still follow and notice that they all have some of the same behaviors, which I’ve outlined below:
They hold interest parties once a quarter or less.
Someone who is interested in the product or program you are selling will attend the party, trust me. They’ll probably reach out to you in a private message to ask you about the product without you inviting them to something.
They limit their advertising posts to 1 day a week.
They focus on their “Marketing Monday” or “Inspiration Wednesday”, and stick to it. I can reasonably predict when someone is going to post about their business without having to scroll past it on a daily basis. The more you post and advertise, the less effective it can become over time due to over-saturation. When you overwhelm your friends and acquaintances newsfeeds, you risk being unfollowed or even worse, unfriended.
They create private groups for those interested.
By having private groups, you can advertise daily to only those interested, or who aren’t frustrated with the advertising. You can still update your personal account occasionally in order to gain more followers (see above tip), but a majority of your advertising should appear in private. This will help your message reach those with interest while maintaining your network.
You may wonder why this is important for your career; after all this is your side business or in some cases your main business. The issue is that by inadvertently alienating your friends, you may be eliminating the ability to professionally network with them. With a recent statistic showing that 70-85% of all positions are gained through networking, it is essential to maintain any connection that could assist you in the future.
By taking care of your network, you are really investing in your future should you find your side business is no longer working for you.
About the Author
Ann started her education at the University of Findlay and completed an Associates degree in Equestrian Studies in 2005. After working for a few years in a wide variety of farm/ranch jobs, she completed her Bachelors in Health Care Administration at Ashford University. Ann served as a clinical technician in an ICU/Telemetry unit before working as a Clinical Research Coordinator for Cardiac, Vascular, and Thoracic surgery.
In 2011, Ann transitioned from working in the healthcare field into higher education and started as an Academic Advisor. While working as an advisor, Ann developed a passion for assisting students in converting their education into careers and became a career coach in 2014. Ann currently works with students in the health, nursing, and Intelligence/National Security, and Military industries.
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