It is true that learning the skills of social marketing is an essential tool in your network marketing business. When you work for someone else, much of that is done for you. Yet, when you have your own network marketing business or any home based business for that matter, the challenge of meeting those social marketing needs will be all yours. Building your business with social marketing is more than just learning how to deal with people: it is a process of learning to offer value before expecting anything in return.
Not that long ago, a traditional network marketing business was built by following leads, finding prospects, cold calling, doing follow up visits and pretty much anything else your upline suggested. Traditionally, most home businesses are built much the same. For your business to succeed you need to have a source of contacts. Finding that source is extremely sluggish .
Unfavorably, even if you do everything right - even if you invest hours upon hours promoting your business, your prospects are probably half-hearted at best. The average person can - with a click - access information that includes the negative as well as the positive. Much of this information is opinion based and not necessarily reliable - making it even more difficult to reach your target audience. Like everything else, technology is pushing for a change in how you build your business. Now, It is not that I am saying that the old business model doesn’t work anymore - because I know people who are still doing just fine with it. What I mean is that time is at a premium in today’s world. For example, have you noticed that families are noticeably busier than they were, say - even 20 years ago? There is so much competition in every area of family life that the average family simply doesn’t have any time left. They do, anyhow, still need that additional income.
You are sure to know that the most common option is still - to set up a home based business. With no travel time, they have the distinct advantage of being able to stay home where they can invest a few hours here and there; but, those few hours rarely show enough profit to make a difference. And who wants to add yet one more thing to an already packed schedule with little to show for it?
Social Business Network Marketing
In my opinion, they need a way to leverage their time by setting up a business using Social Marketing. I first learned about Social Marketing when I enrolled in the University where I began learning about things like blogs, articles, journals, video, bookmarking and social sites. Yet another thing that was impressed upon us over and over again was this statement: Offer value above all - before expecting anything in return.
Look here! I drove by a flower market on the way home the other day . On the large billboard outside, they announced the random name of one person from our community. Every week there is a new name drawn. That person only needed to stop by the store to receive a free dozen roses: no purchase, no entry, no strings attached. Don’t you think it is a great marketing plan?! Give value before expecting anything in return. Would any of those people ever return to purchase flowers?
Let me give you another example: my friend has a guitar business. Many times he has offered valuable information to someone looking to purchase a guitar or offered his expert opinion on whether or not to fix or restore a guitar. Do they always return to buy from him? Not always. But, he knows that he has offered them honest value up front. It means that they are then free to consider the information and draw their own conclusions. And here the principle works fine : value before return.
Social Business Network Marketing
That is the axiom taught at any course on business: always offer value before expecting anything in return. Undoubtedly building your business on the internet with Social Marketing offers so much more than just business tools. It will teach you to offer what people want - and how they want it.
