With LinkedIn recently hitting 100 million users and going public, there are  buzzes surrounding the expansion and what to expect.

LinkedIn’s continued growth is hardly surprising even if it’s in the shadow of Facebook and Twitter.

Seems appropriate (and about time) I write another post on how LinkedIn has helped grow Marketing Direct Sales blog. And why you should consider using LinkedIn to boost traffic to your direct sales online business.

There are many reasons why I prefer LinkedIn over Twitter and Facebook. The most obvious is that traffic from LinkedIn outranks Twitter and Facebook based on Google Analytics. This makes it one of my favorite sites. 

The applications such as a Wordpress RSS plug-in, Twitterfeed, and adding a video to your profile, are some of the best features of LinkedIn.

Here are 5 ways to use LinkedIn to boost traffic:

#1 Your Profile. I love the profile on LinkedIn. You can gather enough info about someone and decide whether to connect or not based on this snapshot.

If you want to connect with other professionals- make sure you have a real picture of you and not your company logo, dog, cat, kids … LinkedIn is a professional network.

#2 New Contacts. Once I’m connected with a new contact I can see her/his contacts which gives me an additional view of my new contact’s contacts. 

#3 LinkedIn Groups. Use this feature to find people that share similar interests as you and become a member.

#4 Weekly LinkedIn Updates is a summary of what my contacts have been up to i.e. new groups they’ve joined and new contacts they’ve made. I’ve joined new groups and made new connections based on these updates.

#5 Skills & Expertise, a new feature I recently discovered. This allows you choose the area of expertise that you want more info on - let’s say attraction marketing – and the profiles of members that best fit this category  are displayed.

It’s a great resource to connect with people in your niche market. Or reach out to experts.

Also listed are the groups associated with skills and expertise. This feature zeros in on your specific area of interest so you’re connecting with people in your niche business.

Once you’re a member of the group, you can interact on the group’s discussions, check out the member’s profile, reply privately to a comment they’ve made, or ask to be connected.

Other ways I use LinkedIn …

You can share your latest blog posts on the News tab. Become an expert by answering questions from other members. Or start a dialogue based on the books your contacts are reading.

Unlike Twitter which can be “spammy” with strange auto tweets and robots following you. Or Facebook’s “social” gathering which seems like a big cocktail party at times, and too many updates to keep up with- LinkedIn has always been business-oriented which keeps me focused on business-related activities.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t be focused on other social networks but when you’ve got a combination of friends, family, and casual friends mixed in with business contacts … it’s easy to get distracted on other social networks.

How are you using LinkedIn for your business? Share your tips.

’til next time,

Janette Stoll

P.S. Check out Lewis Howes, one of the best trainers on LinkedIn. His blog offers great tips!

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? -Henry David Thoreau

Time is relative. You need to manage you not time itself. Here are 5 time management strategies to get more done.

#1 Social media is the rage. Since everybody’s on Facebook you think you should be too. But the trap is in what you’re doing on social media.

As the above quote says “what are we busy about?” Instead of wandering on Facebook reading one update after another. Choose a few friends that you want to know better and engage with them.

#2 Focus on a few. Nicole Dean wrote a great post on the problems with social media for small businesses and this applies to direct sales consultants too.

Creating a Facebook Page isn’t going to drive traffic on its own. You need to promote it, market it, and engage with the folks that ‘liked’ your page. The   pages I really like are relevant to my business and encourages discussions that I can learn from.

#3 Do something with it every day. Once you decide where to spend your time. Do something everyday to create content and promote your online presence.

Are you writing for your blog at least once a week? Are you reaching out to new members on LinkedIn? This is content creation for your business. Are you doing something every single day to create content and promoting it? In other words, are you running your direct sales like a business?

#4 Be stingy with your time. I rarely spend more than an hour on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook combined. Most people on social media you’ll never interact with.

Engage with your quality tweeps and friends but be open to reaching out to other contacts that you haven’t connected with. If you’re going to do social media, commit to it, and be diligent with your time.

#5 Track your efforts. At the end of the week I do an assessment of what I’ve done and the results from my efforts. Numbers don’t lie and I’m the first to admit when I’ve slacked off.

By tracking your efforts you’ll know what you need to focus on and eliminate time wasters.

For example, do you need to check out every Facebook invite or email? You’ll be amazed how much time you’ll save if you delete or delay the things that don’t require your immediate attention.

Online and social media are incredibly effective and free marketing to drive your direct sales business to the next level. But it can be a curse for some of us that aren’t disciplined with time management.

It’s not time itself you need to worry about because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s how you are using your time that matters.

Take notice on how the pros and top money makers are crushing it. They understand the monetary value of their time.

Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week. -Charles Richards

Make your business work for you by managing how you are using your time. Discipline yourself to be really stingy when it’s on YOUR time. Because that’s the only time that matters.

How are using your time on a daily basis? Share your thoughts. 

’til next time,

Janette

P.S. Remember to share this post with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

Note: if you missed Part 1 of why direct sales consultants are fearful of online marketing be sure to click on the link.

As I shared in Part 1, with close to 50% of the population online to connect, socialize, and find products and business opportunities, every direct seller should have some type of an online presence.

Where to Start

Start with Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with social media if you try to take on too many networks. Set up one profile first then eventually add on more. In your first month, add Twitter then the following month, add LinkedIn and so forth.

You can easily find people to follow in direct sales or network marketing using www.search.twitter.com and www.wefollow.com. Once you follow someone that person is likely to follow you back. Be patient as your success depends on what you give to it. Here’s a great article by Scott Stratten at Unmarketing What If I Didn’t Use Twitter.

Participate

Your #1 goal with social media is to participate and join the conversation. Don’t be like one of those direct sellers ‘pitching’ their products and business opportunity hoping someone will take notice. It’s a bit annoying and a good way to alienate potential prospects that might otherwise be willing to connect with you.

Time Management

Just like showing up for your direct sales business, you need to show up daily with social media- give to it to get the results you want. Check in daily, follow the conversations, comment on your followers or friends’ posts, and syndicate if you find the content helpful.

The more you generously give your time, the more likely others will return the kindness.

The most important thing is to use your time wisely. Have a plan for how much time you’re putting into social media otherwise it will suck up all of your time.

You want to be social and get to know others but limit your personal updates. If you’re going to get personal, consider asking others about their day or comment on their post. This shows that you’re more interested in others rather than talking about what you did with your pet or kids.

Staying in Touch

Do you have a home base such as a blog to re-direct people you’ve connected with online? Since most people aren’t likely to buy your products or join your business opportunity the first time you connect, you need a home base (blog) to stay in touch with your network.

With a blog, you’re able to develop a two-way communication channel between you and your readers via the comments. The more interest you show in your reader’s comments, the more likely you’ll convert those readers into loyal subscribers to your blog, giving you the best chance to stay in touch with the contacts you’ve made on social media.

Testing and Tracking

Keeping track of your online marketing efforts is necessary because you should know how web surfers are finding your content. What keywords are they using to find your article?

With Google Analytics you’re able to keep track of top content, landing page, exit page, and so forth. This will help you to test and tweak new marketing strategies and see what’s working and what’s not.

Online marketing is always changing and as a marketer in your direct sales business, it’s wise to keep a pulse on what’s new with online marketing. Don’t be afraid to try new things and re-evaluate your marketing strategies or change tactics entirely if something’s not working for you.

Share your thoughts on what’s working for you now with online marketing or what you would like to improve on?

’til next time,

Janette

P.S. As always, kindly retweet and share if you find this helpful to others. I appreciate it so much!

Having done both traditional marketing and online marketing, there are benefits to incorporating both forms of marketing to ensure you get as many opportunities as possible to reach potential prospects.

Traditional marketing is safe, tried, and true method of finding prospects through local networking events. It’s what marketers are used to. Social media, blogging, and internet marketing on the other hand, is often received with mixed feelings because some question whether social media work or not.

Some pals of mine in direct sales and network marketing don’t have an online presence. They’re not blogging or participating in social media either.

Which makes me wonder – with as many as 50% of the population online and using social media to connect, socialize, search for products and business opportunity – why aren’t more home based entrepreneurs online? Online marketing can be effective and inexpensive when done right.

Let’s look at some reasons why direct sellers might be fearful of online marketing. First, let’s consider the costs of traditional marketing versus online marketing

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing is networking locally such as BNI, chamber events, women’s groups, mixers and so forth.

The monthly luncheons can be productive especially if you arrive early and allow yourself the full 30 minutes to meet and greet. Ideally, to expand your contact base each month – commit to meeting new members. We tend to find familiar faces and network with the same people.

The challenge with in person networking is that you’re limited to a small number of people you can talk to per event. With a typical luncheon, there’s only 30 minutes before and after to connect with people and for many, right after lunch is when they’ve got to head back to their regular job.

Sure, you oughtta be exchanging business cards, follow up, and meet up outside of the luncheons, but most people aren’t good at following through.

Cost and Time

If you’re a member of the chamber or another group, you know it ain’t cheap not to mention the time commitment. A typical luncheon starts at 11:30 and ends at around 1:30. Factor in the time to get there and back.

An annual chamber membership costs a few hundred a month in addition to the monthly luncheons. At $20 a month for the luncheon- that’s $240 a year. Add to the annual member cost (my local chamber is $280/year) and you’re looking at $520!

With online marketing there’s zero cost networking on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Forums, and so forth.

Online Marketing

Online marketing, social media, blogging are incredibly cheap and last I checked, close to 50% of the people are online – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. If you want prospects to find your direct sales business opportunity then you need to be online so they can find you.

With the ease of smart phones and cheap technology, you can easily tweet or ping an update. You can automate your blog posts and syndicate them to multiple social media networks. You can add an RSS to blog directories and Ning.

There are many ways to incorporate online marketing into your business that requires less time and money than traditional marketing.

If you’re working a full-time job and committed to social media, consider using your break and lunch time to check-in. You can even schedule your tweets automatically and have them send out through out the day. There are numerous options at your disposable.

With online marketing you have the potential to reach so many people in less time. You’re not limited to the constraints of locality.

In Part 2, I’ll share tips on where to start with online marketing and how to get the most of online marketing with just a couple hours a day.

As always, if you find this article helpful, kindly retweet and share … I appreciate you guys!

‘til next time,

Janette

p.s. If you’re ready to start an online presence, you might find my FREE ebook: 9 Powerful Strategies for Turning Your Passion into Profit to be really helpful. Just leave your email in the opt-in box and you’ll get it right away.

photo credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Starting a direct sales business is easy. Staying in it is the hard part. When it comes to the success of your direct sales, network marketing business, getting new leads is the lifeblood of your business.

The ease of leveraging the power of the internet has never been easier or more abundant. Here are easy tips to finding leads and making money in your direct sales business by leveraging the internet.

Start with a blog. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend setting one up. You can download my FREE ebook to get started with blogging. Enter your email on the right sidebar and you’ll get instant access.

Once you start posting articles on your blog, syndicate your article automatically to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. These are the three big social media platforms.

You can also sign up for Digg and other social bookmarking sites and submit your articles there too. The goal is to drive traffic back to your blog and build SEO for your blog.

Your goal with social media is to build your business and not make friends (unless that’s your goal). You will get different responses and results depending on what your objectives are with social media.

Post the same article to social media directories such as LinkedIn Groups.  Syndicate to as many places as possible because there are multiple platforms to connect with potential customers.

Use a conversation as a starter. Example: if you’re writing an article on how to be more productive with your direct sales business in the summertime, start a conversation with something like “how do you stay productive during the summer months?” and then attach your article to the conversation.

LinkedIn Groups is a great place to look for potential prospects and start connecting with people that are already in your business. You can do the same with Twitter search and Facebook fans and groups.

With LinkedIn Groups, if you belong to direct sales and network marketing groups, you’re already positioned to connect with thousands of other like-minded business builders in your industry.

There are potential prospects and customers to connect with everywhere online. Start by commenting on their comments or private reply and ask if they would like to connect. Do not allude to your business, mention your business, or attempt to recruit or sell in any way. The goal is to connect and make new business contacts.

The more you talk about your products or business opportunity, the less likely people will connect with you. Remember that most people in these niche groups are already in direct sales but there’s always a percentage of people who are not or looking to join another company.

More importantly, no one likes to receive a “friend” request that alludes to joining their business opportunity.

The key is to be patient. Give yourself time to write valuable articles for your blog and syndicate through social media platforms, and give other people opportunities to connect with you. Continue to share your knowledge and actively participate in these groups and you’ll see people responding to you.

The best way to get people to connect with you is to start by connecting with them first. A retweet of their article on Twitter is a great way to make a connection. Or a reply to someone else’s comment on a LinkedIn discussion.

There are potential prospects everywhere online and it is up to you to reach out to them. Don’t wait for someone to connect with you, start a converstaion first, and don’t take it personally if they don’t connect with you.

There are so many ways to use online to connect and find prospects. How do you use social media to find prospects in your direct sales business? Share your tips or leave a question.

’til next time,

Janette

p.s. As always, kindly share if you find this helpful .