The Power of Social Network Marketing Part 1
Social media is the source of social interaction among people sharing information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. I'm going to focus on the power of Facebook to reach your target audience in a non-spammy way.
Facebook reportedly has over 1.3 billion actives users as of July, 2014. Scrap a few million as fake profile and you are still left with a ridiculously large audience for Social Network Marketing.
Almost fifty percent of Facebook users log in on any given day, and the average time spend on Facebook is roughly eighteen minutes. So how do you get your message in front of an audience during those eighteen minutes?
The Unbelieveable Power of the Facebook Group
Facebook groups are where members are most concentrated as an audience. You can post marketing messages to your Facebook page all day long, and technically this counts as "Social Network Marketing", but it's already your existing market audience. Most likely you've marketed your product or service to friends and family over and over again, maybe even been kicked out of a Thanksgiving dinner or two for throwing down a pitch between the main course and desert. Without alienating your friends and family, there's a better way to achieve effective social media marketing.
The key is these groups and understanding what motivates those who like and join those groups, and the kinds of posts that make members pay attention.
First, find the groups that fit your marketing niche. Once you have identified the groups that would be interested in what you are marketing, you need to determine the specific benefit to the group - "this is the greatest thing since sliced bread" isn't going to cut it. You will need to determine what the direct benefit is, or the specific thing that will pique the members interest.
Join the Group
It's always better to join a group and participate with general posts before you throw down a marketing message or a link. Just jumping in and posting "Hey, come look at my opportunity!" is likely to get you banned from the group, and if enough groups complain to Facebook, your link will be blocked in future posts.
Consider it an investment of time. Visit the group every other day or so and post something meaningful, insightful, motivational, something that fits the theme of the group. In other words, really become a participating member of the group.
When you're ready, when you've had a few likes to your comments and posts, deliver your message in a way that is not spammy and compelling.
Something like "I thought members of the group may be interested in XYZ. It's been positive mentioned in and you can find out more about it here .
If you have something really compelling, run it by the group admin. You can't find the group admin's email address on a Facebook group page, but you can usually contact them by hitting the "Message" button. Be direct: "I've been a member of this group for a while, do you think I ( or you ) could post about ." If the group admin posts to the group page, you are golden. The message appears right in the main page feed.
This takes a lot of thought, but to separate yourself from all the social network marketing spam, it's worth it.
About the author:
Jim Heron is a direct sales marketer and moderates two Facebook groups focused on Social Network Marketing with over 10,000 members each. He's seen every angle when it comes to spamming vs participating in a Facebook group.
