Question for all you other reps "in the biz!"

[Leanne McGarr]

So, we had a great Director's call this morning and one of the topics was Facebook. I don't know what all of your companies' FB policies are but there are so many out there that say you will run your friends off if you promote your business.

So my question is "Do you think that is true?" and if you do, "Do you Care?". Truly, I don't care if I run some of them off. I feel that I have to put up with a bunch of mess that I am not interested in from their posts. I don't care a flip about sports or football yet, I have to get play by play commentary. I also get to see the dead carcasses of the latest animal that their husband or child killed. Or I have to read about some of their rants about how they have been hurt, blah blah blah. I have blocked some of the ranters IF that is all that they do. But I am sure they don't care. it is THEIR FB page and what they use it for should not be dictated by what my response is.

In short, I guess I feel like if posting a few things here and there about 31 runs them off, I don't care. 31 is what I do, it is something I am excited about, and I feel it is something I have to offer. It is certainly not the only thing I post about. I do alot of interacting and building relationships. I guess I am just tired of someone telling me what my friends are going to do.

THEN, they tell us to post indirect comments like "I sure do love what I do. getting to stay home with my kids is fabulous" or some such comment. For me, I would roll my eyes at that because 1. Are they bragging that they have it so good? and 2. I can see right through their post. I would rather someone blatantly publish about the opportunity that slip it in underhanded. I think that is what gives our business a bad name. Not being authentic and genuine. Having an agenda or ulterior motive for the post is worse than just posting what it is you are wanting to say.

Anyway, these are just my views but I would love to hear some others.

Leanne

[lindastacy]

Why not use lists or a business page to market to those who are interested and keep "personal" separate?

But I also agree that an occasional post about your business shouldn't be a problem. I would say treat it about the same way as offline interactions... you wouldn't call your friends every day to tell them about your latest special, but what you do will naturally come up in conversation from time to time.

[omahamom]

I have been known to post occassional comments about my business. Things like "Had a great time at my Sparkle party tonight" or "got three compliments on my necklace today...made me smile" or something along those lines.

I'm brand new to my current company and really want to post "anyone want to host a party this month" or something similar...but I know I wouldn't get much response and I don't want to come across as begging.

So, for me, it is more of the vague comments that I feel comfortable posting. then if a friend wants to add a comment and/or start a dialogue I can proceed from there.

[liz.jewels]

Some ladies have started a group page where they add their hostesses and customers, and then post periodic updates including general topics related to their business (so for 31 it might be organizational tips, for Silpada Designs it might be accessorizing ideas) as well as new catalogs, promotional info, etc.

A public business page works as well, but not all companies allow that (mine doesn't). There are pluses and minuses on groups versus pages so I encourage people to explore them.

As for how I share my business, if I have a big success, I'll likely post it, just like I would if something awesome happened at another job. (Like - in my corporate job I might say "Totally rocked my presentation to the board today. Woohoo!") My friends would be excited that I was doing well with my job and would be totally supportive. So, if I qualified for a promotion or an incentive trip, why wouldn't my friends want to know that too?

I look at it this way - people talk about their jobs all the time. It's a normal part of conversation. So don't NOT talk about your job because your job is a party plan business.

[TeacherMama]

From the customer side of things:

I would like knowing if there was a sale (ex: "Hey all items are 15% off this month!")

I would like an occasional post about a new incentive ("May Hostesses get DOUBLE BUCKS")

I would be happy to hear occasionally that you had fun at a party or promoted, etc.

I do NOT want to have 4 posts a day clogging up my feed. I'm friends with a sweet, sweet woman who I love...who is in a wellness company. The 4-5 posts EVERY DAY about why we should do xyz, join abc, how great it is, etc...well it is too much. I love her dearly and will not unfriend her. But I'm not buying that stuff either.

Another friend of mine who has been pretty successful with a jewelry company recently made a page for her business..something like "Sally Joan's Jewelry Business"...I "liked" the page and she is able to do some updates through that without overwhelming her personal feed. kwim?

Hope that helps!!

[Leanne McGarr]

Thanks! I agree. I have some of those friends that the only thing they post is about their business and I don't like that. I certainly do not do that. And I agree that sharing something positive in our lives is also good. I just feel that the advice being given sometimes to promote our business in an indirect way because we can't post directly feels disingenuous. And I think that people can see through it and that is what gives Direct Sales a bad name. JMO on that though

I had a FB Fan page before but we are not allowed to have them anymore. We can have a closed group but I didn't have any luck with that because you have to specifically go to the group to see the posts.

Thanks for your input!!
Leanne

[jandamom]

Leanne

I have a Facebook page for my business but I also post occasionally on my personal site. Sales and specials I post and sometimes pictures of my jewelry. I too have to scroll through so much I have no interest in and I am neither offended nor has it caused me to unfriend someone.

I think it has been beneficial. People know that I sell Guy & Eva and I've gotten sales and bookings from my pictures and posts. If someone is that turned off by my posts, they can click unfriend.

[VelmaD]

I have both a personal page and a business page. Sometimes my customers also become my FB friends, and I have no problem with that. In fact, I wish more friends would become my customers!

We're encouraged to use social media for our business, but there are many rules, some limiting how and what we advertise, some about which names are acceptable. I recently had to re-start my FB page because of the user name I had chosen. I generally understand the reasoning behind the rules, but building the initial traffic to the site tends to be slow, at least in my case. So if you want to visit and "Like" my page, I can't give you a prize but you'll make me .

[missyroth]

Everything in moderation...FB work posts, FB personal posts, food, drink...too much of any of these things is not good for you!

[extremelibrary]

Originally Posted by lindastacy

Why not use lists or a business page to market to those who are interested and keep "personal" separate?

But I also agree that an occasional post about your business shouldn't be a problem. I would say treat it about the same way as offline interactions... you wouldn't call your friends every day to tell them about your latest special, but what you do will naturally come up in conversation from time to time.

I agree. That's why I keep things seperate.