Note from Jen: In this article I discuss ways to use Pinterest as a direct seller. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, you may want to do a little pre-reading. Start here.

Pinterest is making big waves in the social media world. A quiet little startup that is suddenly one of the top 10 social networks in the world. And it’s growing quickly. The site is especially popular with females and people interested in arts and crafts between the ages of 25 and 44. And retailers are finding that it’s driving big traffic. (Source) I actually identified Pinterest as one of the top 6 media trends for 2012 for direct sales.

So what does this mean for you, the direct seller? Should you run out and set up your own Pinterest account immediately?

The answer is, maybe.

How Does All This Sharing on Pinterest Work?

First, let’s take a look at how Pinterest actually works. It’s not so face-driven as Facebook. Even though a lot of sharing of content is going on, it’s not typically shared because of my relationship with someone else. Rather, I share something just because I like it; it reflects my personality. And while we often see things shared by our friends on Pinterest by default, if you’re looking for something specific like recipes or decorating ideas, it’s easy to switch to what everyone on the site is sharing.

This of course means that you have an opportunity to share your content beyond your circle. But you have to do it in the right way if you want to have success on Pinterest.

Getting Started

When you first set up your Pinterest account, you have a handful of boards by default. You can begin loading content onto these, or create your own boards. I personally have created my own boards, with things like Fabulous (for clothing), Fabulous Shoes, Recipes, Causes I Love, Feed Your Head, etc.

I do not recommend that the first boards you set up have anything to do with your business, but rather focus on your passions. This will help you to get into the spirit of the tool, rather than just look at it for marketing (and the true purpose of any social network is the social aspect. Use them to help people get to know you as a person first.) So build boards using content you already love. If you love to cook, share recipes. If you love fashion, share outfits. If you love fitness or decorating, create boards for that. The point is, approach the tool as a user first, and get used to how others use it.

Direct selling companies have an opportunity here to craft a personality for their brand. By choosing content that helps to define the brand (not just the products) you can give a more human face to your company. It might be words of inspiration, tools to help grow a business (content from The DSEF could be a good place to start), it might be food related, it might be causes your company supports. Whatever you choose, remember that you have the opportunity to create a personality for your brand, based on the passions of the organization beyond just your product line.

The point is that both individual consultants and companies can use Pinterest successfully.

Moving into Business

Once you’ve used Pinterest for a few weeks, you’ll have a better idea of the types of content that people share. You will probably have figured out that content that is an outright sales pitch is probably not going to do as well as content that fits into the context of other people’s passions. So then you can start thinking about how to package content in ways that will appeal to the average Pinterest user.

So let’s say you sell home decor products. You may want to create a “Decorating” board. On this board you can place photos of products you sell (probably in lifestyle shots that show them in the context of a decorated room). Make sure they link to your website, where people can purchase the products. Categorize your board as “Home Decor” and it will be available to Pinterest users that search this category.

Also be sure to include descriptive keywords in the comments you include with your individual pins, so people searching for specific items (like “Picture Frames”) will be able to find your item if it applies. So for example you might include the comment “I love the black picture frames in this room. They really stand out against the yellow paint. I’ll keep this in mind when I decorate my living room.”  Then people who are searching for yellow rooms, black frames, and living rooms will be able to find your pin.

You can do the same thing with topics like fitness, arts and crafts or scrapbooking, cooking, etc. Create lifestyle boards related to your content and share both your own content as well as other content that’s applicable. Creative Memories does this through creating boards like “Paper Crafts” and even cute ones like “Scrappin’ Snacks.” Private Quarters does this through creating boards like “Beautiful Spaces” and “Comfort Food.” Note that both brands are making sure to include content that is frequently shared on Pinterest, and is of interest to the user base.

Does Pinterest Work for My Product Line?

This is an important question to ask yourself. Pinterest works best when your product line is highly visual, and of interest to the main user group on Pinterest (females between the ages of 25 and 44.) Cookware, recipes, crafts, decorating, fitness, books, and other items that fall into the main categories that Pinterest offers are probably going to do best. If you sell energy or insurance, Pinterest may not be your best social tool of choice. You can see a list of all the main Pinterest categories on the right.

Pinterest, Your Website, and SEO

I have personally noticed that Pinterest is generating incoming traffic to my blog. The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefits of Pinterest are certainly something to think about. Every time someone repins your item on Pinterest, it becomes an incoming link to your website. This is one of the reasons it’s important to make sure that your website pages are easily “Pin-able.”

It’s very important if you’re pinning to your own content to make sure it links to a place where people can buy the item. This is usually your personal website provided by your company. Each of your product pages should have a “Pin it” button that makes it easy to share that product on Pinterest.

You need to make sure that the picture of the product can be captured by Pinterest as well. If you house your pictures in a Flash movie, for example, Pinterest may be unable to post your photo. There are ways around this (upload the picture individually, then edit the picture by providing  a link to the page) but that’s difficult, and the average person won’t pin your content that way.

I recently saw a cute home decor item posted by a direct selling company that I wanted to pin. I went to the company’s website, but I was forced to go through a process of connecting with a consultant before I could pin the item, and then could only pin to that individual consultant’s website. While on the surface you may think that’s great, it’s actually a big hassle for the end consumer that could prevent your content from being shared. While you may want to make it mandatory for the final purchase to go through a consultant, people should be able to pin without that hassle if you want maximum exposure for your product line.

Final Thoughts

This article has only scratched the surface of Pinterest, and focused on products. I have also seen consultants using Pinterest for things like team support (sharing links to training and support tools), etc. You can also share videos and music on Pinterest, which means that you could put your opportunity videos and other items on Pinterest. The trick will be getting other people to want to share them, which could be harder on a tool that primarily focuses on the passions of others. I’ll be exploring more on this, and would love to hear your thoughts as well.

Are you using Pinterest? Is your company? Would love to hear your thoughts on Pinterest in the comments below.

image credit: bitterjug

Media is evolving at such a rapid pace that it can be hard to keep up! And then, as direct sellers, we not only need to be aware of the trends, but we also need to be aware of what makes sense for direct selling. We can’t be just doing media full time. We have to be working the business in other ways if we want to be successful. And so it’s important to know what matters, and where to spend your time.

So here are some places that I think it’s valuable for direct sellers to spend their time in media in 2012:

• Texting: We’ve talked about this before, but I think leaders and companies need to get on top of mass texting in 2012. It’s the best way to reach your younger salesforce members. Even if you want to send them to, for example, an online training piece delivered in another format, a text message with the notification will get better results than an email. Get on top of this this year.
• Facebook: Facebook only continues to grow, and a vast majority of our target market is there. Make sure you are too, with a strong strategy for how you will convert “likes” into sales and recruits. I expect to see direct sellers increase their use of contests (using 3rd party apps like http://wildfireapp.com so the contests are within Facebook Promotions Guidelines) and Facebook Ads to increase their reach.
• Mobile: From mobile websites to training, mobile is rapidly becoming a must-have in direct selling. We have the most mobile salesforce that exists, and we must be prepared to support them whenever, and wherever, they are. This includes a website that functions properly on a mobile phone (not just one you can access, but one that is optimized for mobile), access to backend data, the ability to place orders from the phone, video training and opportunity videos that can be viewed when sitting on the sidelines at the kids’ soccer game, and more. If you don’t have a mobile strategy for 2012, it’s time to get on the ball. You can’t ignore this anymore.
• Video: If you and your company aren’t training and communicating with customers via video, you’re missing the boat. Today’s online audience is accustomed to consuming information via video. It must be short…3 minutes or less…and it must be fun and engaging. There’s a reason that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. People want to learn via video, and they want to be entertained by it too. And one more important thing…people SHARE video too, increasing your viral visibility. Here’s a post I wrote this past year on how to do video better.
• Pinterest: I wrote a post last week about why I think Pinterest is the next big thing for direct selling. My head is already buzzing with ways it can be used by my current clients. If you’re not on Pinterest you should be, exploring and getting comfortable with the tool. I believe this is going to be really big for our industry in 2012. Something to watch there? Take a look at how fashion retailer polyvore.com is putting together looks that are “Pinterest-ready.” (See some of my favorites here: http://pinterest.com/jenfongspeaks/fabulous/) When you click on the look you’re taken to a page on polyvore.com that lists each of the items, with a link to buy it. These looks are shared like crazy on Pinterest.
• Gamification: If you can make it a game, people will get more involved. Direct sellers need to think about how they can make things like training, online group participation, etc. into a game where people earn points and prizes. In some places we’re already doing this (like incentive trips), but we need to look long and hard at other places we may be able to incorporate this. For example, look at FourSquare. The simple act of checking into a local business earns you points. The more points you earn and checkouts you achieve, you earn virtual badges. Along the way, you can also earn discounts, and even become the “mayor” of establishments. This makes it more fun to do business with you. How can you make it more fun to do business with your direct sales business?

So those are some of the places that I think direct sellers should be focusing on in media for 2012. Have I missed anything? What do you think is important? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you pin?

I’m talking about Pinterest, a new social sharing site that users describe as “addicting.” Essentially, users find things around the web that they love, and then “pin” them to boards on their profile. What’s neat about this as opposed to other bookmarking sites is that the boards are all visual. When you enter a URL, you select a picture from the site to pin to your board. People spend hours pinning their own content, and then finding content on other people’s boards to “re-pin” to their own boards.

Now let’s think about this from a direct selling perspective for a minute:

• Many product lines in our industry are visual. In fact, one of the reasons people choose the party plan sales method is because the product needs to be shown to be fully appreciated.
• The target market that many of us are trying to reach is the one most engaged right now with Pinterest, and this will only grow as time goes on and the site becomes completely public.

Now this is not to say that you should recreate your catalog and try to craft a sales pitch on Pinterest. Rather, it’s an extension of your existing content marketing strategy…providing content people can use right now without spending a dime. But make sure you’re focused on the visuals that go with your content if you’re going to be using Pinterest, because that’s what helps your content spread here. For example:

• If you sell jewelry or clothing, create “looks” boards. Pair your jewelry and other accessories with outfits to give people ideas on how to put together a look.
• If you sell cookware or food, create recipe boards. Post delectable looking recipe photos, together with links to the recipe and the cookware you need to prepare the dish.
• If you sell skin care, create boards that have healthy living or skin care tips. Include articles about caring for your skin, products you love for skin care, etc.
• If you sell makeup, create boards of makeup application tips. Pin content that shows women how to apply makeup, products that work well together, the essentials for every makeup bag, etc.
• If you sell scrapbooking or card making products, create boards of your projects, along with pins of the materials you used to make the projects.
• If you sell vitamins, nutriceuticals, or other health products, create healthy living boards. Have a board for exercise tips, one dedicated to vitamins needed for healthy living, and what they do for the body, etc.
• No matter what you sell, you can use Pinterest for remote personal shopping appointments. If you have a customer with specific needs, create a board just for him or her with items you sell that would meet their needs, along with links to other tips and content. Invite them to check out the board on Pinterest, and let them know you made it just for them.

Are you beginning to see the possibilities here? The more time people spend on Pinterest, the more likely it is they will be exposed to your brand messages. And if you’re interesting enough, people might repin a specific item, board, or all your boards to their own profile, creating viral visibility for your content.

While the site is still invitation-only, some companies in our industry are already jumping in, like Creative Memories. And this is just the beginning. I predict that in the next year, Pinterest is going to become a big deal in our industry. Take some time now to jump in and get acquainted. Request an invitation, and just start playing.

Do you use Pinterest? How? Do you think it holds potential for direct selling? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

And if you’re on Pinterest, feel free to Follow Me. So far I’ve got boards for Recipes, Causes I Love, Fun Stuff, and, of course, Fabulous Shoes.

I recently purchased Purex Complete Crystals fabric softener. (All of you that sell this type of product, cover your ears and hum quietly to yourself. There is a point here.) This type of fabric softener is added to the washer, rather than the dryer sheets I’ve always used. What caused me to buy it? I met them at a blogger mom conference and they gave me a sample. I went home and tried it (not right away…it was when my regular brand ran out.) And I liked it. A lot. So a few months after receiving the sample, I made a purchase. And now I’m a regular customer, and this is what I buy.

But how on earth can the company equate their attendance at a social media conference to me becoming a regular customer?

They can’t. Because I purchased at my local supermarket.

When we talk about traditional ROI, a transaction has to happen. Money has to be spent. We just don’t always know what caused that transaction.

But what Purex did that was smart was that they participated anyway. Sure, I may not be the person they were totally hoping to reach. I’m sure the ideal was that an influential mom blogger would try the product and blog about it. And maybe they did. I wasn’t really paying attention. That might cause more people to buy the product.

I’ve recently had a few companies express their doubts about social media to me. “I feel like it’s valuable, but my board wants to see numbers!” It’s hard to justify the expense of a social media program if you’re not tying it into dollars.

But that’s the wrong way to approach it. Think about traditional PR. Think about your customer service department. Do these generate a lot of ROI? They’re important, though, aren’t they? Because social media is one of your public faces to the world. You are shaping opinion that may ultimately lead to a transaction at a later date. It’s about increasing positive sentiment about your brand. And it’s about being there to make things right when things go wrong. It’s the ultimate communication tool, connecting you to the end consumer in a way that direct selling companies have traditionally found to be extremely challenging.

Sure, there are things you can measure, if you set your website up right (something we have a challenge with in this industry), including:

• Entrance paths tracked through to conversion. Using Google Analytics, answer these questions: Where do people come from online? What do they click when they get to your website? Does that visitor make a transaction or complete a conversion on your website? This is the simplest way to measure ROI.
• Campaign conversion. The way direct selling companies set up their online ordering systems sometimes makes it hard for us to track entrance paths through to conversion, because our replicated websites are housed on a separate system. In this case, setting up individual (hidden) pages on your website for specific online marketing campaigns can help you get some of the data you need. Especially if those pages have strong calls to action that lead to some type of conversion (such as signing up for your newsletter or signing up immediately for the opportunity through the corporate website.) You can track the analytics on those individual landing pages to help measure your ROI.
• Asking them. At each customer touchpoint, ask customers where they heard about you. Present them with a list, or let them fill it in themselves. It’s not quite as precise, but it gives you data you wouldn’t get using Google Analytics. For example, if I meet you at a blog conference or see some of your tweets on Twitter, I might decide to attend a party in my local area. You won’t know that unless you ask.

We love to look at numbers like number of fans on Facebook, because numbers moving in a positive direction must mean you’re doing something right, right? But number of fans is NOT ROI. And so we need to define the conversions we want to see, and then set up tracking methods that allow us to analyze those conversions.

But we also need to realize that there will be some things you won’t be able to measure. Things like the fact that your consultants are happy that you’re online and talking to them, which gives them one more reason to stick around. Like the fact that your customers appreciate the support you give them online, which means they don’t have to sit on hold waiting for customer service on the phone, which means they’ll probably order again. (And that also saves some time for your customer service department to support other customers, adding to the efficiency of your customer support team.) Like the fact that you’re providing your sales force with content they can share with their own customer base, which helps them ensure that those folks are more likely to place an order, come to a party, or join the team.

Is your company finding a positive ROI on its social media efforts? How do you know? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Anyone doing social media management for a direct selling company should be handed a kit and sent to do a few parties/sales appointments.

There, I said it.

Social media for direct selling companies is unlike social media in any other industry. Because if you do not understand what the salesforce goes through day in and day out, you will not be able to effectively support and communicate with them online. You will not be able to understand their pain points the way you do when you’ve experienced the host that won’t call you back. You will not be able to coach them through the challenges like you will when you’ve had your own party where only 2 people showed up. You will not be able to provide the on-the-spot training that gets them over the hump of their challenge, and retains them unless you’ve been there yourself.

In short, it is my strong opinion that you NEED to work the business of the company you’re with to effectively support the social media presence for a direct selling company.

I know not everyone will agree with me. But I can tell you, after I’ve picked up a kit and gone out to do some parties, I am MUCH better at my job managing the day to day social media presence for a direct selling company.

What do you think?

image credit: skuggen.com

For the last several days we’ve been without power (and heat, and light…) in NJ (which was finally restored last night. Hurray!) Since we manage the social media presences for several clients (some of whom were also without power, thanks to the storm) we had to get creative with regards to posting and responding. Some of it was done through our local Starbucks and free wifi. (Yay, Starbucks!) Some was done through our smartphones.

But since we knew we wouldn’t be able to take up Starbucks’ plugs and seats for the price of a cup of joe 24 hours per day (our neighbors needed them too), we also pre-scheduled some posts using HootSuite. We wrote the posts, and then scheduled them for the times we wanted them to appear on Twitter and Facebook.

And that’s when I learned that with the new Facebook, their bias against third party apps that aren’t partners has gotten even worse. Sure, I can see every song that friends are playing via Spotify in the News Feed (Spotify is a Facebook partner). But practically NO ONE saw our posts on Facebook. Content that would normally have solicited response had we posted it directly in Facebook didn’t garner a single like or comment. And it’s exactly the same type of content that ALWAYS gets response.

The conclusion is that you simply can’t use HootSuite to post to your Facebook Page. Not if you want it to have any impact at all.

Have you found any 3rd party apps for posting that actually get seen in Facebook? Would love to read about them in the comments below.

Oh, Facebook. Why do you make it so hard for me to love you? I really tried to be patient with your new changes. Look on the bright side. Find the benefits. But you’re making it SO hard. I have to use you so differently now, and I really am not enjoying it.

This week I discovered something else that’s really bugging me. I used to be able to post about seasonal things, and be sure that my friends would see them. You know, like Halloween. But now, you’re condensing posts about topics into one big mass that I first have to find, and then click on, in order to see the content from my friends. See?

How about if you think the posts are interesting enough to include in the News Feed, you just let me scroll through them like normal, instead of forcing me to click if I’m interested in the topic? Stop trying to think for me. And stop making it harder for me to find the content from my friends.

You’re making it harder for me as both a user AND a marketer. You know, because I like to talk about the things people are talking about. It’s called being engaging. But I can’t do that if you hide those things in a lump. Please stop it.

Pretty please?

Your thoughts?

Image credit: Katie Tegtmeyer

I recently read an article that said that a study has shown that 95% of wall posts on brand Facebook Pages go unanswered. 95%! This really shocked me. After all, isn’t the point of social media to be, well, social? Why on earth would you put up a Page, try to write engaging content that your fans see, and then ignore them?

It’s like being in a relationship where you want to do all the talking, and you ignore the other party. It won’t last long.

If you want to put all the time and effort required into creating an engaging Facebook presence, realize that you are making a commitment to the people that Like your Page. You are promising to make the time investment to read what THEY have to say as well, and acknowledge that. It’s NOT all about you.

When my company manages a Facebook Page for a direct selling company, we respond to 100% of posts. Our whole goal is to get people to interact with us. It doesn’t make sense to ignore people once they do. Even if it’s just a simple “Like” on someone’s comment, you have to acknowledge the fact that someone has interacted with you. It says, “I see you and I appreciate the effort you made to engage with me.”

And what if someone complains on your Page? Then what? Do you ignore that?

No!

Even if you have a different process in place for customer service, you must still acknowledge that complaint on your Page. It says to ALL fans that you care about them, and are there to help. Even if it’s just a comment that directs people to the proper channels to share their concerns, DON’T ignore people!

A Facebook Page that ignores fan comments, or that does not allow the people that Like the Page to post, is missing the point of social media. It’s about engagement. It’s about conversation. It’s about creating a dialog that helps people feel more connected with your brand.

Don’t ignore or try to squash conversation. Embrace it. Sure it takes time, but it’s worth it.

Your thoughts?

Image Credit: Katie Tegtmeyer

image credit: jurvetson

I’ve spent the last several years focusing on social media, and the direct selling industry’s need to embrace this form of communication. We’ve definitely gotten better at it over the years, and it’s now pretty much become standard for companies and consultants to use it in some form.

But we have to be careful. Because when we put TOO much emphasis on social media, we can lose sight of what we’re really here for.

I find more and more that I’m putting less emphasis on social media, and more emphasis on social media in context. This means that we talk about how to do the business well (booking, selling, recruiting), and add the social media elements where they fit. It’s not social media for social media’s sake. We’re not trying to make social media experts out of direct sellers. You don’t have to know everything there is to know about blogging, every social network under the sun, etc. to use social media well.

Company training programs need to be careful of this too. When my team at Luce & Associates writes training for direct sales companies, we don’t write “social media” training. Rather, we focus on things like Booking, Hostess Coaching, and Team Building. Social media elements are included in these, but we don’t teach social media for social media’s sake.

Your first emphasis, daily, should be on building the business. You can use the social tools where they make sense to support the business. But don’t put too much into it. You won’t get the payoff you’re looking for. You’re not here to be a social media expert.

Don’t get swayed by the big shiny lights of social media, and the “experts” telling you to do more than you need to. Your time is better spent booking, selling, and recruiting.

Your business is more than social media.

Your thoughts?

The new Facebook layout is making it more challenging to get your posts seen in Facebook. Posts that used to get visibility in the News Feed simply aren’t making it there anymore, which means if people don’t see and interact with your post immediately, it might never be seen.

I’ve been playing with post visibility for the last week, trying different things (some of you may have noticed), and I’ve come to some preliminary conclusions that I want to share with you today.

• Click “Like” if you see this. Every time someone interacts with one of your posts, it displays again (either in the ticker or in the newsfeed.) I’ve gotten the best response to my posts by simply prefacing them with “Click “Like” if you see this.” I don’t know how many more times I can do this without annoying people, but it certainly brings the most visibility to individual posts.
• Form a collective. And this brings me to my next conclusion. Since your posts show up again every time someone does something, it makes sense that if you get a group of consultants together who all agree to “like” each other’s posts, you can all gain greater visibility.
• Post multiple times. A lot of your visibility is dependent on when your post appears. So you may want to post the same content (such as blog posts) multiple times (for example 3 times, but NOT 100 times!) throughout the day, prefaced in different ways. This appears to drive the greatest amount of traffic, even though some people may see the same post multiple times. Do note that Facebook will compress multiple listings of the same link into one story on the news feed. But as long as it shows up, so what?
• Share good content. This goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway. People will only interact with your content if it’s valuable. So make sure it’s something that people want to read, and will choose to interact with in some way. It’s the best way to ensure visibility.

I’m sure that as I play with Facebook I’ll come up with more tips. But for now, this is what I’ve found works best.

What about you? Have you found other strategies to improve the visibility of your posts? Would love to read them in the comments below!