One of the marketing platforms we often use in promoting our network marketing businesses online is social networks.
Facebook and MySpace are likely the most popular…and free…social networking sites on the web.
There are other sites, and although they have a more targeted membership, they aren’t as globally large and well known.
Sometimes when making friend connections on Facebook and MySpace, we may blunder and connect with people who are not the best business contacts.
The most effective way to friend people who have the same interests in network marketing is to join groups focused on network marketing, MLM, generating leads, and online marketing.
From the groups’ membership, we make connections with others who probably share our interests in building a home based business.
Most of the time, friendship requests are approved without hardly getting to know the other person.
We make initial cordial thank you-s for the friend connection, then move on to other activities.
After making thousands of connections, it is easy to overlook people in your network who are not appropriate business associates.
As I have written before, when building your business on Facebook, or other social network sites, you need to keep your profile focused for business building.
All other activities need to be kept on your personal profile.
It’s too easy to waste time on social network sites. To effectively build a home based business part time, you must be disciplined with your time management.
As you go through your Newsfeed, Messages, Event & Group Invitations, and “Other” Requests, it will become easy to find friend blunders.
These will be people who actually are not as interested in building their network marketing business on the same professional level as you are.
With a 5,000 friend limit on Facebook, it is wise to perform a Friend Cleanse every so often.
Follow the clues.
No Comprendo.
We often friend people from different countries and cultures. However, if their only language they use on Facebook is their native dialect, and you don’t speak it, what’s the point?
It is wise to suggest them as a friend to one of your teammates who does speak their language and then un-friend them.
Wanna Play?
There are people who do business networking and want to engage their contacts in games, like Mafia Wars or Farmville.
These games are fun and very addicting. Hours are easily wasted every day on these games.
Serious business builders simply do not have the time to play these games frivolously. The invitations to play are clutter and time consuming.
Contacts spending more time on games than they spend on effective networking activities may not be interested in building and may not be interested in what you have to offer.
Dodge Ball!
You will find some of your contacts are so busy promoting their groups and events that they show up several times a week or even daily.
You end up getting hit with their promotions so much you feel like you’re in a game of Dodge Ball.
These people are so busy doing their thing that they are probably not paying attention to what you are doing or what anyone else is doing.
You have to decide whether it is worth putting up with their activity stream to keep them in your contacts hoping they will eventually get worn out and take advantage of what you have to offer.
Or they may never stop playing their Dodge Ball game to notice that you unfriended them.
The Big Dogs.
There are many Network Marketers we connect with who are already successful in their businesses.
They are there to build and will never join a small part-timer whose main goal is to make about $1000 a month.
So why network with these Big Dogs?
If they actually are offering valuable training and inspiration that benefits you, then keep the connection.
If you’re not gaining any knowledge from their friendship, then unfriend them to make room for someone you can have a mutually beneficial relationship with.
Just Not There.
Sometimes we connect with someone from an MLM or similar interest group and we later find out that they are not really interested in the business at all.
We may not have looked at their profile closely enough and not realized that they have nothing on their profile to indicate any business activities.
There are those who you may tag in a note or video and they leave very negative comments behind.
They are not just disagreeing with your point of view, they are bashing you and MLM.
Unfriend them immediately before they do damage to your image.
The Soapbox.
The last group of people to closely evaluate are the ones who voice their personal opinions about religion, politics, or current events to the point of being obnoxious.
Business is business. There is no place in a professional business setting to heavily declare personal views.
People who use their profiles to promote their personal agendas are not likely going to make good business contacts.
Unfriend them from your business profile. If you share their opinions, then invite them to be friends on your personal profile.
It’s Business.
Keep in mind that your decisions on who you keep as a contact on your Facebook business profile are entirely based on good business.
There is nothing personal about it.
If others unfriend you, they may not share your interest or find value in what you are offering.
That is OK. You cannot please everyone. Your goal has to be to appeal to the majority of people in your target niche.
Constantly revise your friend’s list and your activities on Facebook to polish your business presence.
This is how you will attract success focused people to you.
Believe in Your Success, I Do!
Karen
mentor.karen.j.miller@gmail.com
