Promoting with Social Media

Recently I've been honored to be mentioned several times by USANA's corporate blog.

http://www.whatsupusana.com/2010/04/look-where-we-spotted-rev3-part-4.html

http://www.whatsupusana.com/2010/03/drumroll-please-congrats-to-sanoviv.html

And today, the best mention yet:

http://www.whatsupusana.com/2010/04/usana-social-media-tip-9-getting.html

Jason believes that I'm using social media well. I have to admit, that's a compliment, because I think that USANA's got one of the best online presences in network marketing, confirmed by their many accolades. This got me to thinking: What have I done right?

Here's my best guess:

• On Twitter, I converse. I don't just spam out links to my site. I talk to real people. About real things - not just the USANA business. As you'll see from my tweets, I'm about more than just one thing. I'm a USANA distributor, a software engineer turned database administrator, advocate for people with autism, and a proud husband of a debut author. My USANA business may be a tenth the size it could be, but I think it's a hundred times more solid.
• I'm honest. I don't try to scam someone, not just because I can't tell a lie to save my life, but because this is a business I'm building to last a lifetime. If you build a foundation on lies, you have to continue to lie for as long as you want to maintain it. If anyone out there thinks that my USANA business is founded on lies, they are making an assumption and don't know me from a hole in the ground. If I can't change their point of view by a simple show of integrity, their mind is too closed to try any harder.
• Another thing I do on Twitter is practice Mutual Respect. When someone says something of value, I often RT (retweet) it. I'll also welcome a new USANA member onto Twitter and offer help with their business. Oddly enough, few people take me up on the offer - probably because they think since I'm crossline I have no vested interest. Here's how it works: If you help me, I'll remember that, and will recommend you to someone else one day in the future. In fact, I may do so dozens of times. So, thank you Jeremy Stansfield, Collette Larsen and Larsen Global, Lebby Salinas, Pete Zdanis, Robert Allen, Jason Miller and Tim Haran, as well as all the others who have graciously offered their insight for no personal gain. You all understand the true, positive, meaning of "what goes around comes around."
• I keep an eye out for people's needs. If they complain that they're sick, I may offer them some HealthPak samples for a few days. In almost all cases, they feel better after taking a 3-4 day supply. Not miraculously cured, but they feel an improvement they never experienced before, so they're likely to purchase the product. I'm careful not to connect that to an actual illness, though, and not only for legal reasons. While my mind can perceive the connection, it's because I've sat through scientific sessions at the USANA09 convention and read a lot of research. People have been trained that vitamins don't work... and for the most part, they're right. The once daily multivitamin is absolutely worthless. I can't convince the average person in 140 characters that their $6 bottle of SuperMegaVitaBlaster is giving them false hopes; that takes time. It takes integrity, and trust.

Bottom line - Twitter and social media of any kind are best used if you "act yourself" just like you're trying to make a friend or go on a date. Because that's what this is... relationship marketing. If you try guerilla tactics, sell-and-run, you may get a single sale and a bad reputation that'll precede you for miles. So, make friends, find friends of those friends, and just be who you are naturally. If they don't come to you for vitamins today, they'll remember you when they are ready.

If you're ready to learn about the health benefits of USANA, curious about the business or otherwise - please drop me a line at journey@markjholmes.com. Or visit my USANA website at http://supergeek.usana.com.

How NOT to promote a product or business: Option 1

Twitter.  It's great.  Millions of people just waiting for you to post about your new product, and come flocking to you when you solve their problems.

Join Twitter.  Five minutes later, post your website and ask your zero followers to look at it.  Wait.  Publicly send a Hi Howyadoin' to a celebrity.  Mention your website, maybe the celebrity will feature it on their TV show.  You'll make millions.

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OK, if you're done laughing, here's the reality of it.

Nobody on Twitter cares about anyone else, least of all you, unless they know who you are and like you.  If you walk into a packed movie theater 20 minutes before the show, and announce that you're selling anything other than discount popcorn, the best result is that everyone ignores you.  The analogy fits because you're unknown to 300+ people who are gathered for a different purpose.  

Twist the analogy:

Oprah Winfrey walks into the theater and has a book in her hands while she waits.  She doesn't even have to say anything, and 5 people will go buy the book.  She has celebrity status, credibility.  If she were to wave the book in the air and say, "buy my new book," 20 more would go buy it.  100 would think she's blatantly marketing and 175 would never even notice her simply because they still only care about the friends they're with.

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Treat Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace like they were originally intended: Friends, family, coworkers with a common interest.  This is not your public, cold-market, marketing vehicle.  This is where among your normal conversation you may discuss your product of value to an individual or small group; if others overhear, they may join in but only if they're interested.  Even if you were to mention your love of chocolate 15 times in a day, people would get irritated.  Keep product mentions to a minimum, and if more than a couple (1%) of your followers speak up against you, assume the 99% that didn't, are offended - and back off.