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March 31, 2014 | Debbi A. Ballard | Comments 0
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Network Marketing Reigns Supreme for Personal Connections

copyright, 2014, Debbi A. Ballard All rights reserved worldwide.

You get bombarded with reports about social media and how it can be used to create personal connections for your business. But how really “personal” are these connections? And why is it that network marketing reigns supreme for personal connections?

Let’s start here. Do you really “know” your 10,125 Twitter followers and your 601 Facebook friends?

The majority are no different from the real friends you have with whom you chat about your family, your financial problems, the hardships you’re facing in your business or at work, etc. You feel you can share the same information with them. Is that correct? You have the same “personal” connection?

I don’t think so.

And you don’t either.

Listen, each one of us has people in our lives with whom we have a different level of personal connection. We are willing to share more and different types of information with some people rather than others. This occurs regardless whether we interact with them offline or online.

However, when we interact with people offline face-to-face and even over the phone, there typically is a greater personal connection. This is due to seeing the person’s reactions, hearing the differing tonalities in their voices, etc. The auditory and/or visual nuances are powerful in communication. They lend themselves to making a more personal connection.

In Network Marketing Personal Connections are Our Heritage

In network marketing personal connections are our heritage. Our industry was born from face-to-face personal connections. That is how we garnered customer loyalty. That is how we cemented relationships with our downline reps. That is how our biggest network marketing companies have been built.

With online marketing incorporated into our marketing efforts, let’s not forget that heritage. For it is in that heritage that network marketing reigns supreme for personal connections for business. When we remember that, we incorporate personal touch factors into any and all of our online marketing efforts including social media, email marketing, etc. Everything is done with a view towards cultivating the relationship and at some point, taking the conversation offline.

The communication flow could be, for example, interacting first on Facebook or LinkedIn, and then as the interactions increase, the conversations continue offline as well meeting face-to-face or talking on the phone. In addition more personal online conversations using an online platform like meet.fm can be used. You’ll be able to see each other speaking, share documents, host virtual parties and let others join your conversation. There are other platforms you can use, but the team behind meet.fm has worked hard to provide the best in class online collaboration and meeting platform for networkers. (My firm has provided consulting for meet.fm and they are serious about helping networkers build their businesses.)

And thus that history of fostering true personal connections in our network marketing endeavors is an advantage when compared to affiliate marketing or the typical e-commerce site. It is that orientation that allows networkers to develop more personal connections.

This can open the door to more customers, more sales leaders, and guess what else? If you’re presenting yourself honestly, you know that not everyone will be a customer or a rep in your downline. But you might just end up developing some truly personal connections whom you can count among your “real” friends. Not a bad thing, right?

Here is one person’s view on social media and pretend friends. It was written by a well known social media blogger and strategist. Read the entire post as his ending comments are particularly important. Using social media for personal connections in business, as I have often said, can be valuable or a complete waste of time if not used properly.

Sap.com developed the personal connection video presented above as part of this blog post. I am not recommending them here since I have not used their social media products or services. However you might just want to look into their offerings as well as the many other social media tools and platforms available. There are some suitable for individual networkers and those more suitable for large enterprises.

Should you decide to utilize any such tools or platforms, just keep in mind that they need to be used wisely. Incorporate your network marketing talents for developing connections when using social media. You’ll find that network marketing reigns supreme for personal connections for your business when you make the effort to take those online connections and interact offline as well. That’s the key.

Debbi A. Ballard introduced the world’s first comprehensive marketing and management consulting services for the mlm network marketing industry. A consultant, speaker, author and expert witness, she is considered a trusted authority in that industry.

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About the Author: MLM Consultant, Expert Witness, Author, Blogger, Speaker and CEO of International Network Liaison Corporation...but more importantly, wife, mother, daughter, aunt, cousin and friend.

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