The people closest to you may not always be the most supportive of your business. They might be too familiar with you to see what makes you special. Family and friends, who can be the greatest source of love and acceptance, can also be a great source of criticism and frustration.
With social media, you get the chance to connect with others based on your shared interests. People who 'get' you can do a great deal to lift your self view and increase your confidence.
So, how do you connect with others and build your own supportive tribe?
Join Online Communities
Start by joining groups. Facebook has a group directory that you can browse. You can find groups based around hobbies, careers, or lifestyle.
Look for groups that have a few thousand members and are active with users regularly posting. Some group owners may have a form consisting of 2-3 questions that they’d like you to fill out. Answer as truthfully as possible. You don’t want to be deceptive and risk being removed from the group later.
Pay Attention to Privacy
Keep in mind that privacy settings can vary by group. On Facebook, an open group is one where anyone can see the posts, even people who aren’t members of the group. That means if you post in a discussion in an open group, your friends may be able to see it with a bit of digging.
But Facebook has another option called closed groups. Anyone on Facebook can see who the members are, but in order to see the discussions taking place, you have to join the group. This can be ideal if you want to participate in a group but you don’t want your posts seen by everyone on social media.
Respond to Posts
Once you’re approved to join a group, you can go ahead and dive in. Try to comment on three recent threads. Make your comments personal and don’t be afraid to share your unique perspective.
Aim to respond to a few threads throughout the next week or two. This lets the other members get to know you and learn more about your personality.
Ask Questions
Once you’ve interacted on a few topics, it’s time to jump in. Start your own discussion by asking a question and seeking opinions. Don’t ask about something controversial just to get attention.
Instead, focus on asking a question that requires a complex answer. A simple yes-or-no question won’t allow you to start a deeper discussion. Instead, try to ask a “Why…?” or “How…?” question. These tend to invite more conversation and give you a chance to learn more about other members.
The great thing about online communities is that they expose you to perspectives from around the globe. This allows you to learn new things and broaden your own horizons by making new friends.
If you crave genuine connection online, you have to be authentic. Some people mistakenly believe that to be authentic, you have to share your entire life online with absolutely no filters. But that’s not true.
You can be authentic and build lasting relationships without oversharing or annoying your community. Here a few ways to show your true self to your online friends and followers…
Share the Bad
Most people automatically share their good moments on social media. They take a selfie of their new hairdo or post about their vacation adventures or proudly display their latest commission check.
There’s nothing wrong with publishing these details online. But if you only show the good side of your life, people may struggle to trust you.
You’ll appear more genuine if you post about your bad moments occasionally. This means you can go ahead and upload that post-workout gym selfie, broadcast a shot of your messy workspace, or share a snap of how your fuzzy your hair looks after you ran in the rain.
Present a Slice of Life
Sometimes, being authentic can be as simple as posting about a common occurrence that other people can relate to. For example, Faydra Koenig, a crisis coach, frequently posts photos of her coffee cup from Starbucks.
She shares the images to show the unusual ways servers attempt to spell her name. She does it in a light-hearted way without embarrassing anyone or shaming them. She simply has a laugh and lets her friends in on the joke.
Participate in Conversations
You wouldn’t take your friend to a crowded restaurant and spend the entire meal ignoring her. If you did, your friend wouldn’t feel loved. She’d be upset and wonder why you bothered inviting her if you had no intention of spending time with her.
It’s the same concept with social media. If you have friends and followers responding to your updates, take a moment to engage with them. You don’t have to write lengthy responses. When a friend comments, you can say something simple like, “Thanks for listening!” or “Love hearing your perspective on this!”
Own Your Quirks
What do you geek out about? Maybe you love collecting action figures from your favorite Sci-fi movies and you’re always adding new ones to your collection. Maybe you live for ugly Christmas sweaters or you’re obsessed with trying different recipes.
Sharing something you love and showing off your inner dork is a great way to be authentic online. You’ll attract other people who geek out over the same things and you’ll have a good supply of frequent content since your hobby is already part of your life.
You can be authentic online and still have your privacy. The key is picking which parts of your personality and life you’d like to showcase online.
Selfies are photos you take of yourself. Usually, people share their selfies on social media websites like Facebook and Instagram. Selfies can be a helpful way to promote your products or your business and share your lifestyle.
Yet there can be a dark side to selfies. Taking dozens of selfies while searching for the right angle or obsessing over how various filters will make you appear can be warning signs that your selfie habit might be going too far.
But how do you know if your selfies are actually a bad thing? It can be helpful to ask yourself four simple questions after you snap a picture…
How Do I Feel?
I remember when taking selfies made me very anxious. So, I would change clothes until I got an outfit that I thought sent the "right" message. And then I still wouldn't like the way I looked so I would pick out a different top and change my hair. I'd try different camera angles or locations. Nothing seemed to make me feel confident.
Sometimes, a selfie habit is more about seeking external validation than anything. I used to suffer from low self-esteem because of my weight. My selfies were my way of proving that even though I was fat, I still had a great business and a great life. When I realized this, I knew I needed to make a change.
Why Am I Sharing This?
Some people take selfies as a way to document a moment and remember it later. That’s why you might be tempted to take a selfie during a fun vacation or snap a picture during that beautiful sunset.
But before you share that picture on social media, ask yourself why you’re sharing it. Are you hoping to impress someone? Are you trying to make your life or your business seem better than it really is? Are you secretly wishing to make others jealous? Or are you genuinely eager to record the moment?
How Much of My Life Am I Publishing?
When you snap a picture, take a moment to review it. Pay attention to what’s in the background of your selfie. You could accidentally put yourself or someone else at risk if you’re not careful.
If you’re walking around your neighborhood, is your street address visible? If you’re in a setting like an event or a restaurant or party, are there others in the background that might not want to be in your picture? If you’re inside the changing room at your gym, are people in the background exposed?
Am I OK If This Goes Viral?
A tasteless selfie can seriously damage your reputation and even cause you to lose business. So before you post, ask yourself if you’d want your team, customers or extended family to see this photo.
Don’t rely on privacy settings to save you. Anyone can take a screenshot and share your private photo with the whole world even if you’ve deleted the original image. Once a selfie is online, you have to assume that it may be digitally accessible forever. So make a smart choices that won’t come back to haunt you.
Selfies can be a great way to make you feel confident, document a special moment and share your success. Just make sure you’re snapping and sharing for all the right reasons.
My niece noticed her teenage daughter seemed sad one day. When she asked about it, her daughter shared that she’d been on social media. All of her friends were taking lavish spring break vacations and having plenty of fun while she was stuck at home.
After listening, my niece opened the Facebook app on her phone. She pulled up her best friend’s profile and handed the device to her daughter. “Look through her first ten photos and write down what you see on a notepad.”
Her daughter rolled her eyes but did as she was asked. When she was done, her short list read like this: Victoria is pretty, thin, has a cute boyfriend, and a good job. She’s a big fan of the Steelers and she loves rock climbing.
My niece tapped the list, “Victoria was homeless for a few months as a kid. In college, she was diagnosed with a serious digestive disease. She battled an addiction to painkillers following her last surgery. She just got out of rehab last year. But you can’t see all of that just by looking at her photos. On the outside, her life looks perfect.”
Look Beyond the Selfie
It doesn’t matter how old you are. On social media, it’s tempting to think that what you see is the whole story. But it’s important to remember that most social users are presenting a curated look at their life and their business.
It’s not that people on social media sites are trying to be deceptive. Well, not all of them anyway! It’s just that many people document their happy moments. This includes things like vacations, pregnancy news, graduation ceremonies, and weddings. In business, it means the big pay checks, the rank advances, the events and the lifestyle.
Why Social Media Can Make You Feel Bad
The downside to all of this positivity is that it can leave you feeling like you’re lacking in some ways. You might look at a picture of someone else’s family where everyone is smiling and think that your friend has a wonderful life. She is massively successful in her business and doesn't have a care in the world.
But what she won’t share are the unsupportive remarks her husband makes about her online business. She doesn’t post about her son’s struggle with a learning disability or talk about her daughter’s crippling depression.
How Social Media Affects You
Frequently comparing your life to the lives of others on social media can lead to anxiety and depression. You may find yourself asking yourself questions like, “What if I’m not as popular as her? What if no one likes my selfie? Does that mean I’m ugly? My life isn’t as pretty as hers!”
Comparing your business is just as bad. You can find yourself stressing because it seems everyone has the "secret" to success - except you. You begin to ask questions like, "What if I'm just not cut out to run a business? Why can't I get recruit more reps? Why can't I get more response on my Facebook ads? Am I just wasting money? My business isn't as successful as theirs!"
Ironically, spending more time on social media means you have fewer conversations in real life. This can worsen anxiety and depression, creating an unhealthy cycle that leaves you unhappy and isolated. It can keep you from making the relationships necessary to grow a successful business. Business is built on KLT (know, like, trust). People do business with those they know, like, and trust. And for that to happen you have to actually connect with people!
The good news is that you don’t have to stay stuck in comparison mode. You can disconnect from social media when you notice that you’re feeling bad about yourself or your life. The more you do this, the easier it will become to break social media’s effect on your outlook.
Let me start by saying I am a network marketer. I have been involved in the industry for over 25 years. I am also 61 years old. So I know a little bit of what I speak.
Retirement is fast approaching. That magic age when one is supposed to be able to kick back and enjoy the fruits of many years of labor. Travel, spend time with family, take up new hobbies or enjoy ones you didn't have time for before now. And just relax. But the reality is far different.
More than 50% of US households have little to no retirement savings. Sure, we get Social Security - for now. But even if it doesn't go broke as predicted, can you retire on what you'll make? The average Social Security payment is $15,000 - $16,000 annually. Poverty level in the US for one person is $12,140. Not much of a cushion.
Fortunately, I am not in that 50% with no retirement savings. My husband and I have been preparing for this day for many years. We are ready. We have a nice little nest egg set aside. And even when we "retire", we will still be earning income. Because we got involved in network marketing.
It's Not a Pyramid Scheme
Now I know what they say. It's illegal. It's a scam. It's a pyramid scheme. Yes, there are business "opportunities" out there that are all of these things. So just like any other business or investment, a little due diligence is in order. But the vast majority of network marketing companies are completely legitimate. And the business model is perfectly legal.
Chances are you have already been introduced to the industry. Someone you know - a friend or family member - approached you about an opportunity that was going to "change your life." You went to a meeting or watched a video that laid out "the plan." By only recruiting a few other people to join, you were going to be financially independent aka "wealthy." You may have even joined. And if you did, you probably didn't become wealthy. You may not have broke even. In fact, you might have lost money.
Am I still insisting this is a legitimate business? Yes! Especially for retirees.
Change Your Expectations
Most people are brought into network marketing with the promise of "freedom." You are sold the dream of quitting your job and living what is referred to as the "laptop lifestyle." And that has happened for a few. More than you realize actually. 85% of the women making $100,000 annually are doing it through direct sales or network marketing. But for many others, that dream never materializes and soon discouragement and disbelief set in and they quit.
But I'm proposing a different tactic. You are getting ready to retire. You ARE quitting your jobs or have already done so. You don't need replacement income. You need supplemental income. And that makes a huge difference in how you approach the business.
If you are focused on getting rich quickly, then all your energy is likely aimed at bringing in as many people as possible as quickly as possible. And so you share your business with EVERYONE! If they have pulse and are breathing, they are a prospect. It doesn't matter that most people aren't good candidates for this business. It doesn't matter that they probably won't stick. All you can think of is sign them up! And so you enroll everyone you can, alienating a good many of your friends and family along the way. And you earn a couple of decent checks. And then your team starts dropping out and your checks dwindle and you have already burned through your entire list of contacts and no one will listen to you know and OMG!!!! This doesn't work. And you quit too.
But what if you took a different approach? In my company, directly recruiting 4 people is enough to make a decent check. So what if I'm content with that? What if I focus on finding the best 4 people I can? Instead of nabbing every warm body in my reach because I'm focused on "getting rich", I'm looking for 4 people who will help me build a comfortable, SUSTAINABLE income. Lots less pressure. Lots less stress. MUCH greater chance of success.
With the pressure off having to recruit so many people, you have more time for other things. And these are the things that will help your business grow. Time to work with your recruits and help them build their teams. Time to learn how to market your business properly. Time to find some customers for your products. Time to do all the things that the professional network marketers are doing.
It's Not Just The Money
If you really want to be wealthy, this is the way to do it. Be selective in who you recruit. Train them and help them build good solid teams. Learn to harness the power of the internet and social media to market your business the RIGHT way. Promote your products as well as your business. If you do this consistently, you will have a nice check to put towards your retirement lifestyle.
But even if you only make enough to help stretch your savings, it's still a great business to be in. Because the network marketing lifestyle is about so much more than the money.
It's friendship. Most of my friends these days are also in the business. Not necessarily my company. But they are in some form of network marketing or direct sales.
It's about socializing. Imagine spending a weekend at a great resort with hundreds of people with the same goals and aspirations as you. During the day, you spend time with some of the leaders in the industry learning more about your business. Talk about keeping your mind sharp! And afterward, you talk, and laugh, and have dinner or drinks, with people from all over the country and maybe even the world. You go sightseeing in whatever city the meeting is being held in. You sit up late at night with a new friend discussing your families, your business, and most importantly, your hopes and dreams for the future. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Well it's called CONVENTION and almost every company has them!
It's about self-improvement and empowerment. Learning about business and marketing. Trying your products. My company is in the wellness industry. Imagine what I have learned about health and nutrition since joining. Imagine the people I've met and the things I have done since incorporating health and fitness into my lifestyle.
It's about leaving a legacy. Many companies allow you to leave your business to your family. But more than that, it's what you are teaching them. My grandchildren are already discussing business ideas with me. Along with my network marketing business, I have learned e-commerce. And I have taught my grandchildren the skills necessary for them to set up their own online stores. They will never have to be dependent on a job if they choose otherwise. And simply by writing my book, I have inspired many others who dreamed of one day becoming authors to actually do it.
It's about being an inspiration to others. To those who thought they could never afford to retire. To those who could but didn't out of fear. To those who wanted something more in their golden years than soap operas and golf. To those who thought they were too old - too old to start a business, too old to learn a new set of skills, too old to write a book, too old to dream.
Let's Do This!
That has been my rallying cry for many years now. If you want more from your retirement than simply existing, now is the time to get started. Network marketing is the easiest way to start a business with minimal investment. You can work to make enough just to help supplement your other income. Or you can work a bit harder and make some real money. That choice is yours. But either way, you will reap all the other benefits.
The next step is yours. Find the right company and the right team. There are lots of them out there. Of course, I recommend my company and my team. But we may not be the right fit for you. Find the one that is.
Once you enroll, learn all you can. There are coaches and trainers and tools and systems aplenty available. Again, I think I am the right coach with access to the right tools and system. But again, maybe not for you. Find the ones that are.
Don't be a statistic. Don't be one of the 50% that squanders what is supposed to be the best years of our lives.
Are you ready? Let's do this.
Want to more about me, my team, and my company? Great! Connect with me on Facebook! Or fill out the form on my webpage and I'll give you a call!
One simple way you can practice radical giving in your business is to be generous with your content marketing. Instead of making all of your content focused on you and what you can do, focus on providing value to your readers or listeners. Here are a few easy ideas you can use to create content that serves…
Curate Content from Other Bloggers
Don’t be afraid to tell your community about the bloggers you admire or link to their amazing content. You can’t serve everyone and even if you could, that would quickly get exhausting. There’s more than enough attention and applause to go around, so take some time to focus on content curation.
Curating valuable content lets you share brilliant ideas and fresh insights with your community. Plus, it gives you a chance to introduce your audience to experts in your niche that they should follow.
Interview Industry Leaders
Another way to practice radical giving in your business is to interview industry leaders. You can do this through podcast episodes or by creating webinars where you feature an authority on their area of expertise.
When it comes to interviewing others, create a list of questions. Try to avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no.
Instead, make sure your questions invite detailed responses from your interviewees. Generally, questions that start with “How…?” or “Why…?” get the most interesting answers and can create thought-provoking conversations.
I did this frequently when I first started in business. At that time, they were simply recorded audio interviews. I recently started this practice again using Zoom. Check out my interviews with Andy Shepherd, Terri Dennis and Gwen Weiler on my YouTube channel!
Add A Bonus to a Great Product
When you find a product you’d like to promote to your community, go the extra mile and give back. Offer a juicy bonus that only your buyers will get. This bonus could be a short report, an audio course, access to an upcoming webinar, or any other product you can think of.
The important thing to do with this is to make sure your bonus is relevant to the actual product being sold. For example, a great bonus for a product all about Facebook Advertising would be 50 Facebook-ready images.
Promote Others on Social Media
Don’t be afraid to use social media to promote others in your industry. If you’re reading a great article that is challenging the way you view your niche, tweet about it. If you stumble on a funny video that you think your community will relate to, share it on Facebook.
Make sure to tag the original creator on social media so they’ll see your promotion and be encouraged. You also want to do this so your audience will be able to clickthrough and follow the thought leader you’re linking to.
This is something I have been doing for a very long time. Search for the Success Stories posts for profiles of many online entrepreneurs.
And check out the guest blog posts by some of the same.
Therese Kienast of Radical Leadership recommends that online business owners create more content. She says, “Don't wait, create!” If you wait, you’re less likely to follow through and publish excellent content.
Instead, try to capture inspiration the moment it strikes. If you can’t right then, try to do it as soon as possible. This will keep your enthusiasm and energy revved up as you create and share your new content.
Radical givers are fun to do business with…join our Facebook group!
I am committed to being a radical giver in my business and I want to build a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. That is one of the reasons I started my Facebook group.
I try to keep it filled with positive, encouraging posts. And posts from other members are helpful and supportive. If you are a radical giver, we would love to have you join us. Once you are accepted into the community, focus on doing a few key tasks to enhance your experience within the group…
Answer Questions from Members
When other members post a question I can answer, I respond. If radical givers have knowledge that can help someone else who is struggling, they share what they know.
When I wanted to know what landing page software was the best, I received lots of advice. One person even did some research and shared the information with me...even though she was using MLSP and not landing page software. Talk about a radical giver!
Share Your Journey with the Group
Don't just focus on helping other members. I openly share my journey...with the group, on my blog, with my list. I am not embarrassed to admit my struggles. It actually encourages my network marketing team to know them. Because if I can do it anyone can.
I am also not embarrassed to admit when I don't know something. I am not the most tech savvy person in the world. So when I need help with something, I often go post in groups that I belong to. Often I will find that someone else has the same question but was too embarrassed to admit it and ask.
Try a Test Run for Someone Else
I have had group members post to the Facebook community that the shopping cart software they had just installed didn’t appear to be working correctly or their ad didn't seem to be running properly, or their website wasn't loading as expected. I took a few minutes to test out the cart, review the ad, and check the website.
Welcome New Members
I regularly ask new members to introduce themselves and their business to the group. Make it a point to welcome them. Ask about their business and who they enjoy working with. This gives you a chance to get to know new members and means you know who to refer a client to when they need a specialized service or product. I connect people all the time. And it always comes back to me 10X!
Create A Thriving Community
I have built a strong network of entrepreneurs I can rely on. I love being able to support them and receive encouragement in return.
If you’re like me and you want to give back to others, consider joining our community, Ninja Marketers.. Then actively participate and engage with the other members, so you can build your own thriving community.
