Day 3: Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing? "Posting to YOUR WALL and News Feed"

Here we are, Day 3 of "Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing?"  On Day 1 we went over mis-using the cr-apps, Day 2 we went over mis-using Private Messages and Private Chats... Today we will go over mis-use of  "The Wall" and the "News Feed"  Plus you get a Bonus Lesson on HOW to use the News Feed to benefit your online business prescence...

This is where my little quote  "you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons." comes in!

Whatever YOU post  where it says "What's on your mind?"   enters the News Feed of every single dingle person on your friend list (assuming they've not hidden your posts due to SPAM that is)

Remember as we discussed before, people who are using Facebook as a tool to build a business need to build relationships.  This involves posting messages about "what is on your mind".   Now if you are ONLY posting about your company, including links to your website, how it is a ground floor opportunity, the phone number to tonight's opportunity call, how you sponsored 20 people this week... well, you are not providing anything of VALUE to your readers.  You simply are posting AD after AD after AD after AD odds are you'll be 'hidden' or 'deleted'....

No one has an opportunity to get to know WHO you are when all you are posting is about only YOUR business.   Remember, you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons...

Your goal is to post information of value, as each person who does read your post has the opportunity to comment on your posting.  When they comment, this automatically goes on to THEIR wall.  So all of a sudden your message has just reached even MORE people, people that are NOT on YOUR friend list.

Each person also has the opportunity when viewing your message to 'share' your posting, if they choose to share your message of VALUE, this will not only be on THEIR wall, it will also be broadcast into the News Feed of EVERYONE on THEIR friend lists....

There is a lot of cross over on Facebook, a GREAT post of VALUE could quickly be shared by someone, who shares it with someone else who then shares it with someone else.  Who then tweets it, and then is retweeted, then someone finds your page because they are curious about who you are, then they ask about your opportunity....

You see, using Facebook for online marketing is SO so much deeper than posting a link.  Let people know WHO you are.  Are you working at home today?  Are you taking the kids to the park?   Are you cooking a brand new recipe for dinner?Add in some little teasers so people will see you as a person, someone with a life, a family, goals.... 

I'm not saying NOT to talk about your business, just do it right.  Maybe one day share that your new company newsletter came out and post a link.  Another day share that a team member hit a goal. Share that you are getting ready to head out for a home party. The key is s * p * r * i * n * k * l * e the business info in every so often.

Another tip, don't go CRAZY with the personal stuff either, s * p * r * i * n * k * l * e!

You'll soon find that you are PASSING on Facebook with Flying Colors and your grade F will fall to the wayside as your relationships grow.  People will be adding YOU as a friend, your credibility will grow and people will be curious about WHO you are AND your business too....

Alethea Anderson
Straight As

Day 2: Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing? "Private Message and Private Chat"

Here we are, day 2 of the series "Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing?"   Yesterday we went over intentional and unintentional App abuse (a term I've coined as cr-app)  Today we will be going over how NOT to use use Private Messaging and Chat.

Private Messages

A very tempting way to send a private, personal message.  Some think they'll have a captive audience as all it takes is 'just a second' for someone to read about your BEST OPPORTUNITY on the face of the planet... But there is a time and a place.  Remember as I said yesterday "you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons".  I'm going to show you how this will BENEFIT you, but not yet.  First the nitty dirty gritty of what you are doing WRONG.

Bad Scenario Number 1:  You request friendship and are accepted, you send your new friend a Private Message and you say "Thank you for adding me!  Have you seen this new ground floor opportunity yet?" with your link attached.  You are GOING to have your message DELETED.  Also keep and eye out where your friend count just went UP one it may go DOWN 1.

Bad Scenario Number 2:  Someone requested YOUR friendship and you accepted, you send your new friend a Private Message and you say "Thank you for the friend request!  I can help you grow your MLM with this amazing automated system!"  See above and watch your friend count DROP.

Bad Scenario Number 3:  You have a new friend, you see they are in the same industry, you decide to ask them a question "are you open to looking at other opportunties"

Bad Scenario Number 4:  You have a new friend, you see they are in the same industry, you write them a note "I see you are with Company X, that looks really interesting, could you tell me more?"  However your INTENT is that you DON'T CARE, you just want a reason to talk about YOUR opportunity.

Private Chat

Bad Scenario Number 1:  Hi.... hi.... hi.... you keep persisting and get no answer.  Let it go, they don't want to talk to you.  Or they are away from their computer.

Bad Scenario Number 2:  "How are you?  Do you like Chocolate?"

Bad Scenario Number 3:  "Could I ask you a favor?"  leading to a request to 'watch a quick video...

Bad Scenario Number 4:  "Hey, will you give me your honest opinion?"   Come on, we all know where it is going...

I hope you can see the pattern here, the above methods are not marketing.  They are shoving an opportunity down someone's throat.  I don't know why people do this, or teach this, but the conversion rate is low. 

The key to a place like Facebook is building relationships.  Be HUMAN, be REAL and if people are interested in YOU they will ask YOU for information.

Plainly put, do NOT do to others, what you do NOT want them to do to you.  How would YOU feel if you got those messages in YOUR Private Message Box?  How would you feel with a bait and switch scenario?

That is always one way to gauge your marketing, you must respect others with the same greatness you expect them to respect you with....

Alethea Anderson
Being Respectful of your Greatness

Day 1: Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing? "Application Spamming" = Cr-App

This is just one is a series of 'Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing?"  Do you abuse your Facebook friends?  Do you know how to turn off the 'auto wall posting' settings for your applications?  Read on...

Facebook is an amazing place, a social networking platform that connects long lost friends, high school senior classes, past room mates, people you worked with, family members and beyond.

But Facebook is also a great tool for the online business builder, if and only IF it is used properly.   Unfortunately Facebook has been found by spammers of all sorts.  Some of them have no idea they are even spamming.

This threee day Series of "Do you FLUNK at Facebook-ing?" will offer you some tips on utilizing Facebook the best way to grow your online business.

Now lets start with Applications (aka apps)

I can promise you that if you are filling people's walls with ihearts, kitten smiles and pillow smacks, you are going to lose a few friends.... You see, these are 'cute' when you are connected with a group of 25 people you knew from high school.   Maybe you send 'drinks' to the gals from the office....  Maybe you share angel blessings with your church group.

But if you are here for business reasons, you need to consider a few things...You see, some apps are manual, you have a choice to go in and send Mary a Mai Tai or Bruce a Beer. Those are great as you are selecting each person manually who gets what on a very personal level.

But some apps have a mind of their own and every time you make a kill on Vampire Wars or complete a batch of Buffalo Wings on Cafe World it is broadcast to EVERYONE'S wall on you friend list.  Again, perhaps not bad if you are soley socializing with a group of bunco buddies, but if you are Networking and have a friends list in the hundreds or thousands you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons.

Now pay attention to this statement "you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons."

Some may think "OH COOL", let me enlighten you.  "This is NOT a good thing if you SPAMMING while attempting to  GROW A BUSINESS ONLINE".

The last thing you want is for an industry great to click 'remove' and wipe you off of his stream, or even worse, delete you as a friend all together.   Your first thought may be "who cares", but let me reiterate.... "you could be broadcasting your activity to hundreds of thousands of persons...."  I will dive deeper into this over the next couple days...  Now you may wonder "WHY would they waste time deleting ME?"  Let me explain....

I am friends with many "big names" in the industry who have maxed out their friend balances (you may have only 5,000 Facebook Friends on your profile) and I am lucky enough to be one of those 5,000.  

Now consider this, what if just 1% of those people had apps on auto pilot?   That is only 50 people, assuming *only* 1% did not change their auto app settings, for just ONE app, that would be 50 automated 'spam' posts per day.   Now what if someone had 5 auto apps, what if 100 people had 5 auto apps?  All of a sudden you are part of a BIG problem clogging up someone's wall with cr-app!

Now your key as a web marketer is to be seen in a positive way, being Mary Mafia or Freddie Farmer in a very public way will certainly lessen your credibility in the Facebook circle, especially if you are making requests for AK-47s and Peach Trees....  So this is what you want to do.  TURN OFF THE AUTO WALL POSTING!

Here's how to edit Facebook App Settings...

Click on the 'Account' tab and a drop down box will fall, then click on 'Application Settings'.  You will see a list of your Applications.  Odds are there will be more here than you even knew about.  Often people join apps on 'accident' and even some of these 'accidental apps' could be spamming your friends' walls.

So first step, delete any app that you do NOT USE.   To delete the app, click the little X to the far right on each line.  Personally I only have 3 Apps, that's it!    Now to edit settings on the apps you use, you'll see next to the app 'edit settings'.  Now go in and click the 'Additional Permissions' and REMOVE the check where it says 'publish recent activity to my wall'. 

Now you also need to utilize the drop down box to the upper right, here you'll see 'recently used' followed by a series of other options, go to every single one on that list and DELETE and EDIT to clean up your applications lists!

Another note, some Apps attempt to bypass their setting by offering you a 'one time' post while in the game, click CANCEL when this happens. i.e you level up in Cafe World and the app asks you 'would you like to share this news with your friends?'  Click CANCEL or else you are SPAMMING!

You are on your way, great work getting rid of the cr-app!  Tomorrow we'll talk about Private Messages and Chats and what NOT to do!

Alethea Anderson
Anti Cr-app

Shine BRIGHTLY from within so the shadows lean the other way...

I just read an article by a Mom who works full time for a well known company that is a bit adult-risque.  She said that other Moms often cast shadows upon her as they feel she has no business being a MOM working in a company associated with girly magazines.

Now all this Mom does is work there, in the office!  Yet others degrade her.  She sounds to be a strong women by the way she worded her article, never the less I could feel her pain...

Growing up I was often cast out and under by others who said I was not good enough, not pretty enough or not smart enough.  Even if they were not putting me down, they were always saying I could work harder, dress different, stand straighter, talk louder or apply myself in other ways.  My errors always gaining attention, my accomplishments thrust to the wayside.

I left a commet on her article and said something along the lines of "Shine brightly from within as this will make the shadows lean the other way..."

I relate this to many in home business as often it only takes one or two people, often those closest to us to say a few damaging words to make us want to quit.  Even myself, when I got involved in MLM had family members who did their best to take the wind out of my sails.  My cure?  I SHINED!

To get from where you are to where you want to be, shine brightly and your route will be well lit for the entire journey!

Alethea Anderson
Bright Light!

Can you REALLY "Set It and Forget It" in Home Business?

Are you wanting a business that is on auto pilot?  You just want to plug in and let "the system" do all the work for you.  You simply want to "set it and forget it"?  

Well I have a little surprise for you.

It's NOT going to work!

Let me explain.   Let's say you were watching an informercial. You got caught in the hype and excitement and ordered the "set it and forget it" oven.   Now, you just got it delivered, it's in its box.  Where's your chicken?   The commercial said you could just "set it and forget it" so why can't you put the box on your kitchen counter top and get your chicken?

Well you obviously know you need to take it out of the box, remove the tape, the cardboard and the plastic inserts and assemble some small parts.  Now all that is done. Where's the golden brown yummy chicken?

Oh yea, you need to plug it in and set it!  But, wait, where's the chicken?

Ok, another step, you have to go to the store, buy the chicken, go home, unwrap the chicken, clean the chicken, season the chicken, pierce the chicken and stick it in the machine.  But you're hungry, you want it NOW!

Well, you still have to turn on the machine and get it going. Eventually you smell the aroma of golden chicken wafting on the breeze and you know it's almost time!

"DING"

The buzzer went off, YAY!   HOT HOT HOT ouch!  Not YET!!!!

Now you  have to use the funny gloves to take out the chicken, put it on a plate, let it cool, then carve it and get it ready for eating!   

Now THERE'S the chicken!  YUM!  The fruits of your labor, but it was a bit more work that you anticipated.  You could not just "set it and forget it" could you?

AND, all that was JUST once, all that effort was just for this one dinner!  PLUS you are not even done yet!

Next you have to clean the machine, you have to wipe out the grease, get those fricken chicken drippins', you have to wipe down the inside and outside. You have to take care of your "set it and forget it" system if you want to keep it running and in tip top shape, so you have to tend to it to make sure it keeps running smoothly!

The next time you want some easy peasy chicken, you have a series of steps to go through.....

I'm hoping by now you've gotten my drift.... No matter how "easy" it is, there is always work involved!  Even with a home business that promises you that you can "set it and forget it", well, it's just not going to happen.  You don't just power up the computer and expect the money to flow in to your bank account, I can guarantee, it will NOT happen!

You have to take all the steps to get that "set it and forget it" system running, you have to maintain it, yes you will enjoy the "chickens" of your labor, but you have to clean up, clean out and keep doing it over and over if you want more and more chicken to keep appearing....

Always remember, you have to take all the steps to prep the chicken now, before you can cook it and enjoy it later....

Alethea Anderson
Chicken Chef Extroadinaire

So tell me, WHY did you start a home based business in Direct Sales, Network Marketing or MLM?

I'm guessing you wanted to make MONEY right?

Have you made any money yet?  If so, fantastical!

Next question, have you made as much as you expected you would have at this point in time?  If so, fantastical!

Next question, are you on the path, right where you want to to be, growing your business?  If so, fantastical!

Sounds like you are on the right path, keep moving forward from where you are to where you want to be!

BUT, if you answered NO to any of the above questions we have a few things to evaluate!

You've made NO money... what steps have you taken towards earning money?  Have you chosen a date for your open house?  Have you booked any home parties?  Have you passed out catalogs?  Have you booked any events?  Have you talked to co-workers, family, friends and neighbors about your product?

If you've done none of the above, well then, you should know why you are not making  money!   If you've done 'some' of the above, well, it many not be enough.... If you've done ALL of the above, SEVERAL times, and had zero success, then it's time to get with leadership and ask for some help...

You've not made AS MUCH as you thought you would...  After you got started, did you KEEP DO-ing?  The most common reason income flatlines in home business is the lack of initiave to keep pressing forward. Often a speed bump gets in the way and instead of gently stepping on the gas to go up and over this petite hurdle, many allow this mere hiccup to stall their entire business.  

If you are experiencing a flat line in income, parties, sales, team building or any aspect of your business consult your coach and leadership team for some tips.

You've not moved down the path as FAR as you thought you would have by now...  You thought you'd have a growing team, whose teams were growing, and their teams were growing.  But you've sponsored no one, or just a couple who have came and left, or a couple who just do 'nothing'.  

It happens!  Don't let this take the wind out of your sails!  When your boat seems to be sitting still, always reach out to leadership to help fill your sails with wind once again.

This industry is not *easy* like a set-it-and-forget-it mini oven.  You DO have to take action steps in order to get from where you are to where you want to be!

Alethea Anderson
Doing What I Love

Leadership : Which Way NOW? How to get Where you want to BE in MLM

Are you feeling LOST in  your home business?

One of the most frequent reasons that someone quits MLM is because they are CONFUSED.  They know to GO, but they don't know HOW to GO or WHERE to GO.

Now there are two parts to this story.  People who don't know how or where to go either...

A) Don't have the courage to ask for  help.

or

B) Don't have the drive to figure it out.

If you are struggling, which applies to YOU?  

When you are stuck in a rut, do you call or email your sponsor and ask for help?

When you are stuck in a rut do you dive into the archives of company information to find an answer to your question?

OR

When you are stuck in a rut do you blame the company and your sponsor for the fact that you are not having success?

The Key Is...

When in trouble, ask for help!  Your sponsor WANTS to help you, and in the rare instance your sponsor is absent, there is someone else upline who will graciously take their place.   Also take initiave, utilize your company tools too to self educate.  If you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, don't rely on someone else to carry you on their back!  Ask for directions and someone will show you what to do and where to go to achieve your goals!

Alethea Anderson
Travel Guide