I received an interesting message last week from a Facebook contact of mine, someone who knows I coach/speak within the network marketing profession and that I’ve worked very closely with the top leaders in one particular company for almost 10 years.
She shared that she had been “friended” on Facebook by a few different reps from this particular company. Once they were part of her network – these individuals promptly added her personal info to their email lists (without her permission) and proceeded to bombard her with promotions related to their products and business.
Not only is this practice a big on-line “no-no” (known as spamming) but these consultants also neglected to include an “opt-out” link or any easy way for my friend to get OFF their email list (another big no-no) – which of course, only compounded my friend’s frustration. She reached out to ask if I knew whether reps were being “encouraged” to use these tactics by the leaders in the organization, as it appeared several of them were doing so.
Knowing the company in question (and both the corporate and field leaders to be total professionals with the utmost integrity) I assured her I was certain this was NOT a policy encouraged within the organization, but rather the result of some overly enthusiastic (and likely under-educated) consultants excited to make some new sales.
I shared there were undoubtedly reps from numerous other network marketing/direct sales companies making the same mistake, and encouraged her to not let this experience reflect badly on the organization as a whole. Nevertheless – the damage was done.
My friend removed these reps from her network and confided in me she would never do business with them or the company. Frankly, I can’t say I blame her. Although a relatively “minor incident”, it does make me wonder just how frequently is this kind of business-building behavior happening on sites like Facebook, and how costly it is to a network marketing company’s image overall?
I’m sure we all agree that the internet (and social media sites) provide ENORMOUS power. You can spread a positive message about the value of your products and business opportunity to thousands of people (who might never hear of your business in any other way). When your prospects and customers have a wonderful experience – the resulting “good press” can spread like wildfire, boosting a company’s image and attracting new sales and business for everyone.
On the flip side, when someone has a crummy experience (as did my friend) the compounding effects of bad press on the internet can cause exponential damage. Bad news seems to travel faster and be repeated more on the internet – so even a few instances of “poor business practices” by even a handful of consultants can rapidly tarnish your company’s image- costing EVERYONE in the process.
The internet provides a massive magnifying glass – accentuating the positives (or the negative) aspects of any organization to the world. For that reason – I strongly encourage ALL network marketers to get educated about “best practices” on-line. You can create enormous value for your prospects, build positive PR for your company AND still make lot of sales and money if you truly understand some fundamental keys of “on-line marketing”.
Here are a few important keys to know when networking on Facebook and growing your business on-line.
1. Gathering People’s email Addresses and Blasting Them With Unsolicited Information is Illegal
Otherwise known as “spamming” this practice is illegal and monitored closely on-line. The CAN-SPAM Act is enforced by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Justice has authority to enforce criminal sanctions (and fines up to $11,000) for each instance. Ouch!
One of the most common spamming violations involves “harvesting email addresses from websites or web services” and then using these to contact individuals for commercial purposes (which is exactly what you are doing if you are taking people’s email addresses off their Facebook profile, website or business card – and then adding them to your own email list without their permission)!
Besides the obvious legal issues – you also risk having your own email address or system being “shut down” by your provider. Both internet providers (like your local cable or DSL service) AND email systems (like Constant Contact, AWeber, etc) carefully monitor spam reports and complaints, and if there are too many associated with your email account, they will shut you down making it impossible for you to send and receive ANY email (even legitimate ones) to your contacts, customers and team.
Considering how much time and hassle it is to set up a new email address and notify all your contacts (not to mention the leads and business you’ll lose in the process) this situation is just too costly to your reputation, bottom line and business growth. Don’t do it!
2. Blasting People With Emails They Haven’t Asked to Receive is Highly Ineffective
How do you feel when you scan your inbox and see a handful of spam messages? Most of us feel a sense of annoyance, quickly delete them (or mark them as “spam”) and move on. You can be sure your contacts will do the same. If you are blasting your contacts with email promotions and messages they didn’t ask to receive, you can be sure they will ultimately ignore and delete your messages (but not without first connecting some of those same negative feelings to you and your company in the process).
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