Why the BIG Facebook Update Shouldn’t Scare You – 5 Ways to Use it to ROCK Your Business

Facebook is doing it again…updating the algorithm!!  But it’s OKAY.  I promise.  Take a deep breath.  The sky is not falling.  The world won’t end.

This may come as a shocker BUT nothing I read in the article, Mark’s Status, actually shocked me!

Now hear me out. In the direct sales world, the core values of gaining customers are actually relationship based. If you are social selling it is even MORE important. Your goal is to get people to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you. This will yield the sales you are aiming for.

Now, throw in the virtual world where you aren’t able to show your amazing real-life qualities and it gets even tougher right? At in-home parties, you can establish eye contact, shake hands, see body language, etc. but in the social selling online, those things are a TAD more difficult. They can see you if you are going LIVE and using video but that really doesn’t convey everything about you or about them, right?

Mark Z states very clearly in these new changes that he originally designed Facebook to be a relationship platform with genuine interactions.  They have strayed from this being the priority. Now, he wants to go back to the grassroots of why he created Facebook in the first place and actually make it a KEY value.

Online Selling the Relational Way

So, how do you do that when you are trying to build an online presence?

I have 5 ways that you can start enhancing organic presence and stop stressing about these “new” updates. (Frankly, they aren’t really new— if you have been doing things the right way all along.)

I have a little secret for you. It might not be mind-blowing for some of you but for many of you, it will ROCK YOUR WORLD.

ENGAGEMENT IS KING on Facebook.

How do you go about making engagement and relationships a priority? How do you get your audience talking? Here are 5 ways to help!

1. Everyone needs a GROUP

Groups are going to be the KEY to these changes. You have a contained audience inside a group. There are so many ways to get a group’s attention. If you update the cover of your group they get a notification, if you create an event in a group they get a notification, if you bring VALUE not just have your hand out for a sale they get MORE notifications.

2. Ask Questions

Ask your fans to make choices. Get their feedback.  Remember, you are trying to get to know them and actually share more about you without verbally vomiting your life story.  FUN, engaging questions are a great place to start. I mean, you can tell a lot about a person when they make a choice between Coke or Pepsi.  Am I right?

3. Pay attention to your Analytics

Are you tracking when you get better responses? Facebook is! So why not test a few times throughout a day to see when your audience responds better and then capitalize on it. Use your Facebook business page insights to tell you what has been working. If you have been posting at the same times for a while these analytics will be tainted.  They only know what you post, so change it up and see if you get better responses.

4. Bring Value

It isn’t always about the sale. The relationships that you are trying to form with your audience are more sustainable when they don’t think you are just out to get money from them. Give them a reason to want to check out your group. Be fun and share things with them that may help them. Don’t just sell to them. Styling tips, do’s and don’ts, shortcuts, recipes, etc. Make it a community where sharing is normal and your engagement will skyrocket! You want your audience to become evangelists for your product, spreading the good word about you EVERYWHERE!

5. Respond to everyone

Yep. Mark has said that those posts that actually have genuine responses and people engaging will be the posts that are shown to MORE of your audience. So that means when you ask questions, you need to give your audience feedback on their response. Of course, when 200 people answer your question about Coke or Pepsi, you may be a bit challenged by responding to everyone… but in the long run, I promise it will be worth the extra effort!

Weather The Updates Like a Pro

Engaging with your audience and actually getting to know them is going to be the absolute BEST thing you can do to weather these updates Facebook has made. If you would like to, go grab my latest Engagement graphics to help you.  These are a great start to start getting your group chatting.

Need more help? Schedule some 1:1 coaching with me!

Let me know which way to increase your engagement you’re going to try first in the comments! Some lucky reader will win a FREE 30 minute session with me for commenting and sharing this post with your fellow direct sellers!