If you’re in direct sales, or considering starting a direct selling company, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about social media. Yes, you may have heard at your convention that members of the sales force are starting to use it for their direct selling businesses. Maybe some of your consultants have set up a Facebook Fan Page. But does YOUR company need to get started with social media? Is it really worth the time you’ll need to invest to get it set up properly? And then, do you have the time to maintain your social media presence once you’ve set everything up?

The answer is that now is the PERFECT time to put the power of social media to work for your company. Think about it. Direct sales is a networking business. Our success comes from the number of people we can get in front of each month. The more people that know about us and what we do, the more likely we will find the customers and team members that will help us achieve the success we’re dreaming of.

Social media is growing EXPONENTIALLY. Every day, more and more people are signing up for accounts on tools such as Facebook and Twitter. Consider these statistics:

• Facebook is the largest social networking site (over 70 million users in the US alone)
• More than 120 million users log on to Facebook each day
• Twitter has more than 26.5 million US users monthly, and has grown 1,382% in the last year (475,000 users in Feb ’08 to 7,038,000 users in Feb ’09)

If you were invited to a party with that many people, and knew you could specifically meet the people in your target market at that party, would you show up? Of course!!! The more people you meet, the more money you make. Of course, you have to use your networking skills. You need to ask about others, make connections, give and share, and generally be a nice and helpful person that engages others. However, at the end of the day, the law of averages states that you’ll find people who want to do business with you.

Despite the crazy numbers above, social media is still in its infancy. If you want to ride the tidal wave to unprecedented growth, get started NOW, before the market is so flooded that your voice can’t be heard. Establish yourself NOW within social media, and it will significantly benefit your business for years to come.

Social media also levels the playing field a bit between smaller direct sales companies and larger ones.  One of the largest limitations that smaller companies have faced is the fact that with a larger sales force, bigger companies can just reach more people.  Again that law of averages comes into play.  But with social media, EVERYONE can reach that large an audience when the tools are used strategically.  And that can give your company an edge that wasn’t possible before.

What do you think? Have you used social media to build your direct sales company? What results have you enjoyed? Would love to read your comments below!

Jennifer Fong

Jennifer Fong helps direct sales companies leverage the power of social media marketing to increase sales and recruiting, and manage online brand perception. To learn more about how Jennifer can help your company, visit http://luceandassociates.com/Jennifer-Fong.html.  You can also check out her direct sales and social media blog at http://jenfongspeaks.com.