Imagine this: You’re chilling out in your pajamas, chatting on Facebook, and making money!
Do you want to make this a reality? Then read on because this article is about direct selling parties on Facebook.
I want to help you with some tips, hints, and games to help you increase fun, sales, and bookings.
How to Train Your Dragon Facebook
If you want great results from your Facebook parties, you have to “train” Facebook. Or, more accurately, the Facebook algorithm.
An algorithm is a formula or set of steps to achieve something or solve a problem. In Facebook, the algorithm decides what to show you in your newsfeed and in which order. Everybody’s newsfeed is different because the algorithm takes your own behavior as well as other bits of information into account.
So when you open Facebook, the algorithm looks at all the stories posted by your friends and by the pages that you follow. The algorithm then looks at things like who posted the story and how often they publish, any negative feedback on that author, what time it is now, what device you’re on, what engagement stories already have (the more engagement they have the more likely it is that you’ll see it in your feed), if a friend has already commented, and much more.
The Facebook algorithm uses all that information to make some predictions, such as how likely you are to click on a story, watch a video, share a story, etc. This helps the algorithm decide what to show you in your newsfeed and in what order.
How do you get the algorithm to like you? There are some general recommendations:
- Complete your Facebook profile.
- Publish regularly.
- Create content likely to elicit positive feedback from your audience (positive comments, likes, or reactions. Reactions affect post ranking slightly more than likes). But do not ask for shares or likes – this is frowned upon by the algorithm.
- When you want to post a video use Facebook Live or upload videos to Facebook directly instead of linking to YouTube videos.
- Publish content that promotes engagement and an investment of time from your audience (video content is great for that).
- Post content that’s informative and shareable.
You need to teach the algorithm that the people in your event want to see your posts. Next, you need to ensure that you’re getting good engagement (which is measured by comments, likes or reactions).
When posts have good engagement, the algorithm will value them higher and show your posts to your guests in their daily newsfeed. And this means they don’t just see your posts when they choose to go into your event.
Having your posts showing up in their newsfeed serves as a great reminder of your party and increases the likelihood that they’ll come back to the event.
So, in addition to the general recommendations to “make the algorithm happy” (see the Facebook Algorithm Quick Explainer above), you need to publish posts that create engagement from your Facebook party guests.
But, how do you do that?
Videos Rule the Ranking
One way to get engagement is to create videos for your parties.
You can do a quick Facebook Live to get the party started or demonstrate products.
With Facebook Live, you get a chance to show the authentic you – it’s unedited and “raw”. And people respond to that.
Another reason why Facebook Live works so well is that you can connect with your audience. You can talk to them while you’re doing the Live when they comment so they feel valued and “heard”. The audience can also ask questions and you can immediately answer them, so a Q&A session works well for Facebook Live.
Of course, once a Live is over, the video will stay accessible inside your event so people who’ve missed it can view it later—never done a Live? Check out this guide with screenshots.
If you’re not comfortable doing Lives, at least pre-record a few videos that you can stream for your Facebook parties. Videos rank well, and people enjoy them, but Live videos rank even better (and you don’t need any special software!).
People Love to Play
I’ve also collected a few games and posts designed for a bit of fun and engagement. I’ll talk about each of them below, and I’ve included a bundle of downloadable tiles that are ready to go at your parties (scroll down to download).
Tell Us Your Unicorn Name
There’s something about these types of posts that draw people in. I always get great engagement when I post something like this.
I use these posts for seasonal holidays (Elf Names at Christmas or Easter Bunny Name around Easter), and generic ones such as Unicorn Names, Tropical Names, Pirate Names, Hippie Names, etc at other times of the year.
Guessing Game Contests
For these types of games, I always have a small prize for the winner (the first person to guess correctly), which increases engagement and guests enjoy it.
You could play “How well do you know your host?” Guests have to guess which of four of the options in the image the host likes best.
When you post the image, explain the game and mention the host by name (they may otherwise confuse “host” with you, the party plan consultant). And, of course, tell the guests what the prize is! Then let the guessing begin.
To make this game work for you, create your tiles with pictures of your company’s products. For example, you could have the guests guess which of the products in the image, the host likes best. Another version is to have the guests think about which 4 to 6 products are your company’s best sellers.
These games work well because there’s a bit of competition, and with the product version, the guests will already be thinking about what they’d like to buy!
(Don’t forget to show the host the images in advance so she can let you know what her favorites are!)
Party Points
This game really appeals to the competitive people out there.
In the pre-party post, I include the image, explain how it works, and let the guests know I have prizes for the people with the most points (you can choose to give prizes to the top 3 or reward the number 1).
With this game, you encourage engagement, sales, and bookings!
To make this game work better, provide a leaderboard update a few times throughout your Facebook party.
Book a Party, Pick a Prize
This is a great way to entice people to book their own Facebook or in-home party with you.
People love mystery prizes! You can choose to give hints about each number. You could tell them the type of prize, give them an approximate value, or keep it a complete mystery.
You’ll find a few versions of this booking tile in the bundle, including a Halloween and a Christmas version.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook uses an algorithm to decide what to serve in a person’s newsfeed
- You need ‘train’ the algorithm that your Facebook party guests want to see your posts
- Use video to increase engagement and increase the time people spend on your posts
- Facebook Live ranks incredibly well in the algorithm
- You can make your parties more fun and increase engagement with games
I’ve got a whole bundle of tiles for you that you can use at your next Facebook party. They are ready to go, all you need to do is create a fun post for your Facebook party event!
Always looking for new, fresh ideas for my parties!
What is the best way to track your points for parties?
I don’t know about the best way…I’m an old fashioned pen & paper person 🙂