Direct Sales Inspiration - Inspiration, training & resources for members of the Direct Sales Industry
Inspiration, training & resources for members of the Direct Sales Industry
Menu
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Bookings
    • Hostess Coaching
    • Party Games
    • Recruiting
    • Social Media
    • Leadership
    • Business Tips
  • Courses
  • Contact

Category Archives: Social Media

The 1 mistake you don’t want to make on social media

My cringe muscles are getting sore…because I cringe every time I’m on social media and see the one big mistake so many direct sellers make.

I’m sure you’ve seen it too…and maybe you’ve even done it yourself in the past: product dumping and constant begging for parties or recruits.

Posting product image after product image on social media and expecting friends and family to buy them doesn’t work.

I’d be surprised if people even read those posts!

To make matters worse, some of these ‘product dumpers’ use generic company images and descriptions, so the Facebook algorithm doesn’t think that’s unique content and won’t show it to many people at all.

(If you want to understand the Facebook algorithm better so your posts get seen more, just click the explainer below).

Facebook Algorithm Quick Explainer

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 and groups 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 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 which order.

So you want the algorithm to like you to get shown in other people’s newsfeeds. How do you get the algorithm to like you? There are some general recommendations:

  • Complete your Facebook profile.
  • Publish regularly.
  • Create content that 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.
  • Post content that’s informative and shareable.
  • Post content that your audience will spend some time on – for example videos.
  • Post unique content – so no pics or posts copied from your company.

In addition to product dumping, I see plenty ‘general announcement posts’ . The kind that says “I just started with XYZ Company, let me know if you’d like a party”.

And these direct sellers will tell you they’ve “asked everyone” to host a launch party and wonder why their business never really gets off the ground. (If you want to do a great launch, check this article instead).

How to do it well

Social media is all about…well…being social. As a direct seller you’re in the relationship business so you want to build lasting relationships online.

Here are a few things to consider:

Your Business Page or Account

This is an important asset for your business. It’s like an old fashioned Yellow Pages ad.

Google will index your Facebook business page so if people search for you they can find your page. Additionally, if your company allows paid advertising you can do that through your business page or account.

And while this page is separate from your personal page, you do need to show a little of your personality and what sets you apart from other consultants! It’s important to develop your own ‘voice’ and style on that page to attract people.

A business page is vital, but it’s only part of your attraction marketing strategy.

Your Customer or VIP Group

This is where the action is! You want to create lots of activity and engagement in your group and nurture those relationships with your customers and/or hosts.

Your group is more intimate and personal than your business page so you can be a little more personal there. I recommend lots of video content for your group – preferably live video to really build those personal connections (and so the Facebook Algorithm will favor your content).

Your Personal Profile

You can use your personal page or account to talk up your business – but you’ve got to do it well!

You don’t want to post constantly about how amazing your business or your products are. It doesn’t matter how much your business has changed your life for the better, if you post about it a lot you’ll end up annoying people.

PIN: Don't make this 1 mistake on social media. Direct sales tip with free printable.

On the flip side, if someone scrolls through your last 10 posts or so and doesn’t see anything about your business at all you’ve missed an opportunity.

Every now and then talk about your business from a personal angle, after all it’s part of your life. The other thing you want to do is to include a link to your business page in your profile (not to your company’s page, to yours!).

So what do you post?

So if you don’t want to be product dumping or endlessly beg for parties, what do you post?

I have a nice freebie for you I created a while back: a list of 50 social media post ideas specifically for direct sellers. You can get it here. You can use these ideas again and again, creating some fun interesting content that isn’t all about sales or recruiting.

On top of that, I’ve created a calendar for 2021 with awareness days including some ideas of what to post to make the most of that day on your business page. Fill out the form below to receive that freebie now.

Between these two printables you’ll have enough ideas to keep you going all year and attract people to you like a magnet, rather than push them away with spammy or boring content.

And in between these fun and informative posts, you post something about your business, your products and your parties.


If you want to learn more about how to rock your Facebook business pages and your Facebook groups, check out the Attraction Marketing Course.

Explore the Attraction Marketing Course

Unlock the full potential of your sales strategy with GenieChat

The all-in-one CRM solution designed to make your life easier and your profits higher.

The cutting-edge platform simplifies customer relationship management with personal reminders, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect.

Did you know that 50% of sales happen after the fifth touch? GenieChat helps you effortlessly nurture those crucial relationships, maximizing your follow-up average to convert more leads into loyal customers.

Unleash the power of the Magic Message Generator, featuring integrated, unlimited AI-generated replies, answers, and invites that take the guesswork out of communication. But that’s not all—GenieChat’s unlimited duplication and team-sharing capabilities allow you to impart super-seller powers to your team. Share content, scripts, videos, and more with just a click. Say goodbye to missed opportunities and hello to seamless, effective selling with GenieChat.

Explore GenieChat here

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

How to have a massive Black Friday in your Direct Sales Biz

Title: How to have a massive Black Friday in your direct sales biz

Black Friday is coming! This is a massive opportunity for your direct sales biz, especially combined with Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

Although Black Friday started as a US tradition following Thanksgiving, it has spread around the world and is now a global opportunity for us all. But as always, you’ve got to prepare to take advantage of it!

Don’t make this mistake…

I’ve observed many direct sellers making this mistake: focusing entirely on sales during this special weekend. Although Black Friday is a massive sales opportunity, you want to make sure you focus on future business growth too by collecting bookings and encouraging joining.

This is the time to use whatever stock supplies you’ve been able to gather throughout the year and invest them back into your biz this weekend. Offer prizes for everyone who books a December or January event and also put together ‘Lucky Friday’ bundles for everyone who joins your business.

Remember that a new team member is worth the most to your business long-term! Bookings help your business to continue to roll forward while sales are your income right now. Don’t make the mistake of only focusing on your income today – also work to grow your biz for tomorrow!

As very few direct sales companies add joining or booking incentives to their promotions, you’ll have to plan ahead and create your own!

Your Social Media Strategy

The more time you invest throughout the year into developing great online relationships, the better your results will be when it comes to promotions like this.

People don’t like to be sold to constantly, so you want to be adding value or entertainment in your social presence and your VIP groups.

But even if your VIP group is new or you haven’t been posting valuable content throughout the year, there are still some things you can do to promote your awesome Black Friday offers:

  1. Go Live in your customer group. This is a great strategy for a few reasons: Facebook prioritizes live video content in people’s newsfeeds. This means you’ll get great reach with a Facebook Live. Second of all, live videos resonate with people as they can see the real you and catch your enthusiasm and excitement about the offers.
  2. Use every available means to reach your customers. Use emails, text messages or messenger bots to promote your offers. I like to build up text groups and email lists as they are lists that I own and I don’t have to worry about Facebook or Instagram making changes to their platform.
  3. Amplify features and benefits. Make your offers awesome and irresistible to your customers. Here are some ways doing that:
    • Bundle Deals: if your company offers special bundle deals they’ll sell better if you explain the benefits of each product in the bundle and add suggestions who might like to receive these products as a gift.
    • Discount: In the lead-up to Black Friday, encourage your customers to prepare a wishlist and tease them with ‘something exciting coming’ type posts. To make the most of discount offers you can create your own bundles and add a freebie to up the value. This helps to increase the average spend per customer.
    • Build Excitement: Add to the momentum of the weekend by adding your own giveaways. As I mentioned above, it’s a good idea to have some incentives for bookings and joining your team, but you can also use gifts to encourage orders placed by a certain time, the first 20 orders, a draw from all Black Friday orders, orders over a certain amount, etc.
    • In-home Event: Host your own in-home shopping event. There’s nothing better than the excitement of a group of people shopping together. You could even do a Live from the event into an online party or your customer group to share the excitement.

Takeaways:

Pin: Prepare for a MASSIVE Black Friday in your direct sales business.
  • Plan ahead to be ready to make the most of the Black Friday weekend.
  • Don’t just focus on sales. Encourage bookings and joining with special offers.
  • Share your Black Friday offers through text, email, and social media to maximize your customer reach.

I’d really love to hear what you’re planning to do for the Black Friday weekend. Let us know in the comments below!

Learn more!
Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Facebook Party Game: Treasure Hunt

Title: Facebook party treasure hunt

To make your direct sales Facebook parties a success you need interaction from the guests.

There are lots of ways to stimulate interaction (check this article for some information and ideas), with games being a favorite.

Today’s Facebook party game is a treasure hunt. And at the end of the treasure hunt there’s a prize, of course.

The treasure hunt isn’t just fun to do and leads to a prize, the advantage for you is that it nudges guests to check the catalog, videos, or your company website. You encourage them to interact with company materials they might have otherwise skipped!

What you need for the Facebook Treasure Hunt

  • A Facebook party
  • A prize, a discount, free delivery, or a 2-for-1 deal – a ‘treasure’ that your guests can win when they find all the clues
  • Clues
  • Videos and images to go with your treasure hunt posts
  • All relevant links to the catalog, company website or company videos.

How to set up the treasure hunt

The treasure hunt is played over the duration of your Facebook party. It works best over several days. You set up a series of clues for which the guests need to do something to find the answer. Once they’ve found the answers, they win a prize.

For example, if your party runs over 3 days you can create a treasure hunt with 4 questions, two for each day with winner announcements on the last day. Or if you play over 5 days you could do a clue each day and again on the last day do the winner announcements.

This isn’t a set-and-forget game. Guests will PM you with the answer so it’s not public in the comments. This means you’ll need to keep track of who’s solved which question!

At the start of the party, you announce the treasure hunt. You can do this in a video or a post. Either way, make sure you’re very clear on the rules. Include the following information:

  • How many clues there will be
  • The rules to win a prize (do they need to solve all clues? Or just one?)
  • When you’ll announce the winners
  • What the prize is (make a big deal out of this)
  • How to play (check the clue, find the answer, PM you)

Ideas for clues

Because every direct sales company is different, it’s impossible for me to write a script that you can just grab and go. But I can give you a big list of ideas so you can set-up your own treasure hunt. And once you’ve created your own treasure hunt, you can use it again and again.

I highly recommend grabbing the free printable below, it’ll help you to work through setting up your own treasure hunt and create a checklist you can use to tick off your tasks. It also comes with this list of ideas:

  • Ask a question about your welcome video at the start of your Facebook party. The answer can only be found by watching the video.
  • Ask a question about a specific page, product range, or special offer that can be found in the catalog.
  • Ask a question about a company recruiting video. They have to PM you with something they can only know by watching the whole video.
  • Ask for their favorite product of all time or their favorite product a new range.
  • Ask a question about one of your (or your company’s) how-to videos about how to use a specific product.
  • Ask guests something about the host (her favorite product, her ideal holiday, her secret ‘addiction’, etc.)
  • Ask a question that can only be answered by visiting your website (perhaps the ‘about me’ section, product ordering section, FAQ, etc.)
  • Ask a question about a specific product (benefit, ingredient, awards won, etc.) that they can find on the company website or the catalog.
  • Ask the guests to create an account on your website (some companies offer this option) and PM you with their customer number or a screenshot.
  • Ask something about the current host incentives, sales offer or joining incentive.
  • Ask guests to join your email list or VIP group.
  • Ask what’s on a specific page of the catalog (Which product is listed in the top left corner of page 5?)
  • Ask something that they can only know by reading a consultant story in the catalog or company website.
Pinterest: Facebook party treasure hunt

When setting up your treasure hunt, try to create a mix of tasks. You want the guests to view the catalog and at least watch or read something related to joining. Don’t make it all about joining or the company or all about the products, try to mix it up!

For each clue, create a post with a related image. Make sure you include the links they need to solve the clue. If you can do quick videos for all or some of the clues, even better!

Now, grab the printable to set-up your own treasure hunt that you can use in your Facebook parties.

Looking for even more games? Have a look at the Ultimate Games Bundle for Direct Sellers. It comes with 26 done-for-you games for in-home and Facebook parties. Check it out today:

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Why Facebook Watch Parties are perfect for direct sellers

Why Facebook Watch Parties are perfect for Direct Sellers

I think Facebook Watch Parties are the most exciting new feature for direct sellers to hit Facebook in the last 2 years.

If you don’t want to go Live on Facebook but still want to experience the benefits of a Live video…you will love Watch Parties.

Facebook has openly said that YouTube is their main competitor, so they are focusing much more of their attention on the video components of Facebook. The algorithm already massively favors video, especially Live video. But if you don’t want to go Live, you can still get all the benefits from the algorithm and more with Watch Parties!

What is 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 as a publisher? Here 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.
  • Publish content that promotes engagement and an investment of time from your audience (video content or polls are great for that).
  • Post content that’s informative and shareable.

So what’s so awesome about Facebook Watch Parties?

Facebook Watch Party

Awesome thing #1: You can stream any video that’s publicly available on Facebook

When you start a Watch Party, Facebook will stream the video live and treats it as though it’s a Facebook Live.

This means that you can stream a company recruitment video, for example, as though it’s your live video. Previously, if you shared a video from another page or group, its reach was very limited.

The other advantage is for people who are not fond of doing live videos. You can pre-record your videos and then use them in a Watch Party and still get the benefits of a Facebook Live. The Facebook algorithm will give your Watch Party the same priority and reach as if you’re doing a Live!

Awesome thing #2: You can invite people to your Watch Party

You can invite people to join your Watch Party, which increases the chances they’ll join. You can’t do this for a Facebook Live!

This is a powerful feature because people will get a notification about your Watch Party when it’s about to start.

Awesome thing #3: You can comment during the video

When you’re doing a Facebook Live, you can’t also type comments at the same time. When you’re doing a Watch Party you can be there and comment and chat with your leads, online party guests or customers.

This increases interaction and engagement with the video which the algorithm loves. And when the algorithm learns that people like your content, your content will show up in their newsfeeds more!

Awesome thing #4: You can schedule your Watch Parties

You can’t schedule a Facebook Live unless you use a third-party service such as BeLive. But you can schedule your Watch Party, so you can announce it in advance in your group or on your page.

Awesome thing #5: You can put multiple videos in your Watch Party

You can create a ‘playlist’ of videos in your Watch Party. This might come in handy if you have a series of product videos that go together, for example. And you can add videos during the Watch Party!

Limitations of Watch Parties

Facebook Watch Parties for Direct Sellers

When people miss the ‘screening’ they cannot replay it. Watch Parties are not like Netflix but more like broadcast television. Once the show is over, it’s over. However, your videos will still be visible as a post. So although the live interactive component is not accessible afterwards, people can still watch the videos of the Watch Party.

You can only use videos that are publicly available on Facebook. That means that videos you’ve shared in closed groups or secret groups cannot be used outside of those groups. You can create a Watch Party inside the group and use videos that you shared inside that group, you just can’t take it out of the group.

When you invite people to your Watch Party, they don’t get that invite until it begins. This means people who are invited aren’t notified in advance even if you’ve scheduled the party. You could manually message people separately to alert them ahead of time but that’s a lot of work.

How you can use Watch Parties in your direct sales business

Here are some ideas on how to use Watch Parties in your Facebook groups or Facebook business page:

  • Pre-record a welcome video for your Facebook parties and invite all guests to the Watch Party. This will be a great reminder that the Facebook party is happening now and you can re-use the video for other parties instead of going live every time.
  • Pre-record a product demonstration. You can then use this in your customer group, Facebook parties, on your business page, etc. Invite guests or group members to your Watch Party and be sure to interact in the comments.
  • When you’re doing an online recruiting event, you can use your company recruitment video or pre-record your own recruiting video. Invite your leads to watch the video with you in the Watch Party.
  • Pre-record a video with your monthly specials or offers. Create a Watch Party in your customer group, invite members and make sure you’re interacting in the comments for questions, bookings or sales.
  • In your team Facebook group you can create a Watch Party for training videos. You can be in the comments to clarify things. This is a great way to get the team together to learn a new feature or get brand new teamies together doing training with you online. With your invites you can target the team members you would like to ‘attend’.

I hope you can see the potential of Watch Parties for your business. I’m also curious how you guys are using Watch Parties, so please comment below.

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

How to capitalize on Easter for your direct sales business

How to capitalize on easter for your direct sales business

Do you want to have an eggcelent Easter this year? (sorry, couldn’t resist a cheesy pun)

In this article I have 5 ideas for you to capitalize on Easter in your direct sales or party plan biz.

1. Booking Incentives

Create an Easter-themed booking incentive by adding some brightly colored Easter eggs with a product and/or a bottle of wine. Wrap this all up with a pretty ribbon and some cellophane. The trick to making booking incentives like this work for you is to make them look beautiful and enticing.

Offer these incentives to guests who book a party in April or in the week before Easter – whatever dates you want to highlight in your calendar. Adding some cute Easter eggs really adds to the visual appeal of your incentive and strengthens your seasonal theme.

Promote your Easter theme at parties and your social media.

2. Guessing Competition

This is a great little game that you can play in-home or online (or both).

Fill a jar with mini Easter eggs to create a guessing competition where people guess the number of eggs in the jar.

You can use this an icebreaker at your in-home parties by taking it along and putting it on your display. Also take a good photo of the jar and post it on your social media for an online competition in your customer group or on your business page.

You’ll need a prize for the winners and you can also give away the jar itself as a prize at your last in-home party (or online) before Easter.

3. Chocolate Games

How to make the most of Easter in your direct sales business. Read the 5 quick and easy tips!

Easter is a great opportunity to use a Chocolate theme in your parties. As you know I love themes – themes really help your parties to stand out and it will help you to get more bookings.

I have a fun chocolate game you can download here but I’ve also got a host coaching trick and chocolate game combination called “Chocolate Extravaganza” that you can read about here.

4. Facebook Tiles

If you’re running any Facebook parties in April, you’ll want to add some Easter-themed games to your parties. Also add some tiles to your business page and customer groups to add some seasonal fun and engagement.

Read this article on how to increase interaction and grab the free Easter-themed Facebook games.

5. Customer Love

Our aim with our direct sales businesses should be to be remarkable. And little things like having a bowl of Easter eggs at the ‘check-out’ at your parties makes you stand out.

I also like to pop in a few mini Easter eggs with my deliveries in the weeks leading up to Easter. Small thoughtful gestures like these make you remarkable!

Are you looking for more games to add to your stash? Check out the Ultimate Games Bundle for Direct Sellers. It comes with 26 done-for-you games for in-home and Facebook parties. Check it out now!

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

How to use social proof

Title:5 Ways to Use Social Proof In Your Direct Sales Business

5 Ways to Use Social Proof In Your Direct Sales Business

When I say “use social proof in your business” that might sound really complicated and ‘businessy’…but it’s actually not hard and is proven to work well.

What is this social proof thing?

Social influence or social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people copy the actions of others, it’s a type of conformity. Or, as some people say “monkey see, monkey do”.

Here’s an example: If you’re looking for a place to have lunch and you’re driving past a few cafĂ©s or restaurants…which one will you pick? The one with 1 lonely car parked out the front or the one with 7 cars already parked in their car park? 

Most people will pick the restaurant with 7 cars. Because they figure that since so many other people are eating there, it must be good. It’s proven by the behavior of others = social proof.

So how can you use social proof in your party plan or direct sales business? I have 5 tips for you:


Tip 1: Testimonials

You can get reviews and stars on your Facebook Business Page. We all use reviews and testimonials when shopping for services or products – your customers are no different.

You can encourage happy hosts or customers to leave a review on your page to get the process started.

Pinterest: 5 Easy ways to use social proof in your direct sales business

Sometimes people message or email me with a lovely thank you that reads almost as a testimonial. I always ask them if I can use that message on my social media pages and I ask if I can use their picture with it as well.

I want to use their picture because research has shown that testimonials are considered more trustworthy when they’re accompanied by a photo!

I then create a tile (in Canva) or screenshot their message and then I post that across my social media channels – don’t be shy when people praise you 🙂

Tip 2: Storytelling

Tell stories at your parties or showings. Tell stories in your Facebook Lives. We humans are hardwired to love stories and to imagine ourselves in the story. So you want to tell stories!

What stories do you want to tell? How a recent host had a fabulous party and so much fun. Or maybe the initial success of a new team member…or your recent incentive trip…or that one of your guests said that she didn’t expect to really enjoy the party but did…

You want to tell interesting stories that people can relate to. Stories that make them imagine they can have a fun party or join your team and have great success.

Tip 3: Storyboards

A free collage like this can act as your storyboard.

Add a story board to your display for your in-home parties. It’s a great piece of social proof. This example has been created with a free photo collage app.

With your storyboard you can highlight the friends you’ve made, the lifestyle you’ve created with your business, past fun parties, themes, your customer appreciation event, workshops, etc.

You can print off a collage like this in color on glossy paper to add to your display or you can use it in digital form.

During your party, refer to you story board and tell the story behind some of the images to bring it to life and enhance engagement.

Some people use photo albums for this purpose. And they would fit more pictures,  but only a few people will flip through them so I prefer story boards.

Tip 4: Share Milestones

On your social media you want to share your milestones as part of your social proof strategy. Here are some ideas of milestones to share:

  • Reaching X followers on your Facebook business page or Instagram profile
  • Reaching X customers in your business
  • Running your Xth party
  • Business anniversaries
  • Achieving career elevation with your company
  • Achieving a sales goal
  • Receiving an award or prize

The key when sharing milestones is not to brag but to show your happiness and gratitude!

Tip 5: Share customers’ love for your products

Encourage your customers to share their love for your products on social media. You could introduce special hashtag or re-post social media posts from your customers. 

I kick-start this customer-driven social proof a few times a year by creating “Review Crews” in my VIP customer groups. I make it more compelling by offering some prizes or discounts to the “Review Crew”. 

You could also offer a monthly reward to your customers. Everybody who writes a product review or does a product shout-out on social media, goes in the draw for a prize.


Okay, over to you. What are you doing in your business to use the power of social proof? Leave a comment below with what you already do or what you’re planning to implement after reading this article.

Learn more!
Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Tips for Taking Great Phone Pics

Title: 5 Easy Tips for Taking Great Photos with Your Mobile Phone5 Easy Tips for Taking Great Photos with Your Mobile Phone

Great images are a vital tool for marketing your direct sales or party plan business online.

Facebook’s algorithm favors quality, unique images. Have you noticed how hardly anybody notices the images you post that are produced by your company? That’s because hundreds, if not thousands, of other consultants have already shared them.

Images that you create yourself will have a much higher impact and be seen by far more people on your business page or your groups and events. The better quality your image is, the better your reach will be.

And it isn’t hard to improve your photos with a few tweaks. And you don’t need professional gear – your smartphone or iPhone will be perfect!

Lightbox

Pinterest: 5 Easy tips for taking great photos with your mobile phoneLighting is very important in photography. One the best ‘hacks’ I’ve found is to use a “light box” when I’m taking photos of my products. A light box traditionally provides even lighting and a solid background color. In my case I use the back of a wall planner. It’s glossy white and the perfect size to provide that clean white background.

I make sure to open the blinds to get the maximum of natural light and I turn on my overhead light (even during the day – but be careful of shadows) . And by putting my colorful products on this beautiful glossy white background, they pop in my photos.

You can use any glossy white cardboard – but I discovered my unused wall planner had the perfect backing .

Selfies

If you take photos of make-up or jewelry or outfits, consider investing in a ring light and mini tripod. A ring light sits around your phone camera and lights up your face beautifully without harsh shadows. You can get ring lights in a variety of price brackets, but check out this budget version on Amazon!

A tripod will help you to keep your phone steady when you take photos. Another option is a selfie-stick for shots from different angles. This Bluetooth selfie stick transforms into a tripod – the perfect budget option.

Flat-Lays

An example of a flat lay photo.
An example of a summer-themed flat lay photo.

If you really want your images to stand out, jump on the ‘flat lay’ trend. Flat lays are photos of a bunch of objects taken from above.

A good flat lay uses a clean background, not too many objects and has some space between the objects.

Think of a theme for your photos. For example if you have a beauty product with citrus as an ingredient you can use oranges or lemons. Grab a good looking lemon or orange, perhaps some green leaves from your garden, and of course the product (s).  Now don’t go putting strawberries in the photo – stick to your citrus theme!

Then create yourself a little still-life that looks good from above  – you’ll have to lay bottles flat for example – and make sure you have enough natural light without harsh shadows.

Now you’re ready to take some photos & done!

A clever trick to make your flat lays look amazing is to use marble gloss contact for your background.

Technical Tips

Exposure example
The exposure circle tells the camera how to adjust for the lighting conditions. In the top photo, the camera is adjusting for the bright outside light, in the bottom photo the circle is on the Christmas cards so the camera knows to adjust for the object!

  • Use natural light whenever possible. You can boost it with your overhead lights or yourflash. Avoid taking photographs only lit by flash, you’ll get harsh shadows. When you use flash during the day it can help to soften some of the shadows created by your light source.
  • Do not zoom in. Ever. The zoom on many smartphones is not like a camera lens, it’s a digital trick and reduces the quality of your images. Instead get closer to your subject or crop it later (in Canva for example or your favorite photo app).
  • Adjust the exposure. It’s as easy as tapping your screen or dragging the exposure square or circle over to the object you want to photograph.

Play with Color

Selective color example
Selective color example

A fun way to make your products stand out is to turn everything in your image to black and white except for the product. The Color Touch Effects app on Android or Color Pop Effects for iOS will do the job for you for free.

Another option is to create a scene or still life of products all in one color. You can also go the other way and create a rainbow of color options.

Images are such a great way to express your personality and capture your products and business in a new way.

We’d love to see what you’ve been up to with your smartphone, show your results in the Direct Sales Inspiration Facebook page.

Learn how to rock your online marketing

Attraction Marketing for Direct SellersLearn how to be active and sell on Facebook without annoying people and without spamming anybody – it’s called attraction marketing.

Learn how to maximize your Facebook Business Page, how to build an active Facebook Group and how to work with the Facebook algorithm.

Learn about the magic of video and how to do it well and learn all about avatars and how to get one for free.

Each Module contains a video presentation in which Christine talks you through the topic. Each presentation is filled with examples, explanations of why it works and tips. You’ll also get plenty of downloadables and printables to use immediately in your direct sales business.

Check out the Attraction Marketing Course

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Social Media Post Ideas

Title: 50 Social Media Post Ideas50 Social Media Post Ideas

Wondering what to post on your business social media page today? We’ve got you covered with 50 (!) ideas that you can use.

Our checklist contains ideas for direct sellers that practice attraction marketing  (a way of marketing on social media without being spammy) and can be used again and again.

The aim of this list is to help you make your business pages unique and interesting.

Boooooring Facebook Pages

I see so many direct sales pages that are boring because they only contain the company’s branded content and only talk about the company or the products.

These types of pages don’t get much attention. Not only is it not interesting for fans or followers, but Facebook’s algorithm won’t rate them highly either. So these pages get buried at the bottom of the feed, if shown at all.

What is 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.
  • 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.

Posts with Personality

Facebook, and most importantly your fans, like to see real content.

Content with personality, content that’s interesting, content with useful resources or tips, content that’s unique.

This is why you want to create your own unique images and not just re-use the company’s branded content. Facebook will rank images that are used by lots of people lower than unique content.

And when you have plenty of interesting and unique content on your business page, you’re ranked well by Facebook. When that happens, Facebook is more likely to show your followers any branded content when you do share a company video or image.

9-1-1

A handy rule of thumb for what to post is the “9-1-1” rule. Out of every 11 posts, you post 9 unique and interesting bits of content, one promotional post (perhaps provided by your company) and one personal post.

The personal post will give your fans an insight into who you are, why you do what you do, and an insight to your life (eg. family, study, other work, hobbies, interests, talents, pets). This helps your fans and customers to relate to you as a person. You are, after all,  in the relationship business. People buy from you, not from a faceless company.

The downloadable list provides you with ideas for each post type.

I view my Facebook business page as a Yellow Pages advertisement for the 21st century. It’s important to stand out from the crowd, to be unique, and to be authentically you. When you do that, you will attract your ideal customers and fans and build on the relationships you already have.

I generate quite a lot of new and repeat business from my Facebook page. If you follow these tips and use the downloadable list to get you started, you can too!


Downloadable: 50 Social Media Post Ideas
Attraction Marketing for Direct Sellers

If you want to learn more about how to rock your Facebook business pages and your Facebook groups, check out the Attraction Marketing Course.

In the course you’ll learn how to maximize your business page and groups, how to create your own online brand, how to create videos and images for social media, and you’ll learn about avatars.

If you believe that you could make better use of social media in your direct sales business, this is the course for you!

Check What’s In the Course

Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Attraction Marketing

Attraction Marketing (Interview)

How do you market your direct sales biz online without being salesy or spammy…?

The answer: Attraction Marketing.

To explain what attraction marketing is and how to do it, I’ve interviewed Rochelle Nicole.

In the interview Rochelle will take us behind the scenes on her actual Facebook business page. She explains how she is using attraction marketing to boost her direct sales business.

Rochelle has built a direct selling empire online. She’s done this by branding herself on social media in the small pockets of time in between living her life and working an intense full-time job.

She’s generated a massive following on social media that she’s leveraging into her business.

I particularly love her advice for Do’s and Don’ts on Social Media and the 10-4-1 rule.

Check out my interview with Rochelle Nicole in the video below and then grab the FREE Attraction Marketing Planner to help you with your own Facebook business page!

Let us know where to send the Attraction Marketing Planner and we’ll send it to you immediately!

Attraction Marketing for Direct SellersLearn how to rock your attraction marketing

Learn how to be active and selling on Facebook without annoying people and without spamming anybody.

Learn how to build an active Facebook Group.

Learn about the magic of video and how to do it well.

Each Module contains a video presentation in which Christine talks you through the topic. Each presentation is filled with examples, explanations of why it works and tips. You’ll also get plenty of downloadables and printables to use in your direct sales business.

Check out the Attraction Marketing Course
Share
  • Pin it
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Posts navigation

Previous Page 1 2 3

ULTIMATE PRINTABLE & SOCIAL MEDIA BUNDLE

Take your direct sales business to the next level with the Ultimate Printable & Social Media Bundle! Get proven resources including 50 printables, 50 social media tiles and 70+ inspirational quotes at incredible value
Click here to grab your bundle!

GROWING YOUR DIRECT SALES TEAM

AVAILABLE GLOBALLY

CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR COPY!

Direct Sales Inspiration

Direct Sales Inspiration is THE website for party plan consultants and direct sellers with passion.

Whether you’re brand new and just getting started or you’re busy building your empire, I’ve got tips, help, and FREE printables for you.

Explore this site, join the direct sales tribe on Facebook, and drop me line to say hello!

Find us here:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Custom 3

Search Direct Sales Inspiration

View our Privacy Policy here.

View our Cookie Policy here.

Copyright Direct Sales Inspiration
Angie Makes Feminine WordPress Themes