Is Social Media Changing the MLM Industry?

Unless you have been in a comma for the past few years or living under a rock somewhere it will come as no surprise to you that the use of social media has been adopted by a large number of MLM professionals. More to the point social media has been adopted by a large number of companies as an important part of their overall marketing program.

Before we delve into the impact social media is having on the MLM industry and business in general, let’s define the MLM industry to ensure that we are all on the same page.

According to Wikipedia:

“Multi-level marketing (MLM), (also called network marketing) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by some companies as part of their overall marketing strategy.

The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduce to the company, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation.

The products and company are usually marketed directly to consumers and potential business partners by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing.”

If you will take note I have taken the liberty of putting in BOLD the most important part of the entire description of Multi-Level Marketing. If you are part of the Direct Selling industry, regardless of how you have classified your business (Network Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Direct Sales, MLM, etc) the one thing that remains constant is the your business is built based on relationships, referrals and word of mouth marketing.

This undeniable fact has been part of the MLM industry since its inception and is as true today has it was then.

As a quick recap of the history of the MLM industry, there have been numerous innovations that have provided new tools, methods and strategies for the building of one’s MLM business. Originally, most people were contacted in person, via the phone or invited to an opportunity presentation to hear a big name speaker tell them about how great life could be.

Then over the years and as the result of advances in technology (Cassette tapes, VCR’s, Faxes, CD’s, DVD’s, the Internet, Webinars, Cell phones, Texting, Podcasts, etc, etc) MLM professionals started leveraging technology to increase communications, ease the enrollment process, reduce travel, and most importantly expand their marketing reach.

All of these advancements have provided some type of boost to business in general and the MLM industry is no exception. As we have discussed the advent of Social media is no different. While there are numerous people that are just in the beginning stages of adopting social media as a strategy for the marketing of their business, there are many who have perfected the use of these new tools/strategies.

For many the thought of building a business without the use of many of the social media tools would be like going back to the stone ages. Some of the top social media tools in use by MLM business builders are:

*Blogs
*Facebook
*LinkedIn
*YouTube
*Social bookmarking sites
*Forums

For many of you there will be no surprise that Twitter is listed as the favorite among the largest percentage of users.

Now back to our original question: Is Social Media Changing the MLM Industry?

NO!

Social media is no more changing the MLM industry than any of the other advances in technology that have arrived on the scene during the history of MLM. Social media is yet another tool that can be added to your tool box as a method of building your business – Nothing more, nothing less.

I will not deny the fact that social media holds a wealth of potential when it comes to exposure for your business, putting you in a position to establish contacts that you never would have in the past and most importantly offers a wealth of possibilities when it comes to staying in touch with your organization. However, the fact remains that we are in a relationship industry that requires you to build relationships, establish trust, provide training for your new recruits, complete your follow-ups, etc, etc. In short all of the things that were required in the past are still required today.

There are WAY too many people that are being told or think for some reason that social media will allow them to start a business, flip a switch and somehow they will magically have a business that is generating the lifestyle for them that they have always dreamed of.

The good news is that is NOT true. What do I mean good news?

That is the good news because if that were not true everyone would be starting a business, earning a six figure annual income next month and the industry would not survive. In short if it were easy everyone would be doing and your pay would be drastically reduced. I don’t know about you, but I am happy about the fact that there is still some work required.

Does social media offer some huge advantages over what was available to the MLM industry just a few short years ago?

YES!

However, with that said keep in mind that you still have to learn what you are doing, understand your opportunity and most importantly you must still be able to create trust with the people you are connecting with. Things are easier today than they were even ten years ago, but success is still reserved for those who are willing to be persistent.

To Your Success!

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