Your guide to creating social media networks. Why use social networks? The ability to create real human connections and relationships is one of the main benefits of social media networks for business. It's a quick and easy way to reach out to customers and have interactions with them on networks like Facebook, Instagram or twitter, to name a few. 10 benefits to social networking. Let's take a look at a few more benefits to sharing your business through social networks: 1. It's free to use. 2. It helps shape the personality of your brand and your story. 3. It's the present, and the future for businesses to reach more people. 4. You can participate in two-way conversations. 5. Gain loyal followers who will share your business with others and increase your brand awareness. 6. Better customer satisfaction with personalised interaction. 7. It's a softer way to advertise your products and increase your sales. 8. You can track the success of the activity on the network to see if your approach is working. 9. You can tailor your approach to your audience with social listening. 10.You can gain insights into your customers needs through social activities.
Which network should I use? There are several social networks to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. Let's take a look at the main ones. Now you have a better understanding of the pros and cons, let's take a deeper dive into the most popular networks, and how you can quickly set these up to build relationships and boost your sales. Facebook. Many Reps and Sales Leaders create a private Facebook group and invite their customers. The goal is to build relationships, and over time, convert engaged members to be loyal, repeat customers and shop with you how it suits them. You may hear this group referred to as an `exclusive customer group. You may even convert some of your customers into Reps as they will see how much fun you're having in your own group. 3 tips for a group that builds connections. Build your group by really connecting with people you meet and personally inviting them to join your exclusive group, invite your friends, family and people in your network. It takes time to build up a group where there is lots of engagement, so don't expect overnight results, but remember, just because people may not comment on your posts, it doesn't mean they haven't seen them. The most successful customer groups are used to keep customers engaged and to attract new customers, not just for quick sales. Not focusing on selling all the time is key, your business will naturally grow if you always try and focus on the benefits for your members of being in the group. Always think `what's in it for them' to keep your audience engaged. Remember the 80/20 rule. Selling posts should only account for 20% of your overall posts in the group, the other 80% should be engaging with inspiration, tips, tutorials, asking for feedback and customer testimonials. Don't forget to have fun in your group too! Keep your page focused on customers and prospective Reps. If you're a Sales Leader, you may wish to add your team to your own exclusive customer group to give them ideas and confidence to run their own, but remembering that they should create content of their own that sounds like, and. How to set up and share your group. Create a group. From your personal Facebook profile, select "Groups" then click on `Create Group'. Choose a name. Choose any name you'd like. If you have `Avon' in the name, you must also include the word `Rep' or your name. Select privacy settings. Select "private group" in the privacy settings, and select `visible' in the hide group settings. This means anyone (like a new customer) can find your group, but only members can view content, making it more exclusive. Select `create group'. Invite people. From your friends list, invite people to your group, or search for customers. Then select `next'. Top Tip - Send them a personalised message after to let them know why you would love them to join your group, and what's in it for them. Add a photo and description. Add a cover photo that best represents what your group is about, along with a description. Select `create group'. Set the tone of the group and welcome new members with a post. Then select `done', and you're all set with your new exclusive customer group.
Instagram has become one of the most popular social platforms because it offers an easy tool for customization and self expression. Although the global audience is smaller than that of Facebook, it's more popular among younger audiences. Mostly used as an app, Instagram only permits you to post photos and short videos, so has less opportunities to share various types of media like Facebook. Building your Instagram profile. As with Facebook, building a profile that's impactful and attracts new customers is key to your success on Instagram. Want to know more? Watch this video to start building your business profile. Creating posts. Now you've set up your profile, you can explore Instagram to understand all it's functions, learn how to follow others, as well as create your own posts, stories and direct message people. Check out this video for more info. Creating Insta reels. If you love sharing videos, then Instagram Reels is a great way to create short, entertaining videos Record and edit multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools. You can share reels with your followers on Feed, and, if you have a public account, make them available to the wider Instagram community through a new space in Explore.
Twitter is a blend of instant messaging, blogging, and texting, with a wide audience appeal. You can create short messages, called tweets, of no more than 280 characters. If you fancy yourself a bit of a writer with something to say, then Twitter is a channel worth exploring. It can also be about building a following of people who are interested in you and your business or hobbies, and then providing those followers with some knowledge value every day. As with Facebook and Instagram, give careful consideration to your profile. Twitter works well with other social tools, including Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger. For example, if you like a tweet and want to share it on your Instagram story, tap the tweet, then tap the Share icon and choose Instagram Stories. Remember, you can also share products direct from your online store link to your Twitter account, as well as your other social networks.
Although Tiktok launched back on 2017, this fun, entertaining and addictive app has recently seen a rapid growth in popularity, hosting a variety of short-form entertaining user videos with a duration of up to 3 minutes. It's easy content creation, sharing and viewing as the watching process takes minimal effort, and an accessible way to get close to your favourite celebs! TikTok doesn't have any space for display ads, and is not even in competition with other social media platforms, in terms of it being a marketing channel. However, due to its fast growth and rising popularity, many brands are now realising its potential with techniques like TikTok challenges and contests to get users to generate brand-related content. Brands are also leveraging hashtags, in a more or less similar fashion as on other social media platforms, to promote their TikTok marketing campaigns.
What and when to post. Just like on your personal page, you will build connections by sharing posts that show your lifestyle, relate to products, the opportunity to shop with you, host an Avon party or join your team. However, because your customers have opted in to join your group, or follow you, remember that your mix should be 20% posts regarding sales and the Avon opportunity, and 80% sharing on a personal level E.G. Your hero product of the day, looks you have planned for your upcoming date night etc. Always end with an engaging question like "who loves this shade of lipstick?" or "what's your favourite shade?". The best times for the most engagement Monday-Sunday are 9am, 1pm and 3pm. Posting at 1pm will get you more shares, and posting at 3pm will get you more likes. With Facebook, the best way to learn what times are best for your group is by checking what your own group `insights' are. These will tell you which style of your posts gain the most engagement so you can adapt and repeat.
Posting schedule. Check out our posting schedule example with some ideas on best practice when it comes to scheduling your group posts. Remember to always put your own personal spin on these and make them yours. Your customers buy from you, so those personal touches are vital. Scheduling your posts allows you to plan ahead and be organised, and you can keep posting content at the best times, without other priorities being affected. Weekly posting suggestions. Motivational. Sundays and Mondays are perfect days to share a motivational meme or post of a business owner girl/boy boss getting it done. Beauty tips and trends. Check out Avon Connect for some great tips on using skin care and applying make-up. Share the latest beauty trends in your brochures. Sneak peak. Share a sneak peek of new products that you've purchased from First Look that are coming soon, or using the `Weekly Want' images that are shared on the Avon Facebook community.
Tips for getting started online. Do: Start with the social channel where you have the most followers. Reach out personally to those that interact with your posts. Share your store link with them, or invite them to host their own party. Go live, be natural, express your personality, and keep it short! Stick to the 80/20 rule. Create posts at least 3 x per week. Ensure product related posts look professional, using images, videos or links. Use social images from Avon. Always put a link to your online store in your profile. Reply and react to comments and inputs from people. Make your profile visible to the public - let everyone know you do Avon! Share personal success stories and milestones - everyone wants to see you succeed! Follow local groups so that you can reach out to new customers, or advertise events and special offers. Don't: Overload people with too many messages about your business. Feel like you have to use all social channels. Use what feels comfortable for you. Only post `sales' posts. Ensure you use a lot of conversation starters in your posts, ask questions. Never post pictures of brochure pages as it will not attract attention. Avoid creating posts that are text only as it won't grab attention.