AVON and Social Media Marketing

AVON’s Advertising Policy Encourages Social Media Marketing

Last year AVON brought out a new advertising policy stating what Independent AVON Representatives could and could not do as far as advertising is concerned. Last Week’s webinar sent several Higher level Reps scrambling as they hurried to pull down dot com sites which were in direct violation of AVON’s advertising policy. Other Reps who were new to AVON and had not had the opportunity to read the policy, were in a tizzy about what exactly the policy allows and does not allow.
One thing the Advertizing policy specifically encourages is the use of Social Media Marketing. AVON Representatives are allowed to sell products through Social Media sites. A Social Media site is one in which the participants must sign in as a member. Two such sites recommended in the advertising policy are Twitter and Facebook.
This article addresses 10 key factors for businesses starting to use Social Media for marketing their businesses. I reblogged this from a great article in the online version of Entrepreneur Magazine.

A quick guide for business based on “10 Rules for Social Media Marketing” by Susan Gunelius

Social media marketing can help build an audience, and customer base dramatically.  However, starting without a roadmap can make it confusing.
Using these 10 tips will help us better serve our clients,brand, and more importantly our bottom line. Not just with AVON, but in our other businesses as well.These 10 tips can help us make the best use of our social media time, rather than flailing around in the dark.
1. Listen Up!  We have two ears and one mouth -use the same proportion in social media discourses. Listen to find out what is important to your target audience by reading what they have to say, and joining discussions. When we know what people need, then we can offer info that adds value instead of clutter. Then keep listening , to gauge how your work is received.
2. Focus Makes more Committed Followers
Specializing rather than being a jack-of-all-trades helps build a strong brand. In the fast-paced Internet, a persona focused on one thing, helps people to categorize  and organize their connections. This is one reason some people will develop separate identities for different purposes.For example an AVON Lady persona, a gardening granny, and a savvy sewer would be giving different info to different people.
3. Follower Quality vs Quantity .While it is possible to purchase followers, having quality online connections who chat with you about your info is better than people who pop in, then disappear.
4. Be Patient Content Marketing and Social Media usually require long haul commitments. Rarely does success happen overnight, so stay the course and celebrate small achievements..

5. Quality Content Increases Spread. When people find content they love, word can spread like wildfire. You will find it referenced by people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, their own blogs and more. This creates more for search engines like Google to point at, which in turn can grow to hundreds and thousands of potential new clients.
6. Know your Influencers Who are people listening to in your market? Find out who has an audience that would be interested in your product or service. Connect with those influencers , and build relationships with them. Get on their radar with interesting,useful information that shows your knowledge, so they have something to share with their own followers. Sharing this type of info can putting your business in front of a huge new audience.
7. Bring Something of Value.  Spend more time on creating helpful, interesting content, and developing relationships with online influencers than  promoting products and services.  Constant promotion causes people to tune out. Gradually, online influencers will spread the word about what you have helped them achieve.
8. Use Your Manners Just as you wouldn’t snub someone who greeted you on the street, acknowledge everyone who reaches out to you online. Build relationships to bring social media marketing success. Your courtesy will bring referrals from the most unlikely places at times.
9. Don’t Disappear Be consistent in publishing content and sharing conversations. Online Followers can be fickle and will drop you like a hot potato if you disappear for weeks or months. If you will be off-grid for a while, try to leave a note to let people know what’s happening.
10. Golden Rule Want people to say something nice about your business or share your content? Budget some time to focus on sharing, and talking about content others publish.The Golden Rule applies strongly in Social Media.
By and large, Social Media Marketing success lies in being less self-centered, and more focussed on the needs of clients. When you think of it- isn’t that what truly successful marketing is all about?
Hope this was a useful article for you with your business. Questions? Click”Post a Comment” below to leave me a confidential message. Your Questions or comments will only be published with your permission. If this article was as clear as mud, let me know so I can rewrite it. Remember, all members of Future Dynamics get free web help!
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Read the original article by Susan Gunelius CEO of KeySplash Creative Inc., on Entrepreneur. (Accessed Mar.1,2011).