There's no denying it – influence marketing is powerful.

If you're looking for a way to capture the attention of your ideal client or target audience, then you need to be tapping into someone who already has their attention!

Why Influencer Marketing in 2020?

🔍 33% of Millenials Trust Blog Reviews. 

🔍 40% of People Reported That They Bought Online After Seeing an Influencer Use it. 

BUT heads up!  

Not every influencer with a million followers is getting TRUE engagement. Don't overlook 2,000 – 5,000 follower accounts! 

🔍 Some accounts with 1,000 followers receive 8% of engagement – which is actually pretty high.

🔍 If 48% of Marketers are Increasing Their Budget on Influencer Focused Campaigns, Why Wouldn't We as Network Marketers?

If you don't already know, an influencer is someone in your niche or industry with sway over your target audience. Their established presence in a niche makes them a useful resource for brands in search of credibility and brand awareness. While there are different types of influencers out there (famous figures, bloggers, industry experts, etc.), it's important you choose one that best aligns with your product and/or brand.

So let me ask you, Heeler:

Are you ready to 10x your business?

Are you anxious to take your business to the next level?

Are you looking to bring social media influencers on board?

Can I get a “Yaassss!” 💁‍♀️

Reaching out to online influencers is a great way to expand your business. They are an amazing resource because they’ve built an online brand and already have influence. You will directly benefit from recruiting influencers because their success translates into success for you as well.

In this episode of the Slay Online Sales Series, 👠 I’ll be sharing with you How to Prospect Online Influencers for Your Network Marketing Business

I'm so excited to be sharing with you an interview I was apart of focusing on how to prospect online influencers for your Network Marketing business, with none other than my guy, John Melton.

John Melton is a top 100 income earners and one of the most distinguished trainers in the Network Marketing industry. After spending 10 years building his business using traditional methods, John and his wife, Nadya, realized that the cost they had to pay was too high and it was taking a toll on their family. This led them to explore and develop various online marketing strategies until they found the formula that worked for them and their team. Over the past three years, their organization has brought in over $100 million in sales and over 300,000 new customers. All without home parties, meeting presentations, and three-way calls! John and Nadya have learned from and coached some of the most important names in the industry. Today, they travel the world, spend valuable time with their family and teach entrepreneurs of all types how to build a profitable business on Social Media, and their thousands of students are a testament to the level of success you can achieve when you use simple and duplicatable online strategies.

Let's jump right in!

John: For the people who don’t know you, can you give them a little background info about you?

Marina: I went to school and got a degree in Accounting. Before I got started in Network Marketing, I was working for a third party company for Amazon. I was in a cubicle with three computers at my desk. I was overworked, overtired, and a single mom at the time. I missed my daughter’s first steps and was not happy with where I was in life. Then I got an opportunity in Network Marketing and instinctively knew it was my way out.

John: When was this?

Marina: This was 2012.

John: So it only took you 8 years to get where you are today?

Marina: Yes, but my first two years in the industry sucked. 😖 As a single mom trying to get a sitter, then driving two hours to see that nobody showed up was discouraging. I had no idea what I was doing and I had no influence. I was trying to recruit people I already knew personally and they weren’t interested.

I almost gave up but around 2014, my mindset changed.

There was a point in my life when I worked in a club and sold bottles. I was really good at it and it was fast money. So I thought to myself: Since I was so great at selling $200 bottles to strangers during that time, why can’t I sell to strangers on social media for a $200 sign up?

Then in 2014, I started using Facebook for selling and recruiting for my network marketing business, and amazing things happened. In 2015, I became a full-time marketer and started building my brand. The rest is history and here we are now. ✨

John: You latched on to social media pretty early on. When did you make the switch to Instagram?

Marina: I’ve been on Instagram since the beginning, but I was only using it for personal reasons. I noticed that it was easier to connect with strangers on Instagram because there wasn’t that friend request game. Once I figured this out in 2015, I knew it was game on. I was building on both Facebook and Instagram at that time. On Facebook, I was utilizing groups to build my business while Instagram served as a faster way to connect to leads. 

Instagram was very different in 2015 than it is today. DM’s were kind of weird and Stories didn’t exist, but it was still working for me. I found that people who wanted influence (bloggers, people building brands, etc…) were over on Instagram. Reaching out to people wasn’t like pulling teeth. It became really simple and I gained the confidence to talk to anyone. From that point on I was on fire. 🔥

John: Can you tell us about how you came up with your 3-3-3 method?

Marina: Prospecting was never fun for me but I knew that I had to do it to be successful. I found that when I cold messaged people and got rejected too many times, I would freeze and not do anything for my business. There were times I was in the friend zone for 6 months before I would even reach out.

Then I thought: How can I warm someone up faster before offering the opportunity I’m presenting to them? I had to figure out how I could rip the band-aid off and ask if they were open without feeling too salesy. That’s when my 3-3-3 method was born.

I realized that people liked something that I too enjoy: compliments. That’s when I started complimenting people to break the barrier and would then ask them if they were open 3 days later. Even if they said no, I found that they were still paying attention to me and they were converting within months. Then I took it one step further, and asked my team to use this method with 10 people per day. That’s 300 band-aids being ripped off per day- It seemed like a no-brainer to me.

John: Can you break down how your 3-3-3 method works?

Marina: An important thing to understand before prospecting influencers is that influencers are attracted to the type of person who knows what they want, where they’re going, and the impact they want to make. It’s important to put confident vibes out when reaching out to an influencer, or you won’t hold their attention. You need to make an impression immediately with the posture of “I got your back” and “We can make this work”.

Keeping all these things in mind, my 3-3-3 method is the following:

Like 3 of their posts, comment on three of their posts, and react or reply to three of their stories.

When commenting or DM’ing, focus on things like complimenting their accomplishments or showing them who you are through your mission statement. Ask them about their mission statement and impact goals. Have a conversation with them and compliment them. Do this for 3 days through DM’s, stories, and posts. Then on the 3rd day, rip off the band-aid. 🩹🙌

For example: After 3 days of doing this, I could say to you: John, I’ve been watching you. I like your style, posts, and honesty (Compliment). I know what I want. You know what you want. I think together we could impact people and make some money. You have an amazing following and I don’t know if you’re making money off it or not, but I could show you how. Are you open to taking a look at how I can help you do this? (Rip off the Band Aid)

There are people on Instagram with a massive following who haven’t made a single dollar off that following. Now is the time to reach out to these influencers! Click To Tweet

John: I actually heard that 90% of Instagram influencers with over 10,000 followers have not monetized their following. There are around 9 million influencers who haven’t made any money off of their influence. 🤦‍♀️

Marina: Oh for sure. The problem with it too is that they think they’re going to be paid to post. Some of these influencers are getting a small one-time payment, and others just get some free products in the mail. My goal is teaching influencers how to make residual income over and over again, not just once.

Now think of Facebook Influencers. These are the admins of groups with thousands of members. Half of them built the group by accident and a lot of them aren’t even making any money off this massive following.

John: The beauty in it is that a lot of these people have built something organically and want to get paid. Their problem is that they don’t know how to do it in a way that is aligned with their brand.

If Influencers know your product is legit or the opportunity is legit, they would absolutely promote it to their audience. Another truth is that it’s not just about the product or the company, but the trust they have in you as a person. 💯

When choosing influencers, focus on:

1.) People with admin rights to a large Facebook group

2.) People with large amounts of YouTube subscribers

3.) People with large followings on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Marina: What about Tik Tok?

John: 97% of Marketers are not using Tik Tok yet. That means 97% of your competition isn’t using this platform.

Marina: I got 200 leads in one day using Tik Tok and I don’t even post every day. So get on Tik Tok because it’s an untapped market.

John: What I love about Tik Tok is that you can upload a video, and then repurpose it for your Instagram Stories, IGTV, or Facebook. 📲

All of these platforms have potential.

There are people with massive followings across all platforms. You just have to figure out which one you want to spend your time on. I personally like Instagram because you don’t have to play the friend request game.

It’s important to look at it through the eyes of the influencer. People are reaching out to them all the time. Figure out a way to stand out. What is it they want? They want people to share their content.

Marina: They want collaboration

John: What would you say to someone just starting out with a small following who is not sure how to build up their credibility?

Marina: I’ll start off with an example; When I was a snob on Instagram, I thought that the best influencers had lots of followers. I ended up losing an amazing influencer. She only had 200 Instagram followers, but she also had a group with 300,000 people.

I would suggest getting really consistent. If you can 3-3-3 three influencers a day, be consistent with your Stories, and create a post every other day, you’re good.

You don’t have to get a million likes on something for it to matter to one person. If you have influence over 1 person, you’re an influencer. 🔊 Whether it’s 10 people or a million, you’re making an IMPACT. Don’t focus on the numbers. The 3-3-3 method works for everyone, not just Network Marketers.

Looking to spend less time texting that long list of customers? What if you could reach all those customers at the same time, with just the touch of a button?

Then you have to check out one of my all-time favorite apps, Project Broadcast. It allows me to easily keep track of conversations, send out mass promotional texts, and so much more! Sign up HERE for a new Project Broadcast account and receive DOUBLE credits for your first month!

John: So to sum it all up, what does 3-3-3 stand for again?

Marina: Make 3 comments on 3 of their posts. Reply to 3 of their stories. Do this for 3 days focusing on complimenting and connecting. Then, on the fourth day, rip off the band-aid and ask if they’re open to collaborating with you or monetizing the following they have.

So get out there, use this 3-3-3 method, make connections, and stay consistent. This will help you reach out to influencers in a way that is authentic.

Remember that these influencers are bombarded daily by robotic scripts and solicitation, so complimenting and connecting is the best way to get their attention and hold on to it. 🤝

I want you to remember that I too went through a phase where I felt all my efforts were being wasted.

Trust me, I've been there. But if I can leave you with 1 thing today, Heeler, it is to show you how to avoid those feelings of rejection and how to start utilizing these valuable resources that are at your literal fingertips! 

if you've found this information valuable, I hope you start connecting with influencers right away! I know you've got this. 🙏

For more on this topic, check out the full My Lifestyle Academy Podcast featuring me, Marina Simone, where I go into detail on “How to Prospect Online Influencers for Your Network Marketing Business”. 

Until Next Time Heeler,
Marina Simone 👠

The Leader Lab – Learn More

If you are tired of dumping money on do-it-yourself courses and wasting hours of your time away from your family to build a duplicatable system on social media while building an attractive brand that creates residual income. All you have to do is follow the formulas + blueprints that I have created and simply PLUG + PLAY. No more feeling guilty because you are spending 5+ hours a day on you phone ignoring your kids and family trying to build your business on social media.