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An IBO’s Dos and Don’ts for Social Media
Social media can open a lot of doors for you, both
personally and professionally. It can provide ample
opportunity to sponsor people you already know and
communicate with IBOs and customers who are Internet
savvy. However, to use social media wisely, you must
know the pitfalls and blind spots, and that’s what we
intend to show you here: Social Media Dos and Don’ts for
IBOs.
What you can do
• create a social media presence for your personal self.
• also create a social media presence for your business;
you may want to start by adding only your upline and
downline.
• use the social media to solidify existing relationships; meet new people and over time establish a personal or
business relationship.
• set privacy and security levels that allow you to control who has access to you and what you say for your
comfort level.
• interact with others just as anyone else would, following the
Amway Global Rules of Conduct.
• invite others to join (follow/friend) you, although you should never do so out of the blue.
• accept others’ invitations to join (follow/friend) them, but be wary of people you don’t know.
• check with your upline Platinum and Emerald for social media strategies.
• reject anyone you don’t know, and some services recommend it.
• join groups, including official Amway Global groups or pages and suggest others do so, too.
• address others by being helpful in your areas of expertise.
• begin slowly and work your way up, learning how best to use the site for you while remaining in good standing
with
Amway Global.
• If someone shows interest in the opportunity or products, interact with them personally, not publicly. On
Twitter you should Direct Message them (requires mutual following); on
Facebook you should message them through your inbox;
on a blog you should post your e-mail address in
your profile and have them e-mail you; if you know their e-mail address
(often part of their profile or posting), e-mail them. Sponsoring may only be conducted when the prospect is physically present.
Note
that in some social media circles, it matters how you follow or friend
others. For instance, some on
Twitter take offense if they follow you and
you don’t automatically follow them back. However, you aren’t required to
automatically follow them back and you may find it more manageable to sort
through people who have followed you and follow back based on criteria that
matter to you. LinkedIn advises you not to connect with people you don’t
know, yet you will likely receive requests to connect with people out of the
clear blue. Most blogs allow you to block commenters, and some allow others
to follow you, although not in the same way as in Twitter. Use discretion in deciding whom to follow/friend/connect with,
especially as you learn what you’re doing. Not everyone will make a good
social match online just as in real life.
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You Can...
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Facebook
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LinkedIn
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MySpace
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YouTube
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Twitter |
Blogs
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Have
a personal page
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Have a business page
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x
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Invite friends/followers
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x
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x
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x
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x
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|
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Accept friends/followers
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x |
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Block unwanted followers
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x
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|
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x |
x
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Start a group
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x
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x
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x
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|
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x |
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Join a social group
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x
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x
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x
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x
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|
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Join an official AG group
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x
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|
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x
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x |
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Join a professional group
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x |
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Introduce your friends to others
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x
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x
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x
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x |
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Mentor others in your profession
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x
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Keep profiles private or limited
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Ask/answer questions
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x
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x
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|
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x |
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Upload photos
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Create a photo album
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x
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x
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Upload videos
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x
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|
x
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x
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|
x |
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Link to a video source
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x |
x
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Start a video channel
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x
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x
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What you cannot do
• violate any of the Amway Global Rules of Conduct.
• use any
Amway Global trade names or trademarks as part of your username/handle or group names or business
pages or site names.
• display products or logos on any unauthorized pages or albums, even as avatars or profile images.
• give out your Amway Global ID or KEY on public pages.
• try to blind-sponsor anyone online or cold-contact someone for sponsoring; you must have an existing personal
or business relationship to contact them.
• try to sell someone products online or cold contact them for selling; you must have an existing personal or
business relationship to contact them.
• “spam” someone, sending unsolicited commercial messages or links.
• provide
a link to any product site or sales page not
approved by
Amway Global.
• do business with IBOs from other lines of sponsorship or other groups (crosslining)
• follow/friend/connect with everyone who asks for it – use good social judgment
• conduct follow-up opportunity or sales messaging in public – message them personally; sponsoring must be
conducted when the prospect is physically present.
What we’re seeing.
Examples of violations we are already seeing on social media sites include
• lots
of conflicting
Artistry,
Nutrilite,
Ribbon, product-related groups on Facebook
• Twitter account names using Amway Global trade names or trademarks
• cold or blind sponsoring and sales offers on Twitter and Facebook
• giving out of Amway Global IDs and KEYs on Twitter and Facebook
• links in messages to pages selling Amway Global products
• product shots and Amway Global logos on MySpace pages
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You Can't...
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All Social Media Sites
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Use AG tradenames
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x
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Use AG trademarks
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x
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Display products
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x
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Crossline
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x
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Cold contact - sponsoring
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x
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Cold contact – selling products
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x
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Sell products publicly
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x
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Offer the opportunity publicly
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x
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Respond to opportunity/sales inquiries publicly
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x
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Give out your AG ID and/or KEY
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x
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Send spam messages/comments
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x
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