On a recent private attraction marketing members training session, Ray Higdon shared some key methods he uses in attracting leaders to his MLM business and the details of his own daily social media marketing plan. Ray is, as of this writing, the top earner in his primary company and his blog is ranked in the top 38,000 worldwide for traffic. He has been involved in the network marketing industry for only 4 years at this time. His methods are simple, but perhaps not easy, yet he believes that anyone would just need to be hungry enough and really want it to achieve a similar level of success.

In his core social media marketing strategy, Ray leverages Twitter, which is currently the 10th most visited website in the world. His advice is NOT to automate your tweets, which for many first comes to mind, although you can automate your direct messages, etc. To do this, Ray recommends using SocialOomph, which can automate following those who follow you, send direct messages new followers, provide notification of mentions/messages, and be used to manage unlimited accounts. 90% of marketers are immediately sending a sales page to new followers, which causes many to un-follow them and immediately disassociate. Ray recommends, rather than sending your favorite business link, to simply send an automated Facebook invite. Why? Because Facebook is actually the #1 place to do marketing online at the moment, and he can there develop the relationship that is crucial to the networking/recruiting process. Ray recently found and enrolled a million dollar earner in his network marketing company using this method.

Ray’s daily plan of attack is based on the fact that discipline trumps talent. He sees talented people all the time who are lazy. He believes that with a disciplined approach, this strategy absolutely will work in the long-haul to generate very large checks. Ray does the same routine each day, beginning around 4:30 am, regardless of how he feels, the weather, etc. His daily plan of attack is as follows:

1. Read, comment and re-tweet 10 MLM or marketing blogs per day in your niche. A tip Ray uses is to be the first comment, which generally gets him the most notice.
2. Search out and follow 20 MLM leaders on Twitter per day. Twellow.com and search.twitter.com can be used to find these people. SocialOomph will send an automated message to those who, in return follow you, simultaneously inviting them to now join you as a friend on Facebook, where you’ll develop a relationship and get them on your marketing list.
3. Then from these leads, find a way to get 2-5 people to tell you NO to your opportunity per day. For those that say no, you can offer them a funded proposal solution to their marketing needs, if appropriate. Ray normally leads with his MLM opportunity, unless the prospect is highly radioactive about their own company at the outset.
4. Create one piece of content per day (blog, article, video, etc.), which can be sent to your marketing list.

Ray Higdon’s methods are not only refreshing, but offer some great insights and secrets in a unique social media marketing plan and automation method. His social media marketing plan is aggressive, but will work for anyone who has a minimal Internet aptitude and willingness to put forth the needed effort.

According to a 2009 Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries, 90% say they trust recommendations from a friend above all other options. That’s not surprising but what is illuminating is the second highest trust agents, coming in at a whopping 70%, was consumer opinions posted online and on brand websites.

Word of mouth or buzz marketing has always been the Holy Grail of brand growth but also the most challenging to generate on a budget. Small and mid-sized businesses often find themselves struggling to find cost effective new ways to promote themselves, their special offerings and create positive buzz about themselves.

Social media platforms provide a way for entrepreneurs and businesses, small and large, to generate word of mouth buzz without busting the budget. Even digital immigrants can translate good old fashioned customer service into new media customer engagement with a minimum amount of effort. Social media marketing is, in the end, still marketing and a strategic marketing plan can utilize this new delivery system for that message.

From media giants like Comcast whose nearly 38,000 Twitter followers carry on a lively daily conversation aimed at providing the best customer service possible to local Philadelphia television station, the CW Philly who makes live Twitter responses to morning broadcasts a regular segment on their show to Draught Horse, a pub and restaurant using Twitter to announce special giveaways and events to their more modest list of 230 followers, businesses are reaching out to consumers via social media.

In addition to communicating with current and potential customers via Facebook and Twitter, social media is an efficient and real-time reputation management tool. Philadelphia’s mass transit system, SEPTA, posts regular notices of delays or problems on Twitter to keep riders up to date. Comcast responds to customer complaints on their Twitter page, quickly and in plain site, earning them a reputation as a customer-focused company.

The Neilsen report is worth reading for other insights into consumer trust factors such as editorial content, brand sponsorships and television.