Not Trying to Start a Fight, But... Re: Facebook

[The Pickler]

Howdy all!

ok....I've read all through this and the online policies and still have one question.

If someone emails me either personal email or facebook and asks me to send them a link to my website, what do I say?

I've had a couple people do that and am worried, that if I respond with my website link, they'll forward it on and I'll be breaking policy?

 

[pampchefsarah]

If you respond via e-mail or personal FB message you are allowed to provide your link. You can't post it on your wall on FB, but a private message is fine, because it's not searchable (as in a search engine).

 

[The Pickler]

Cool! Thanks much.

 

[Jennifer E]

I have not read all the comments yet, but has anyone thought about getting as many consultants as possible to write letters to HO asking them to revise/update their policy about FB? I wonder if they started to receive a lot of letters about this issue, they might decide it warranted taking another look at. Updating the policy would benefit PC in at least two ways: 1. They would not have to police FB pages as much and 2. They might see increased profits.
I do understand why they have the rules that they have, but times have changed and more and more contact is done nowadays through the internet. Is it the best way to do business, probably not, but it is 2010 afterall!

 

[CAPCnewbie]

I came across a facebook page for a consultant that some of my friends had joined (no, its not mine because I just have my PWS) I assumed it was ok because she's been in the business awhile. If its against policies I'd like to let her know but dont want to receive backlash from her. Do I just ignore it?

 

[Rosebud]

you could just report it to HO and let them deal with it. She'll never know it was you.

 

[MakinBacon]

WE can't control how our hosts contact people and invite them to order.

This is the problem I'm having. I have a big web presence as an individual (not as a consultant) because my hubby is military and we use the internet to communicate with friends in 3 countries and in 6 time zones. So, I'm online a LOT updating friends and family on how we're doing as a family, how hubby is doing with work, and how our son is growing.

That being said, MANY of my contacts also spend a lot of time online because of similar reasons---military families communicating with those back home.

My host from Jan apparently posted a link to my site on a chat room that SHE frequents advertising her show (i have an account, but rarely sign in to it and so I hadn't seen her post). I personally have no way of removing it and its MONTHS old now, but I JUST got an e-mail because someone searched the archives of this site and found her post and reported it. Not that I fault them for reporting it, but its just annoying because its so old.

I'm hoping she removes it quickly I don't want my site to be blocked! I have a BUSY April coming up and am hoping to have 2 catalog shows for the end of March too---mostly online shows!

 

[ivykeep]

Depending on how your facebook privacy setting are set, it is essentially just "email" and is NOT google searchable if you have on strong privacy settings so that only FRIENDS can see your posts (not "everyone" or "friends of friends")@MakinBacon, you can send an email to the site admin of the site she posted it on and ask them to remove the link.The silly things is that even if the link is removed it will STILL be searchable because of sites like archive.org that archive public sites at a point in time... but a "chat room" shouldn't be keeping the chats...

 

[MakinBacon]

Thanks Ivy---My host removed it already. She checks e-mail like 900 times a day (like me )

 

[K_Baker]

I agree with Wendy!!

 

[Nanisu]

Chris Manion did. Course the upper ups CAN market on the internet....

 

[AJPratt]

I have friends who say "just Facebook me" when they want me to get them info. People are so plugged into their iPhones and such that they are dialed into the internet for all sources of information, FB being a big part of their information input for the day.

Yes... when I would tell people I wasn't on FB, I would get a scrunched up nose look. LOL

 

[Cr8vKitchen]

Just my two cents...for what it's worth. I'm happy to hear (from one of the many previous posts) that PC is re-considering their stance on FB, social networking, etc. That being said, to maintain the integrity, personal relationships, keeping the playing field level, I do believe there must be rules set for such. Perhaps to post anything PC on social networking sites, your site must be completely private..meaning only 'friends' can view it. Just a thought. I think when individual consultants become searchable we can get into very muddy areas that may cause the integrity the company to change...and I, for one, don't want to see that happen. There are specific reasons I chose PC and while I'm all about social networking, I don't want to see those reasons change.

I love my social networking sites and I hope in the near future the rules are changed but the one thing that we can almost be sure of- it will never just be a 'free for all'...I'm certain there are be strict rules in place...as there should be! I do understand both sides of the debate.

Again...just my two cents!

 

[pampered_momma]

OK, wait a minute. I can't list that I am a consultant on FB? What sense does that maked for marketing? Does PC realize how many people I can reach via FB? Can I post when I am holding shows? Or post when I am taking orders or offering specials? I am new and haven't hear some of these rules before.

 

[NooraK]

The rules are outlined in The Consultant Policy Guide which is available on CC:

https://www.pamperedchef.com/images/cc/us/pdf/consultant_policy_guide.pdf

The Advertising and Publicity Policies start on page 35 (36 of the PDF), Internet/Web specific starts on page 37 (38 of the PDF).

The specific parts are:

Links to Your Personal Web Site
Consultants of every level are prohibited from linking to
their Pampered Chef® Personal Web Sites. This includes
both sponsored links and banner ads that you pay for, as
well as non-sponsored links that you don’t pay for. For
instance, if a friend posts a link on their family’s Web site
to your Personal Web Site, you would be in violation of this
policy. Additionally, any other form of advertising on the
Web is prohibited.

Other than signing up for a Pampered Chef® Personal Web Site
or approved vendor sites, do not list the company name when
filling out personal profiles on the Internet.

If you have not read through the PG, I highly recommend it. It has a lot of very good information. Even if you don't retain it all after the first reading, you'll know where to go to find the answers when you need them.

 

[Chef Kearns]

My biggest complaint is with people who make it their business to search out other consultants only to report them to HO without giving them an opportunity to correct the mistake themselves. Get a life people!! Yes, there are people breaking the rules. There always will be. Just do your own business to the best of your ability and let HO police their consultants. That is their business!

 

[AJPratt]

My biggest complaint is with people who make it their business to search out other consultants only to report them to HO without giving them an opportunity to correct the mistake themselves. Get a life people!! Yes, there are people breaking the rules. There always will be. Just do your own business to the best of your ability and let HO police their consultants. That is their business!

I agree. I am way too busy to worry about what others are doing. I figure let HO police it.

 

[pampered_momma]

WOW. I am really glad I stumbled on this. I was so excited to get started that I don't think I retained my of the info I read. I know I didn't read this though. Mostly what I remembered is I have a good deal of freedom with flyers and business card designs, right? Because we are military and our friends and family are so far spread apart, FB is the easiest way for me to reach all of our friends both local and far away. I also agree it is sort of like bumping into people in the hallway. I never really use it for communication with people who are local, I prefer a more personal interaction, but for those who are across the country this has really helped. I didn't read every post here, but can I use my FB email to email the people in my contacts? Some of them never use other email addresses.

 

[NooraK]

Yes, you can use the FB message system to send individual messages to your contacts. And that'll probably work better than posting something on your wall anyway. It's individual, and directed at that one person which makes them more likely to respond.

There have been rumors swirling about HO adjusting the policy, and a lot of people are hoping for an announcment at NC. We'll just have to wait and see!

 

[etteluap70PC]

Yes, you can use the FB message system to send individual messages to your contacts. And that'll probably work better than posting something on your wall anyway. It's individual, and directed at that one person which makes them more likely to respond.

There have been rumors swirling about HO adjusting the policy, and a lot of people are hoping for an announcment at NC. We'll just have to wait and see!

Yes we are all hoping but I am not holding my breath and will do my best to not be disappointed if this does not change. I need to get back to basics! FB has not helped me hardly at all to grow my biz accept that my far away FB friends now know what I do. You know the people I had lost contact with after moving a bunch of times.

 

[chefsteph07]

My biggest complaint is with people who make it their business to search out other consultants only to report them to HO without giving them an opportunity to correct the mistake themselves. Get a life people!! Yes, there are people breaking the rules. There always will be. Just do your own business to the best of your ability and let HO police their consultants. That is their business!

I completely agree with this. It really gets under my skin when people will do searches or even (as I have heard) report their facebook "friends" who are consultants. You are absolutely right, GET A LIFE. I have found that the ones who are policing other consultants are the ones who are complaining that they can't get any shows. Maybe if they worried more about their business instead of what others are doing, they would have more shows.
HO has a job. Let them deal with it.

 

[dannyzmom]

I completely agree with this. It really gets under my skin when people will do searches or even (as I have heard) report their facebook "friends" who are consultants. You are absolutely right, GET A LIFE. I have found that the ones who are policing other consultants are the ones who are complaining that they can't get any shows. Maybe if they worried more about their business instead of what others are doing, they would have more shows.
HO has a job. Let them deal with it.

Very well said. I have always noticed here on CS that the people who are always complaining about being unable to get shows booked are the same people constantly pulling up Ebay PC sellers, FB posters, etc - - if you FOCUS on YOUR business...you will be successful. Trolling the web looking for violations is a TIME WASTER...time you could be spending making CC calls. HO has a department of employees dedicated to dealing with policy violators. Let them do their job...and you do your job.

 

[beckyjsmith]

Very well said. I have always noticed here on CS that the people who are always complaining about being unable to get shows booked are the same people constantly pulling up Ebay PC sellers, FB posters, etc - - if you FOCUS on YOUR business...you will be successful. Trolling the web looking for violations is a TIME WASTER...time you could be spending making CC calls. HO has a department of employees dedicated to dealing with policy violators. Let them do their job...and you do your job.

And the sister said....


AMEN GIRLFRIEND!!! I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[DebbieJ]

I completely agree with this. It really gets under my skin when people will do searches or even (as I have heard) report their facebook "friends" who are consultants. You are absolutely right, GET A LIFE. I have found that the ones who are policing other consultants are the ones who are complaining that they can't get any shows. Maybe if they worried more about their business instead of what others are doing, they would have more shows.
HO has a job. Let them deal with it.

Very well said. I have always noticed here on CS that the people who are always complaining about being unable to get shows booked are the same people constantly pulling up Ebay PC sellers, FB posters, etc - - if you FOCUS on YOUR business...you will be successful. Trolling the web looking for violations is a TIME WASTER...time you could be spending making CC calls. HO has a department of employees dedicated to dealing with policy violators. Let them do their job...and you do your job.

And the sister said....


AMEN GIRLFRIEND!!! I couldn't have said it better myself.

Let me add another AMEN!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Let me add another AMEN!

ditto :thumbup:

 

[pampered1224]

You know I had an interesting conversation with a marketing person the other day. Yes, I do have friends that are actually worth a ton of money and have brains to boot! But she mentioned something I had not though of before. Over Marketing. She said that it has happened to other companies where there are many distributors of the same product line. She used Macy's, Boston Store and Crate and Barrel as an example. If Macy's carries say a Specific Crock pot they can sell a ton but they only advertise it in store. (Like we do at are parties.) Now if the public learns that Boston Store and Crate & Barrel sell the same crock pot, competition now becomes more prevalent and people will go to whomever strikes their fancy. Meaning a store they are closer too or one that just looks better to them. People are fickle. This now diminishes the profits for Macy's. So if we each advertise our businesses on the web instead of to our select group of "clients", all the people we were hoping to target and sell too are now also being targeted by 1000s of other consultants. Not just the ones at our shows or we talk to. Thus it diminishes our possibilities of a sale. It also means we will have to do even more bribing to get those hosts and orders. Can we afford that?

 

[raebates]

Good point, John. One thing I always try to remember is that it is in the HO's best interest to help me be successful. After all, their jobs rely on my sales, our sales. They are in the business of helping us succeed.

 

[dannyzmom]

Good point, John. One thing I always try to remember is that it is in the HO's best interest to help me be successful. After all, their jobs rely on my sales, our sales. They are in the business of helping us succeed.

Amen Rae!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Chef Kearns]

You know I had an interesting conversation with a marketing person the other day. Yes, I do have friends that are actually worth a ton of money and have brains to boot! But she mentioned something I had not though of before. Over Marketing. She said that it has happened to other companies where there are many distributors of the same product line. She used Macy's, Boston Store and Crate and Barrel as an example. If Macy's carries say a Specific Crock pot they can sell a ton but they only advertise it in store. (Like we do at are parties.) Now if the public learns that Boston Store and Crate & Barrel sell the same crock pot, competition now becomes more prevalent and people will go to whomever strikes their fancy. Meaning a store they are closer too or one that just looks better to them. People are fickle. This now diminishes the profits for Macy's. So if we each advertise our businesses on the web instead of to our select group of "clients", all the people we were hoping to target and sell too are now also being targeted by 1000s of other consultants. Not just the ones at our shows or we talk to. Thus it diminishes our possibilities of a sale. It also means we will have to do even more bribing to get those hosts and orders. Can we afford that?

Do we not have this already? Most people who know one consultant know at least 2. Which one do they choose to work with? The one they have a personal relationship to, the one that gives them the hook up, the one that doesn't mind delivering products from time to time. We don't have boundaries, but we do have competition.

Advertising on the web scares me a little because I am not tech savvy. I wouldn't know the first thing about giving myself a dominant/prominent web presence. That being said, Social Networking is a different beast. We are connecting to people we already know. Talking on Facebook is like sending a mass email to your contact list. Your message doesn't get sent to people who don't already know you unless a friend copy and pastes your message. And that cannot be controlled. We shouldn't be penalized for someone trying to help us out and posting our websites and information for their friends to see.

 

[chefsteph07]

Do we not have this already? Most people who know one consultant know at least 2. Which one do they choose to work with? The one they have a personal relationship to, the one that gives them the hook up, the one that doesn't mind delivering products from time to time. We don't have boundaries, but we do have competition.

Advertising on the web scares me a little because I am not tech savvy. I wouldn't know the first thing about giving myself a dominant/prominent web presence. That being said, Social Networking is a different beast. We are connecting to people we already know. Talking on Facebook is like sending a mass email to your contact list. Your message doesn't get sent to people who don't already know you unless a friend copy and pastes your message. And that cannot be controlled. We shouldn't be penalized for someone trying to help us out and posting our websites and information for their friends to see.

I had this thought as well. Every host has a right to choose who they work with, much like going across the street to the same store, or across town.

 

[DebbieJ]

Do we not have this already? Most people who know one consultant know at least 2. Which one do they choose to work with? The one they have a personal relationship to, the one that gives them the hook up, the one that doesn't mind delivering products from time to time. We don't have boundaries, but we do have competition.

Advertising on the web scares me a little because I am not tech savvy. I wouldn't know the first thing about giving myself a dominant/prominent web presence. That being said, Social Networking is a different beast. We are connecting to people we already know. Talking on Facebook is like sending a mass email to your contact list. Your message doesn't get sent to people who don't already know you unless a friend copy and pastes your message. And that cannot be controlled. We shouldn't be penalized for someone trying to help us out and posting our websites and information for their friends to see.

I had this thought as well. Every host has a right to choose who they work with, much like going across the street to the same store, or across town.

We run into this all the time and I just had it happen last week. I had a real PC veteran at my show. She had everything, it seemed. Her last show was $2200. Yet when I asked her who her consultant was, she had to think about it and eventually came up with the names of two consultants she had worked with in the past. She is now going to book with me, so I'll be consultant #3 for her.

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Good point Deb. I have someone I buy MK from. My lid fell off my eye makeup remover bottle and I lost it all. I HAD to have it immediately to get my makeup off. I tried for over a week to get a hold of my MK person, because I do want to be "loyal". However, no return calls, so I searched and found another one in town and got my stuff.

 

[burtonfour]

Its a shame PC wants us to be so secretive about our biz. We need to get current with the times. If we want a change, we need to let them know.

 

[Jmioni]

I was actually just reading the Consultants Policy Guide updated in July and found the following:

You can list your Personal Web Site
address in your personal e-mail correspondence, e-newsletters,
on social networking websites or profiles such as Facebook,
Myspace, Twitter, etc., or on business cards, checks, stationery
and other similar materials. Your host may use your Personal
Web Site address to promote their Show through printed
invitations, e-mail invitations, or through their social networking
profile. You can also list your personal site in print advertising as long as you act in accordance with all
other guidelines.

There are some more clarifications to some of the comments listed in this thread ad well. See pages 38/39 on t he Consultants Policy Guide.

Hopefully this will help clear up some internet confusion...

Happy Selling! :chef:

 

[NooraK]

This thread was from prior to the announcment at NC about the changes to the online advertising policies. We've had quite a few different threads started about FB since then.