Here's a cogent explanation of how social media should fit into your marketing mix. I'm a newbie to the subject, but it makes sense to me.

In network marketing, surveys show that the number one reason a distributor signs up with their particular sponsor was because they "liked them." People do business with people they know, like and trust.

In the cold market (people who don't know you), your objective shouldn't be merely to get information into the hands of your prospects, it should be to build a relationship with them. Get to know your prospects and help them get to know you. A great way to do that is by putting up a personal web site.

Don't panic. A new web site builder, weebly.com, makes it incredibly easy. In fact, with no experience whatsoever, you could have your own web site up and running in a matter of minutes. And it's free (although they recently introduced an upgraded service.)

Weebly gives you

• A free web site (no advertising)
• Free hosting
• Easy as pie web site builder and designer
• A free Blog
• Templates you can use to be online today!

There are other choices. Google has sites.google.com which allows you to do the same thing. You could also set up a free blog at blogger.com or wordpress.com.

These services require no technical knowledge whatsoever. You can quickly and easily create a site that introduces YOU. Of course you can add information about your company and business opportunity and links to your company web site, but the focus of your personal web site should be on you and your story.

You should do this even if you're brand new in your business. Your rank doesn't matter. The purpose of the site is not to impress people with how successful you are, it is to allow them to get to know you.

• Tell your story: why you started with your business, what you want to accomplish, your "why"
• Talk about your family and your life, your hobbies and interests.
• Post photos of your children, vacations (or vacations you would like to take)
• Talk about charities you work with, or want to; what matters to you
• Make your personal web site just that, personal

Your personal web site will allow your prospects to know the person they are dealing with. It's the first step towards building a relationship with your (future) customers and business partners.

Go to weebly.com or sites.google.com or blogger.com or wordpress.com and set up a free account. Start with a one page web site. Your name and contact information, your photo, a link to your company web site, and one or two paragraphs about you. You can add more later, if you want. But put something up today so that the next time you speak with a prospect, you can send them to your personal web site to find out who you are.