Could this be the end of MLMs?
How social media could put a stop to MLMs once and for all
Multi-Level Marketing is not a new concept. Avon, a household and beauty product MLM, started back in 1886, and Tupperware, Amway and Mary Kay followed in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Person-to-person selling was the perfect side-hustle for stay-at-home moms looking to earn cash and expand their social circle. That is, if they were able to earn anything at all. Ninety nine percent of MLM recruits just break even or lose money, and most of the friendships evaporate once they leave the fold as well.
Participants would sell the products through house parties they’d throw for their friends and family.
There would be demonstrations, presentations and hosts just a tad too excited about plastic storage containers. Then, as the parties progressed, it became clear that the hosts were more interested in getting guests to join their ‘Downline’ than in making sales. The real potential for money lay in the recruits members signed on; they’d earn a percentage of the purchases and sales made by their team.
These women were encouraged to throw parties once or twice a week. Talk about annoying friends! Of course, that wasn’t the only way they could try to sign people up. Participants could just call friends directly and beg them to support their new business venture or try to strike up conversations at a coffee shop and then segue into this proposition. Cringe.
But then came social media and it changed everything.
Members don’t have to hold awkward, costly parties nearly as much any more, and they don’t have to convince strangers to try the products. Instead of running after people, they can seduce them into joining through social posts on how they’ve successfuly escaped the 9–5 and how ‘you can too!’
They can reach more people, but that means reaching the growing Anti-MLM community as well.
MLMs used to operate underneath the surface, now they’re out in broad daylight and ready to be picked apart by a community of Anti-MLMers, creators who’ve set out to dismantle the false ideas members feed their followers.
Many of these Anti-MLMers were once recruits themselves and see it as their duty to educate people before they get sucked into a system that’s stacked against them. They always seem to have something new to say, new stats to expose and new clips to react to. And they’re downright entertaining.
A number of MLM companies, including Herbalife, Nu Skin, Avon and Tupperware, have dropped in value significantly since the start of 2019, says Robert FitzPatrick, head of Pyramid Scheme Alert. He credits the decline to the recent calling-out of MLMs on Reddit, YouTube and the Showtime series “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” starring Kirsten Dunst. Twenty years ago, media like this did not exist despite the fact that so many were losing money in the system.
People were ashamed they couldn’t make it work, ashamed they’d alienated their friends and family, ashamed they’d fallen for it. But now they’re speaking out thanks to a ripple effect on social media. And with the Anti community on the rise, current members are realizing it’s not their fault. It’s not that they aren’t trying hard enough, as their Uplines have them believe. The income claims were highly unrealistic and the system was set up for failure.
MLMers are trying to advertise and hide at the same time, a recipe for disaster.
You’ll see an ad on Instagram: a bright, happy, outdoor picture with copy that describes living the dream life, working from home and owning your own business. You’ll tap on their profile to learn more about who they are. Are they part of an MLM or is this something different? Their posts don’t have pictures of products in them. Hmm. Then you scroll through their highlights and tap the one that says ‘work.’ It’s all vague lifestyle content until…a bottle of Monat shampoo. Bingo!
Then there are the vague ads on job sites. If it’s such a good opportunity why not be upfront about it? Even if they have to leave out the fact that it’s incredibly hard, cringeworthy and most likely won’t make a recruit any money, what’s wrong with telling it like it is: The job is trying to sell products and recruiting others to do the same. Well, they know that doesn’t sound good anymore. The people who don’t know too much about MLMs usually smell something’s up, whether it’s from a Reddit post, a documentary, a YouTube video or an acquaintance that got caught up in one.
Still, there are some who know nothing, and many don’t know to do their own research with a crytical eye before joining. They might join after they’ve bought products so they’re already in contact with someone in the company. Recruiters will usually encourage the women not to research the company, or they’ll explain away bad press from the start.
But when someone shows an interest in a company, YouTube will recommend them videos on the topic, including anti-MLM videos. I’ve gotten so many pro-MLM ads on Instagram and YouTube and I’m interested in anti-MLM content. It works in the reverse too. So as much as MLMers are trying to play this game of hiding and adverstising, the Anti community is getting bigger and reaching more people. People it needs to reach.
The fact that they’re hiding who they are and what they do shows they know the gig is almost up. They’ve even taken to holding “opportunity calls” where they can talk about how much money they’re making without any Anti-MLMers seeing the claims on social media and debunking them, says YouTuber Emily Leah. They see how the Anti community is affecting their potentials, how it shakes the bottom of their pyramids. The less people their recruits can recruit the higher the chance they’ll leave. And without their recruits MLMers won’t be able to break even on the shelves of products they’ve invested in. I don’t see how this is going to last.