Discovering MySpace

MySpace is one of the most popular social websites in the history of the Internet. After it’s launch a couple of years ago it rose to meteoric fame in a matter of a few short months. It began as a social network but has now evolved into a fun marketing tool. Admittedly there is a fair amount of spam that goes on but overall MySpace can be a good way to promote your business.

What is MySpace? MySpace is a social network. Every member can have a webpage on MySpace. Search features allow you to look up these websites under categories. For example if you are interested in fishing you will find other members with fishing sites. When you check out these websites you can also start to communicate with these MySpace members and learn more about fishing from all sorts of people who share your passion. You gather lists of contacts in this manner and form a network of fishermen.

Joining up: is free and simple. You will be presented with a form asking for your email address, a user name (handle) and password. The last thing you need to do is to check the box stating that you have read the terms of service.

Rules of MySpace: be very careful to read the terms of service very carefully. The basic rules of social marketing apply. Do not blatantly advertise to your contacts. MySpace does provide a place for classified ads. You will need to be 14 years of age or older. Maturity is expected on this network. Do not use your website to copy and paste copyrighted material. This can lead to all sorts of legal complications and is not worth it. Remember to read the terms in detail about what you can and cannot put on your website. The basic rules of being polite and professional, and not using your space for hate promotions are also very important.

How to use MySpace for promotions: As with most social marketing methods MySpace is all about CRM-customer relationship marketing. This is making friends with people and building a good working relationship with them. Once you have done this you can slowly introduce products that they may be interested in. This is called soft sell marketing, when you drop some points during conversation, about certain products and where to find them. This method of selling is also very good for any services you are offering. You can use MySpace’s classified ad section for ads. However be aware that this will cost you some money. Blogging is allowed on your website. If you start an interesting blog you can gain more contacts and possibly potential customers with this. Plus you can direct contacts to your blog without pushing any sales.

Reasons for not using MySpace: Tight niche markets may not do so well. This is because social networks such as MySpace draw people with general interests, as mentioned and it is quite hard to really target a niche market. If your business revolves around an interesting hobby you will very likely find MySpace quite useful. However you should not expect large numbers of sales in a niche market.

What type of businesses benefit from it? The types of businesses that do well with MySpace promotions are those that draw potential customers and clients from a broad market. For example website hosting is a wide market as most everyone who is involved in business needs this. There are networks for online entrepreneurs, who would be great potential clients for this service. Of course all manner of hobbies are featured here and you can easily build up subscribers to your newsletters with these networks. Product selling can be done but you should be careful not to hard sell with this.

So access your business and take a look at your market. MySpace is free to join and you may find it is a fun and cost effective way of promoting your business.

February 17, 2008 – 6:16 am by Constantin Chersin