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MySpace/Facebook

durtbagzdurtbagz subscriber Posts: 4
edited January 2008 in Marketing
in my small experience with my online bag business in the last 6 weeks, what i`ve learned from marketing via social media is the word, "pull". you want to pull people to you and your product b/c you have something they need; regardless of if they actually need the product or not. create something that draws others to you instead of going the "push" route and yelling at everyone to buy your stuff.
sounds ridiculously simple, but it can be rather difficult and definitely takes time. if you know your target crowd, which you should have before you launched, be a resource for them for something so they get to know you. theoretically, this should increase traffic to your site. i am no expert on this, like i said, i`ve been online roughly 6 weeks now and it`s a work in progress.
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Comments

  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40
    MySpace, Facebook, Squidoo, YouTube... and other "social networking" sites are the new frontier for marketing - and at the same time are like every day neighborhood marketing.
     
    Social networking sites offer "new" word of mouth marketing opportunities - word of mouse marketing. Similar to a local bricks and mortar store owner creating relationships with the resident/customers of his/her comunity, "marketing" on social networking site is about creating "relationships" - online. Yes, it is different (than face to face) and may feel odd - but it can be as effective as real world word of mouth advertizing.
     
    There is “social shopping” - a mix between ecommerce and social networking. Sites like Crowdstorm, Kaboodle, Stylehive, and ThisNext allow users to network about shopping and products.  Your ecommerce site can benefit from this word of mouse marketing and can realize an increased conversion rate - without spending any money!
     
    In addition, there is a significant benefit in search results and referal traffic to your website especially since search engines discount (assign less value to) reciprical and directory links.
     
    ~Roland
    vwebworld1/8/2008 3:12 AM
  • ObsidianLaunchObsidianLaunch subscriber Posts: 7
    The Web 2.0 websites need to be considered very seriously in building your network.  I mean, for the lords sake, this site is a social networking site!!!!!
     
    When people push their product/service on this site or anywhere else it is frowned upon and that person is rejected. Just like a networking event where a person is running around pushing cards in your face - you take it, so they will leave you alone and then throw it right out.
     
    I feel that you MUST participate in Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc.  But you must be a contributor, someone that builds the community. If you are "pushing cards" you will be rejected.
  • LogoMotivesLogoMotives subscriber Posts: 15

     I feel that you MUST participate in Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc.  But you must be a contributor, someone that builds the community. If you are "pushing cards" you will be rejected.

    I agree.  Participation in those social networks, and others is a "must" for many businesses these days.  Internet marketing has changed dramatically with the growth of such networks.  The exposure is incredible. For me they are a great substitute for the traditional, "damn glad to meet you," networking organizations in the "real" world.
    MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, biznik and others (including SuN) have all brought business my way.  They have all been important tools in promoting my business and books, while networking with others around the world.  Requests for interviews, being asked to write articles, and input for books have also resulted. For me, design industry-specific, social networking sites such as design:related, designerID, Behance and others are additional "musts."
    - J.
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141
    Unless it`s your target audience, I don`t think you have to necessarily have a presence on MySpace or other similar sites. In fact, I have yet to see any real proof that marketing on these sites actually works. Are these sites good for socializing and networking? Absolutely. Can socializing and networking on these sites lead to a business relationship? Sometimes. But in my opinion, there are much better ways to grow your business other than social media sites.
    Dale King
    DKing1/9/2008 9:58 AM
  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40
    MySpace... over 100 million people (quite a market to access).
     
    Everything is moving to social media .. and with the value of directory and reciprical linking discounted, social media connections are more valuable.
     
    You may not be "INTO" MySpace or Squidoo or FaceBook or YouTube or any of the other many social media/networking sites, but you may be "missing the boat".
     
    A few years ago, people/businesses were not "into" the internet or having a web presence either. Times change and the environment in which we do business changes. Some may chose to ignor the opportunity social media sites offer. Can you? Will your competition?
     
    .................food for thought
     
    ~Roland
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141

    MySpace... over 100 million people (quite a market to access). ~Roland
       Let`s talk about those 100 million people, shall we? And why we`re at it, let`s talk about why marketing on MySpace simply won`t work for most businesses. It has to do with the "apples and oranges" concept.
    Let me explain:
    According to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace has about 100 million registered users, about 90 percent in the United States.
    Their primary demographic is about a 50/50 split between males and females, ages 16 to 34. However, a common misconception is that MySpace is primarily made up of kids and teens. In fact, 80 percent of the audience is above 18. MySpace`s 30-plus demographic is its fastest-growing group. (Source: ClickZ Network)
    Regarding the apples and oranges concept: According to branding expert Rob Frankel, "MySpace has only one thing really going for it: eyeballs. Lots of eyeballs. But simply having eyeballs isn`t nearly enough. If you recall, that`s the mistake people made which led to the Internet bubble bursting. Just because you have tons of people doesn`t mean you have an audience.
    Witness the demise of women.com and other domains that were supposedly gathering spots for people. It doesn`t work that way. For a community to really succeed, it must have four elements:
    A. A central, specific common interest among its users
    B. A means of generating revenue through that interest (brand strategy)
    C. A system to establish its credibility
    D. A strong, visible leader to manage the community
    MySpace in particular has none of these. The users are free to create multiple personalities. There is no verification of anything. There are no true means to focus any users into any kind of channels. There are no user-driven revenue sources. There are no leaders or managers - it`s a rudderless ghost ship with the inmates running the asylum, so any business either having a page or advertising there is simply taking a shot in the dark." Dale KingDKing1/9/2008 9:37 AM
  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40
    Reports of MySpace membership numbers vary a lot from 49 million to 200 million and it is true one person can have more than one MySpace account.
     
    My posts cited MySpace as an example of a social media site... one of many social media sites.
    I understand MySpace may not be the marketing opportunity of the century, what I`m suggesting is social media sites in general may be.
     

    Eyeballs - eyeballs are good, what you do with the eyeballs that view your website (MySpace, Squidoo, etc) page makes the difference. Your page needs to connect with the eyeballs, provide what they want, solve their problem, or fullfill their need.
     

    Community success - MySpace (other social media sites or any other website you may choose to participate in) may or may not succeed. Do I care? Is it up to me to see that the site succeeds? Of course if it is a valuable source of traffic/customers, I`d like it to succeed. But I do not have much control over its success. Should I ignore a marketing opportunity, because I think the website may not be successful?
     
    While this thread`s topic is "MySpace/FaceBook" - I`m suggesting consider social media sites for your marketing.
    Some social media sites:

    www.slashdot.org

    del.icio.uswww.technorati.comwww.digg.comwww.reddit.comwww.stumbleupon.comwww.connotea.orgwww.furl.netwww.newsvine.comwww.blinklist.comwww.folkd.comwww.squidoo.com
     
    ~Roland
     
     
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141

    Reports of MySpace membership numbers vary a lot from 49 million to 200 million and it is true one person can have more than one MySpace account. My posts cited MySpace as an example of a social media site... one of many social media sites.I understand MySpace may not be the marketing opportunity of the century, what I`m suggesting is social media sites in general may be. Eyeballs - eyeballs are good, what you do with the eyeballs that view your website (MySpace, Squidoo, etc) page makes the difference. Your page needs to connect with the eyeballs, provide what they want, solve their problem, or fullfill their need.     We can go back and forth on this forever, but here`s the deal. In Marketing 101, they teach you that the shotgun approach to marketing is never a good idea. It shows a lack of direction and/or focus. It`s much better to spend your time, energy and resources on real, targeted prospects who have a genuine interest in what you`re selling - as opposed to trying to sell to millions of untargeted prospects who don`t. Dale KingDKing1/10/2008 4:20 PM
  • sddreamweaverssddreamweavers subscriber Posts: 5 Member
    100 million ... and how many are unique people? I know I have several accounts ... er ... hah ...
    I still stand by my point above ... people say you NEED a lot of things but really it`s just a huge fad. There are so many ways to accomplish something and only so many hours in the day -- isn`t it better to pick the things that actually work and go with that?
    This whole thing is actually funny because I caught this post by Rob May on it today ... how perfect is this?My Biggest Regret of 2007: I wish I spent more time on Facebook
    (And it`s NOT what you think.)
    I know the buzz is all on social media like it`s all the rage ... but in reality most people are not on any social media site, or at least not on these ones we`re discussing now.

    Just because you aren`t doesn`t mean other people aren`t.
    Facebook/MySpace isn`t for everyone but can be a benefit if you know how to leverage the tools they provide.  Secondly, I`m not sure if anyone has mentioned it but you have to spend time in the given online community to get results.
  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40
    In a previous post you said: According to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace has about 100 million registered users, about 90 percent in the United States.
    Their primary demographic is about a 50/50 split between males and females, ages 16 to 34. However, a common misconception is that MySpace is primarily made up of kids and teens. In fact, 80 percent of the audience is above 18. MySpace`s 30-plus demographic is its fastest-growing group. (Source: ClickZ Network)
    THEN YOU JUST SAID: "...as opposed to trying to sell to millions of untargeted prospects who don`t."
     
    Dale King
     
    Hmm,  your first post describes a target demographic, but your last post says there is none.. you got me confused
     
    I appreciate that you do not think there is value in marketing on MySpace (and maybe other social networking sites). But the fact is, there is a target market/demographic. What you do with it... or better put, how you communicate with that market makes it not a shot in the dark.
     
    ~Roland
    vwebworld1/10/2008 7:14 PM
  • sddreamweaverssddreamweavers subscriber Posts: 5 Member
    Hmm, sounds like a target demographic,

    It`s a target demographic that Corporations drool over.  Before MySpace existed, corporations didn`t know how to properly reach that target demographic.sddreamweavers1/10/2008 7:11 PM
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141
    Hmm,  your first post describes a target demographic, but your last post says there is none.. you got me confused  I appreciate that you do not think there is value in marketing on MySpace (and maybe other social networking sites). But the fact is, there is a target market/demographic. What you do with it... or better put, how you communicate with that market makes it not a shot in the dark. ~Roland
       Roland, please highlight where I said that MySpace doesn`t have a demographic. You can`t because I never said that. What I said was marketing on MySpace is the shotgun approach, which it is. Just because a website has a huge mixed demographic doesn`t necessarily mean that it`s the right demographic for your particular business. I still say you`re better off focusing your marketing in areas where you can attract a higher percentage of real, targeted prospects, instead of a mixed bag of wishful thinking. Social networking sites are too much of a marketing crapshoot for the majority of businesses. That`s my opinion. I refuse to succumb to the "flavor of the month" marketing hype. I`m going to continue practicing sound, proven marketing techniques. You can chase fads all you want. Dale KingDKing1/11/2008 8:45 AM
  • sddreamweaverssddreamweavers subscriber Posts: 5 Member
    I refuse to succumb to the "flavor of the month" marketing hype. I`m going to continue practicing sound, proven marketing techniques. You can chase fads all you want.
     Dale King

    You might want to do some research into the `flavor or the month` marketing hype.  It`s the wave of the future.  Granted, not every tool may work for every business but the reasons why people use these techniques should be studied and not passed off as fads.
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141
    You might want to do some research into the `flavor or the month` marketing hype.  It`s the wave of the future.  Granted, not every tool may work for every business but the reasons why people use these techniques should be studied and not passed off as fads.

     
     
     
    Wave of the future? That remains to be seen. You might want to do some some research into targeting real prospects in real media, instead of just targeting millions of eyeballs. Yes, Barack Obama is all over social networking sites like FaceBook. But that`s his core audience.
     
    Try focusing on your core audience. Increase your ROI. Advertise where your prospects hang out - not where everybody and their dog hang out!
     
    Dale King
    DKing1/11/2008 8:32 AM
  • DaleKingDaleKing subscriber Posts: 141
       Before MySpace existed, corporations didn`t know how to properly reach that target demographic.

     
     
     
    That is the most ridiculous, erronneous, uninformed statement I`ve ever seen! You can`t seriously be suggesting that major corporations didn`t know how to reach the youth demographic until MySpace came along. Oh, really? And just how did all of these corporations manage to survive all these many years without MySpace? Give me a friggin` break!
     
    Dale King
     
     
    DKing1/11/2008 12:05 PM
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