Another Great Marketing Medium?

SEnuke: Ready for action

With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if you have marketing potential within these social networks?

I've been watching social network for some time now. The truth is I'm a part of numerous social networking websites including http://www.myspace.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com just...

There has been a virtual explosion of social networking internet sites previously few years. Even the major people like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it.

With therefore much curiosity about how social networks function, one begins to wonder if there is advertising potential within these social networks?

I have been seeing social networking for a while now. Actually I'm a member of numerous social media sites including https://www.linkedin.com and http://www.myspace.com/ simply to name two.

I joined partly because I wanted to see what these were, but moreover to see on SEM what influence social media could have in-the coming years.

I've been a member of numerous services for some time and the reach these sites have is amazing.

As an example, from my LinkedIn network of seven people I have an extended network of over 12,600 people.

That is amazing - I am merely a click or two away from close to 13,000 others who share my similar interests ranging from what I like to watch on TV to work I can provide to them.

Through my connections and their connections, I'm related to people ranging from the American Cancer Society, to Sun Microsystems to the University of Texas to Google.

But what advertising opportunities are there for Social Network?

Well, let's look at MySpace.

MySpace is one of the top sites online today. Learn additional resources on the affiliated URL - Click here: http://deckbiz.com/news/mike-marko-publishes-post-about-marketing-through-linkedin/0169746/. It racked up 9.4 billion page-views in August 2005 (over Google) and new users are signing up at-a rate of 3.5 million monthly.

MySpace is typical of where todays 18-30 year-old goes to manage their digital life. It allows people to publish photographs of themselves and their friends, produce a blog, list a common artists, watch and share videos, suggest activities to do and lists some people they consider friends. It is with this 'Friends List' where all of the possibilities lie.

All forty million plus customers of MySpace possess a friends page that lists people that person considers their friend. This is a listing of people who they're interested in conversing with and about, along with reading from on a normal basis. They can send you messages, comment on your photos, read your sites, as well as abandon messages that you can then give others when you add somebody as your friend. This is an opportunity for quick feedback about you.

The capability to add friends to your site is critical for advertising to MySpace people. Based on Courtney Holt, mind of new media and strategic advertising at Interscope Records, 'This generation is growing up without having ever seen developed media. 'They do not think in terms of the recording, and they do not think in terms of a TV schedule. They think when it comes to TiVo, P2P, AOL, and of course MySpace.

You can view how this may develop.

Let's say you produce a MySpace account to fairly share your products or services. You weblog about any of it and look for your interests that may be shared by others.

You then invite them to be your friend. Once they turn into a friend you begin your 'gentle market' pitching your solution to them.

As they grow to appreciate it, they begin blogging and sharing it. Quickly hundreds or even thousand of individuals are talking about you and your product or service.

Do not think this will work?

Allow me to give some situations to you. There are lots of companies who've gotten their start on MySpace. Simply by hosting a number of their music on the web and blogging about them-selves they developed a following. Soon they'd report deals and contracts arranged.

Naturally to make use of ser-vices like MySpace you need to have anything this target audience needs. If you don't then you probably should not put an excessive amount of effort in to MySpace.

But that will not mean other social network opportunities should be overlooked. When I mentioned previously, LinkedIn is more of a specialist introduction service. If your products or services fits here then by all means investigate it more.

And there are others aswell. Ser-vices including Flickr, Yahoo!s MyWeb, http://del.icio.us and more.

So if you have ever wondered what other online opportunities could be available, consider social networking. It could be the next great online-marketing channel.. I found out about Mike Marko Publishes Post about Marketing through Linkedin by searching Google.