June 13th, 2007

Social Networking Sites Aren’t For Teenagers Anymore

 

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You might not know this, but social networking sites aren’t just for teenagers anymore. In fact, social networking sites have evolved into something different altogether than what they once were – networks composed mainly of teenagers. Today, social networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all share some common interest, such as a skateboarding or investing.

Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are increasingly becoming used by another group – businesses. That’s right: many businesses are now infiltrating social networks to advertise in some subtle manner – and then replicate their message through systems that are already available within the social network.

The most prominent social network is http://www.myspace.com, which boasts a membership base of around 180 million. If your business or product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use Myspace to market it, as you will be able to reach the largest crowd quickly.

Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market your business or product through MySpace. One way is to setup a profile, purchase what is called an “adder robot,” and then begin adding friends to your list on a daily basis. The robot can add as many as 300 per day without any problems. Depending on your goals, you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and then talk about your business/product on your page; or you may want to simply create a profile for your business and use that to market your product. While you can send out bulletins advertising your product through Myspace, this is generally discouraged by the MySpace staff and could lead to your getting banned. It is probably a good idea to avoid this; instead, post related bulletins that don’t advertise your product, but talk about something similar. This will drive interested visitors to your page, where they can learn more about the business or product you are offering. Note, however, that you will have to link to a non-affiliate page, as affiliate links are expressly forbid on MySpace.

Once you have had some experience marketing to the MySpace crowd, you will want to consider looking at other social networking sites. One other large site is Friendster, which you can find at the following URL: http://www.friendster.com. http://www.facebook.com is another large social networking site, which caters specifically to college and high school students. You will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.

If you’re ambitious and more of a business person, http://PathConnect.com is a social network really with a social purpose. You can read my post about Jessica Biel and I here: Social Networking, Jessica Biel, and Alejandro Reyes?

Whichever sites you decide to use, keep the following in mind: your goal should be to develop a network of people who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in your specific industry. For this reason, it is always a good idea to think long term (i.e. don’t do things that are going to get you banned); instead, concentrate on building your network, add value to them, and slowly introduce them to what you are offering.

I’ll talk later on about some success stories of how some social networking sites have actually helped people become “famous.”

Thanks again for reading.

Alejandro Reyes
916.947.2455
skype: whoisalejandro
yahoo: whoisalejandro

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