How do you tap into marketing opportunities on highly-trafficked social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook ? The short answer is "be social." The longer answer is "be an active and valuable member of that social networking community and don't smell like you're trying to sell something."
A few tips to break the ice:
- You can have a business agenda (selling something, building links or traffic back to your site), you just have to be subtle about it. Keep everything conversational and casual like you're talking to friends, not marketing your business to a prospect.
- Ask members of social networking sites about their likes and dislikes to figure out how to best engage them. That might include anything from "What's the best movie you've seen lately?" to "Which sunglasses reflect your style?" By gently asking questions about behavior and brand preferences, you can unobstrusively ease your way into the millions of "quiet conversations" that keep social networks humming.
- Use your profile and connections to drive traffic and links back to your site.
- If you want to advertise on social networking sites, you need to target your ad or offer to the specific interests and preferences of their members. Types of tailored ads and offers that have proven effective include:
**One-off coupons and discount offers from the brands and products members buy
**E-newsletters featuring coupons, discounts, news and tips about favorite brands
**Invitations to join interactive email groups, online forums and other social networks
While social networking sites represent a huge and rapidly growing group of desirable consumers, crashing the party with a hard sell spiel is the surest way to get labeled a trespasser and banned from the premisis. Commit yourself to community participation and your social marketing experiences will become more productive and rewarding as time goes on.
For more ideas to drive sales check out archives or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.
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