Social networking is one of the most important features of the internet today. Where the online revolution in purchasing goods and services, and in advertising your business through strategies like increasing search engine rankings, press release distribution and article marketing happened long ago, the social aspect on the net is newer.
It seems that it is possible to replace face to face contact with friends on some level – millions of users worldwide have found it to be so. Two of the older and newer uses of the internet come together in social network marketing. This is an important part of a web marketing strategy – we look at the why’s where’s, and how’s of social networks as part of an internet marketing strategy.
There are several different types of advertising available on social networks. The big 2, MySpace and facebook, as well as the biggest name in business social networking, LinkedIn, have self-serve advertising platforms that are similar to Google’s.
They allow you to set up and manage your own internet marketing campaigns on the sites, or allow you to have an internet consultancy service do it for you in order to really make your advertising dollar work for you. Friendster is another, slightly less well known social network – it is South East Asian focused, and companies looking for digital marketing in areas like Bangkok, and for Asian web analytics, would do well to target Friendster.
Despite the fact that self-serve campaigns are available on the bigger sites, it is still highly advisable to use an expert internet consultancy service for your internet marketing management. Just as you can spend many hours and thousands of dollars on article marketing, press release distribution and link building to no avail if it is not done properly, you can do the same on social networking sites without expert help.
Tim Gibbon, the editor and co-founder of Social Media Portal, has advised businesses to make sure they properly understand the way that social networking sites work, their personality and tone, in order to make sure that their web marketing strategy dollar is well spent.
He says that the hard sell is not advisable – a subtler strategy is needed, based on relationships. The purpose of social networking is to “educate, enlighten and share experiences, expertise and knowledge , this can be done in tandem with commercial sensitivities”, Mr Gibbon said.
Your internet consultancy service should also advise you that it is not just the big sites that you should target. Small sites have plenty of niche potential. For example, fitness-based firms selling items like exercise equipment, vitamins, and services like training advice should look to advertise on sites like Athlinks.
This community is devoted to biking, running and swimming, and athletes use it to find training partners as well as advice. There are sites aimed at mothers, baby boomers, music and pop-culture, college students, and the arts – and that is only the tip of the iceberg.
You can see how your products could be reaching the exact people who would want to buy them, with relatively little effort on your part.
gregory smyth is the ceo of inetasia solutions limited . gregory has taken the company to great heights with its various e-business solution products, which have become a backbone infrastructural tool that have powered websites for numerous high profile companies.