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A long time ago, on a completely different site (blog) I had made a few posts about my experiences with MySpace; this is a couple of years ago. I even did some studying, bought an eBook about how to market there, created several persona’s.. played, and played.. tested and tested.. etc, etc… I was deterred on many fronts; mostly the spam element that was a distraction throughout the entire process. I don’t mind marketing, but I quite mind needing to wade through p*o*rn promos etc.. And I simply didn’t find my time was being rewarded; I wasn't making quick money like I was used to with other endeavors (i.e., Adwords, Affiliate Marketing). The time I was spending messing around there I could post to my Blog and get more traffic in a few hours then I ever saw in my entire experience at MySpace.. and probably more targeted traffic.
But.. that was then. This is today. A couple years later. Social Marketing has not gone away. In fact it’s blossomed even more and become an important part of business online. Places like YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon or FaceBook are becoming an important part of the net and our marketing efforts. If you follow those links, they all lead to my own pages on all those sites. Has MySpace improved? Honestly I still have a bad taste in my mouth and haven't done much there since 2006.. I'm quite content with the other sites I'm on; but I still have my profile at MySpace and I may slowly reintroduce myself in that arena. Overall from what I am seeing and experiencing, Social Marketing and Networking is an incredible addition in your bag of tools to promote your business online. Try just experimenting and keeping up with whats going on with it; you might be amazed at the results. If it seems overwhelming, just pick one. I think Twitter is one of the easiest platforms to use and get set up. Start connecting with others, getting the word out that you are there, following others... and soon you too might experience positive results. There is a ton of great info online regarding how to get the most out of Twitter. This is a great place to start: Twitter Handbook I've made direct sales from these sites as well as connecting and networking with people I wouldn't have been able to as easily in other formats (i.e., forums). One of the biggest benefits is being able to secure a tighter bond with my market, customers, cleints and members. It's great to be able to converse and interact with my friends outside of my private forum; it's relaxed and informal. I have been involved with communities for several years online. Forums mostly. And just from my experience with that platform I can see how social networks.. social bonds between members.. can develop and marketing comes into play. These other platforms just expand on that tremendously and the potential is enormous!
Get Social.. It will have a major influence in the nets direction and quite possibly will have a great impact on YOUR online business!
-Matt Levenhagen
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