MySpace Marketing Tips

Sure, there's plenty of 13 year-olds BRBing and ROFLing away on MySpace, but with each passing day more corporate entities are finding their target market on MySpace, whether that's 30-something aviation enthusiasts or natural food fanatics. The vast number of people participating in the MySpace network is proof enough that every demographic is represented.

Remember when only the big dogs had websites? And now small and medium sized businesses, non-profits and a host of individuals with non-commercial interests have websites. It's no longer a luxury, but a marketing must-have. In much the same way, a social networking presence is no longer a questionable venture. Skeptics be damned. MySpace shows no signs of slowing down or losing popularity.

Don't miss this great marketing opportunity just because your kids are obsessed with it. Don't miss it BECAUSE your kids are obsessed with it. They're on to something.

Well if you've gotten this far, I hope you're already convinced of at least some of the hugely beneficial aspects of being on MySpace. These days having a MySpace presence is as essential as having a website, if not more so. If you think that MySpace is just for kids, try these stats on for size:

So how does a business go about creating their MySpace presence?

1. Creating a Professional Space
   MySpace is pretty casual place, but just like any other presence your business has in print or online form, your space should communicate professionalism. Resist the temptation to throw a tacky layout on your page just to break from the all white default page. You may want to appeal to 13 year-olds, but you don’t want to be mistaken for one. Include your logo graphic, business photo, and a statement about your business and how your viewers should contact you. Don’t forget a hyperlink to your website!
2. MySpace is NOT a Website
   MySpace is ONE page of content. It can be a long page, but avoid transferring all of your website content to your MySpace page. The information that you feature should communicate your image branding, an abbreviated text version of who you are, and a way for the visitor to link to your website to take further action. Several of our clients have asked to us to incorporate their website navigation buttons into their MySpace design, which takes the page viewer to the respective pages on their website. If you have a website, make sure that your MySpace page style matches to some degree. There are enough “fake” profiles leading unsuspecting MySpacers to scam websites. Your MySpace should look as legitimate as your website does.
3. Be My Friend?
   When corporate clients ask me how to go about creating a MySpace presence, I offer one simple truth. The vast majority of MySpacers want to be friends with a person, not a business. Putting a face with your business makes you more approachable in the MySpace community, and people will be more interested in getting to know your business through that personality versus the same sales copy that they can read on your website or other promotional materials.
4. The Essence of MySpace
   What makes MySpace so revolutionary, outside of the ability to customize your page look, is the opportunity for connecting with a vast worldwide community. Take advantage of the interactivity of MySpace. Capitalize on the human preoccupation with pressing buttons. Offer games, widgets, downloadable graphics, photo galleries, contact forms, and clever, prominent options for contacting you.
5. Stay Current
   So you’ve got a great Space, now what? Getting someone to your page once is only half the battle. You’ve got a network of potential consumers at your fingertips. Don’t lose their interest by letting your content stagnate. Bulletins, blogs, messaging and commenting allow you to regularly communicate with your network about news, updates and special promotions. If you’re most entrepreneurs and executives I know, you don’t have a lot of time to maintain your MySpace content and fully take advantage of the MySpace networking tools. Realizing this was a major concern for many of our clients, we decided to start offering MySpace maintenance service packages, for as many or as few hours as needed. For more information on these services, contact the marketing department at 339.440.4585 or email amy@pearsestreet.com.

1. Website Link.
   If you have a website, definitely add a link in your main navigation bar to your MySpace page. This is a key tool to increase traffic to your page, and it shows that you’re on the cutting edge with a MySpace page!
2. Print Promotionals.
   Add your MySpace URL to your business cards and other print promotional materials. Giving your leads and clients another channel to learn more about you is always a plus.
3. Email Signature.
   If you’re in business, it’s pretty much mandatory to have a clear and thorough email signature with all of your basic contact information. Add your MySpace URL to this block of key info.
4. Link & Top Friend Exchanges.
   The more places where your MySpace page is linked on the Internet, the more chances there are of your page finding an audience. Help others network and give yourself added visibility by requesting a link or Top Friend exchange with other individuals, businesses and organizations. As a show of good faith, people often list associates' links on their MySpace page or website prior to asking for a return link.
5. In the Press.
   Submit a press release announcing the launch of your new MySpace page, summarizing the nature of its content and other points of interest regarding your business or service. Press releases can be submitted to local media as well as online services such as PRWeb.com. It is also common practice to list your Press Releases on your website or MySpace page in a “Media” or “Press” section along with any other news articles or notable public mention.

Viral marketing is the new catch phrase for online marketing that works for you. MySpace is the perfect forum for this type of marketing, because the “network” is always there and always expanding. An example of viral marketing would be a linked graphic or banner advertising your page/service/etc with downloadable code that allows fans/visitors/etc to grab the code, implement it onto their page, thus creating a way for their entire network to click thru to your page.

Visitor Downloads. Consider creating banners, themed MySpace layouts, widgets, AIM icons, wallpapers or desktop calendar graphics that visitors can download from your page. Make sure these graphics have your URL incorporated into the design or link back to your page. This is a great viral marketing strategy for generating buzz and interest in your page. Below is some sample code for adding an image to your page or a comment/message to another MySpace user that will allow them to easily add it to their own page.

DON’T
1. Since standard accounts are provided free of charge, we must abide by MySpace’s rules. The three no-nos are obscuring the MySpace ad banner (or featuring your own ad banners), spamming or featuring inappropriate content. Any of these will almost guarantee that your account gets deleted.
2. While we strongly encourage using your MySpace to the maximum benefit, remember that MySpace monitors the level of activity on every account. We recommend limiting your interactions to 200 or less per day to ensure that MySpace will not mistake you for a spammer.
3. Some graphic suggestions… Do not use a photo or busy graphic as a background to your content. Take advantage of a strong title graphic, and present the content in a way that isn’t distracting.
4. Do not clutter your MySpace page with “Which Sex in the City Star are You?”, quizzes and other obnoxious widgets that don’t directly speak to your audience, at least if you expect to be taken seriously as a professional entity on MySpace.
5. If you’re going to have your profile song on auto-start, make sure it’s easy listening or a nearly universally loved tune. This may be the deal breaker on whether or not a visitor returns. I have been known to repeatedly visit someone’s page based on their having a good song.

DO!
1. Choose a catchy MySpace URL. Chances are I won’t remember your unique page ID as the URL, so pick something I’ll remember, ideally using words from an existing domain of yours. Underscores are allowed. Remember once you choose you can’t change it!
2. Keep your content fun and current. Most people are visual and making a strong first impression when a visitors comes to your page is important. Just as important is the strength and relevancy of your content, so keep those blogs and bulletins coming.
3. Choose your top 8 with care. Oddly, it is a significant factor in how people perceive your account. You might also consider asking for a top friend exchange with someone who would return the favor and bring some extra traffic to your page.
4. Keep in touch with your network. We want news. We want gossip. We want the latest pic. So keep us in the loop through your blog, bulletin, a friendly comment or personal message. Don’t forget to add your website link too!
5. Remember, MySpace is "a place for friends." Be a nice MySpacer.

MySpace pages are searchable on all the major search engines and you can submit your MySpace URL to them. And if you’re already familiar with the benefits of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), then you’ll want to pack your MySpace page with key words as you would your website.

The more links to your website that exist across the Internet, the more likely you are to show up on search engines for various key word searches. MySpace is a fantastic place for spreading your links across the Internet. For example, if you take the comment code (above) and put this in each of your friends’ comments and they accept it, your chances of having your page spidered increases exponentially by however big your network is.

Submit Your Site on Google: http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

Submit Your Site on Yahoo: http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html

If you are looking to sell merchandise through your MySpace page, you can easily add PayPal buttons (javascript encrypted buttons won’t work). You can also add links to purchase pages on your website or shopping cart site. If you are an artist wanting to sell downloadable tracks, look into adding Snocap to your page. This is probably the most MySpace-friendly method of selling your music. Otherwise adding links to Itunes, etc. will do the trick.

• http://www.snocap.com/
• http://www.apple.com/itunes/
• http://www.soundstation.com/

The 100% sanctioned way to add music to your page is to find an artist page, and add their track to your profile. Look on their player, and most will have the “Add” link available. Of course if you are an actual artist you have the MySpace Standalone player to which you can add several tracks and your Song Plays, etc will tally appropriately.

MySpace is all about music and it’s all about YOU, so why not add all your fave songs on your page? Well, technically you can’t host mp3s that you don’t have the copyright to, so approach that option with care. Here are a few alternatives if you’re needing a playlist on your page.

• http://www.wyplanet.com
• http://www.projectplaylist.com
• http://www.myflashfetish.com
• Google Search "MySpace MP3 Players"

You’ve got a few options here.

1. You can host your videos with MySpace. Go to Add/Edit Videos when you get to your main account page. If you want to put the finished video on your profile page, you may have the option to click “Add to Profile” or you can copy the embed code and add it to the section of your page where you’d like to see it.
2. Host Your Videos with Google Video or YouTube. Same process.
3. Grab someone else’s video. Same process.
4. Have someone like us create a custom XML-driven multi-video player that will blend with your current branding.

There are loads of ad-supported slideshows out there, but there is also a slideshow feature within your MySpace account that will automatically add any new photos in your album to the rotation. Similar to the video embed code, the slideshow is a Flash object with it’s own code that you can copy and paste anywhere in your layout. Here are some other slideshow providers:

• http://www.slide.com
• http://www.myflashfetish.com/myspace-slideshows.php
• http://www.myspaceslideshow.net/
• http://www.mywackospace.com/image-slideshow/

The MySpace blog isn’t as pretty as some other blog providers out there, but one key feature about their system is that other users can subscribe to your blog, and once they do, every time you post a new blog, they are notified. So this is a great way to get people coming back to your page for new info. Several other blog services do this, and if you already have a well-established blog going someplace else, you can always double post!

If you do decide to use the MySpace blog, keep your posts interesting, personable, funny and informative. Avoid being too sales-y, remembering that friends wants to be connected with a personality they can relate with, not an advertisement. Here are some non-MySpace blog providers:

• http://www.blogger.com
• http://www.wordpress.com
• http://www.typepad.com

If you haven't already, set up an account. Get a feel for how MySpace works. It takes a little getting used to, but the site utilizes a fairly straightforward user interface that you will be able to navigate quickly. Upload some pics, some videos if you have any, write a small blurb about yourself. It's all about YOU!

Be sure to secure a memorable URL extension if you have not already. For example: http://www.MySpace.comm/DesignForMySpace