Sure, you’ve heard of MySpace, but if you are not familiar with the wildly popular online social network, you may not realize what the fuss is all about. As we close out 2006, there are around 100 million individual profiles on MySpace.com, which has been in existence only three years. With that many people “virtually” gathering in one place, it’s no surprise that marketers are lining up to become a part of one of the top 10 most-visited sites on the Internet.

MySpace allows its members, most of whom are teens and twentysomethings, to build a free profile page (with photos and personal details), which can be networked to other members’ pages by asking to become a “friend.” Once linked, friends can post comments on each other’s pages. For masses of young people, social networks like MySpace, Facebook and Xanga have become their online “community centers.”  The popularity of MySpace with this age group is based on two dominant factors.

One, this is the first generation to have grown up fully “wired.” Technology is as basic to them as breathing. They somehow possess the ability to simultaneously watch TV, listen to iTunes, check their MySpace blog, do online research for a school paper, text message with a friend, and IM with several other friends. To them, cyberspace is a real place and multitasking is second nature.

Two, according to Shawn Gold, senior vice president of marketing and content for MySpace.com, social networks are about individuality and identification and connecting with others, which this age group thrives on. Kids want to belong, and they’re looking for discovery, access, self-expression, recognition, confidence building, appreciation, and building knowledge. MySpace, the VP says, is designed to fill all these needs.

For giant brands and small companies alike, MySpace is a mainline to this market and a relatively inexpensive one. Although some people question its effectiveness as an advertising medium to generate sales, more and more businesses are setting up profiles on MySpace and other social network sites, hoping to attract customers.

The theory behind marketers becoming a part of MySpace can be summed up in this comment from a 20-year-old member of a network: “Kids don’t buy stuff because they see a magazine ad. They buy stuff because other kids tell them to.”

That truth has motivated the likes of Coca-Cola, Inc., Apple Computer, Proctor and Gamble, Wendy’s, Burger King, Aquafina, Toyota, Best Buy and Victoria’s Secret to venture into marketing on social networks.

Marketers can purchase space on MySpace, along with fancy features and promotion with banner ads, at costs ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. (MySpace owner Richard Murdoch’s News Corp. sells $13 million in ad revenue each month.) Many of the faux profiles are paid advertising, and part of the package is removal of negative postings at the advertiser’s request. Of course companies also post free profiles, just like individuals do, although MySpace says it monitors these, because direct selling from the profile page is a MySpace no-no.

There is software that will automate tasks within the network like inviting and confirming friends and sending bulletins, making it possible for companies that have MySpace profiles to send messages by age, ZIP code and other demographics with just one click – along the lines of a very targeted direct mail campaign.

There are risks associated with promoting your company or product on MySpace. The users of MySpace don’t take well to in-your-face advertising on their web site, so marketers have to be careful how they fashion their message or they’ll end up doing more harm to themselves than good. Because it’s the most dominant blogging site in the world, inviting people to comment on your company or your product in this public a forum can be risky. Kids pretty much say what they think, and not all the “buzz” will be positive. Also, marketers expecting a direct return on their investment may be disappointed – results in the form of sales are difficult to track.

<< back to "mwfusion"