Jan Zimmerman, author of "Marketing on the Internet" (Maximum Press) has recently written "Web Marketing for Dummies" (Wiley). We are reprinting with permission some marketing techniques outlined in Chapter 7 of her book that are relevant to small ecommerce websites. You can find Part 1 of this special feature article online
here.
Buzzing with Social Networks
Are social networks the Web's answer to the human need for community in an isolating technological world? Or merely the latest craze in online connectivity? Social network sites, whether business or personal, encourage participants to interact with others who share their interests or mutual objectives. Table 7-3 lists some of the largest social networks, and resources to find others.
Table 7-3 Social Network Resources and Major Sites
Personal social networks
MySpace.com, the most famous personal social networking site, boasted more than 50 million unique visitors in May 2006, exhibiting explosive growth of 230 percent from the prior year, according to comScore Networks. Sites like these make it easy for users to share blogs, photos, video, and audio. There are specialized social networks for all kinds of interests, from gaming (Xfire.com) to college students (Facebook.com). Most networks now offer customized business profiles and paid advertising opportunities.
Remember
Personal social networks, with their emphasis on individual profiles, appeal to a young demographic struggling with the age-dependent search for identity. Unless this activity is part of their job, most busy adults don't have time for extensive social networking.
Like blogs, this B2C technique is very useful for those in the entertainment, fashion, and consumer technology fields with an audience of teens and unmarried young adults, from 15- to 34-years-old. If this isn't your audience, devote most of your energy to other marketing methods.
You might post a profile on several of the larger personal sites as a low-key effort, but don't rely on them too much unless you're in one of the key business sectors. Even in these arenas, the marketing value for small- to medium-sized businesses remains uncertain. People have to find your profile, which means getting noticed among hundreds of thousands of others. Sounds like promoting your Web site, doesn't it? Great success stories turn out not to be homegrown, but rather managed by large public relations or advertising companies who invest significant dollars in Web-wide promotion.
In spite of the hype about social networks, this, too, will pass. Like everything else in online marketing, social networks will go through a cycle of acceptance: from cutting edge to mainstream to replacement by the next creative incarnation of the Internet. In the very process of grabbing onto the coattails of change, large masses of people, corporations, and ad agencies inevitably alter the shape and direction that change will take.
By the time the press discovers a hot new trend, its inventors usually have abandoned it. Technology will always be ahead of you. Young, hip, creative trendsetters will always be ahead of you. If you're chasing that target audience, your marketing must always be in motion and your antennae must always be tuned to rumors. Good luck!
Business social networks
Relying on the theory of six degrees of separation (everyone is connected through a chain of no more than five others), B2B social networks such as LinkedIn.com mainly are used for hiring and job searching, introductions to dealmakers, and for tips (sales leads), not for marketing.
Both generic business networks and industry-specific ones, like http://digg.com/business_finance/Real_Estate_Social_Network, exist. Those sites that accept advertising, however, can be a good way to reach B2B prospects.
Remember
Social networking sites usually track the number of times your profile is viewed and the number of comments received. Again, you can use different e-mail addresses to track prospects arising from social networks. Visits to your Web site originating from your profile do show up in your referrer statistics. You can easily cross-promote between your Web site and social network profiles.
Buzzing the Influencers
Word of Web includes third-party sites that collect opinions, product reviews, and vendor ratings, or that run online focus groups. Marketing folks talk frequently about the importance of reaching the 10 percent of any audience that charts the course for others. These online "e-fluential" folks can do great good, or great harm, in a chat room, blog, or consumer review site.
With a little forethought, you can take advantage of third-party review sites to promote your product, service, or company. Table 7-4 lists only a few of the hundreds of such sites.
Table 7-4 Sites that Influence Purchases
Remember
One caveat: Don't do the talking yourself. Internet users have pretty good spin detectors. They can tell whether an actual customer wrote a review or your marketing department did. Instead, ask satisfied customers or clients if they would mind posting their comments on one of these sites, or give you permission to post it in their name.
Posting existing testimonials elsewhere is an easy way to leverage their power. You could offer a small token of your appreciation or a discount coupon to thank good customers for their business and their time.
