Hello,
Marlon here.
You might not know this, but social networking sites aren’t just
for teenagers anymore. In fact, social networking sites have
evolved into something different altogether than what they once
were – networks composed mainly of teenage girls. Today, social
networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While
teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there
are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all
share some common interest, such as a skateboarding or investing.
Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are
increasingly becoming used by another group – businesses. That’s
right: many businesses are now infiltrating social networks to
advertise in some subtle manner – and then replicate their message
through systems that are already available within the social
network.
Myspace
The most prominent social network is http://www.myspace.com, which
boasts a membership base of 1.06 hundred million. If the affiliate
product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use
Myspace to market your product, as you will be able to reach the
largest crowd quickly.
Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market
your affiliate product through Myspace. One way is to setup a
profile, purchase what is called an ‘adder robot,’ and then begin
adding friends to your list on a daily basis. The robot can add as
many as 300 per day without any problems. Depending on your goals,
you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and then talk
about your business/product on your page; or you may want to
simply create a profile for your business and use that to market
your product. While you can send out bulletins advertising your
product through Myspace, this is generally discouraged by the
Myspace staff and could lead to your getting banned. It is
probably a good idea to avoid this; instead, post related
bulletins that don’t advertise your product, but talk about
something similar. This will drive interested visitors to your
page, where they can learn more about the affiliate product you
are selling. Note, however, that you will have to link to a
non-affiliate page, as affiliate links are expressly forbid on
Myspace.
Once you have had some experience marketing to the Myspace crowd,
you will want to consider looking at other social networking
sites. One other large site is Friendster, which you can find at
the following URL: http://www.friendster.com.
Http://www.facebook.com is another large social networking site,
which caters specifically to college and high school students. You
will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will
afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.
Squidoo
Another place you will definitely want to check out is
http://www.squidoo.com/. Unlike Myspace, Friendster, and other
traditional social networking sites, Squidoo allows members to
create a ‘lens,’ rather than a ‘profile.’ So, rather than writing
about yourself, you can actually just write about products and
services you are promoting.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re promoting vitamins as
an affiliate. Rather than creating a profile on Myspace, looking
for people who might be part of your target audience, adding them
as friends, and then sending out subtle messages, you can plainly
create a lens that is about vitamins. You can talk about nothing
but vitamins; and you can even include links to affiliate products
throughout your entire lens.
Now, there are several pros and cons to using a Squidoo Lens over
other options. The major pro is that Google views as lens as if
it is part of Squidoo – a large, highly-ranking website. If you
create a Lens, Google will reward you by ranking your content
highly. Additionally, it will pick up on your content quickly and
spider it often. Thus, you can put up a Lens about, say, Chocolate
- and, in a few days, already start making some affiliate sales.
The major ‘con’ to using Squidoo is that you only get a 50% cut of
your commissions. Thus, if you’re only getting a 50% commission to
start with, you will only receive a 25% commission once Squidoo
takes its cut.
Digg
Anther prominent social networking site you will want to explore
is http://www.digg.com. Digg is distinctly different from both
Myspace and Squidoo. Rather than allowing you to directly network
with people or to directly sell products, it allows you to submit
blog posts and vote on them. Once a post is submitted, it appears
on a list in the category you selected. From there, it will either
fall in ranking or rise in raking – all depending on how people
vote.
If you’re having a hard time getting exposure, but you’re a good
writer or have good graphic design skills – this is your chance to
shine. All you have to do is put together a high-quality blog
about your particular affiliate product topic. You can then tag
it; and ping it to Digg. If people like your entry, they’ll vote
on it and keep you near the top. If you use graphics, a movie, or
charts, you can expect more people to view and vote on your
particular blog entry. Try to make your post as original as is
possible if you want to get recognized.
Whichever sites you decide to use, keep the following in mind: you
can use social networks in a number of different ways. For
instance, you could concentrate on developing a network of people
who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in
your specific product. Conversely, you could simply take some of
your best writing (on the particular topic you’ve covering) and
try to get it recognized on places like Digg – but without
building any network whatsoever. Last, you can use social networks
such as Squidoo to unabashedly sell products by developing
high-quality content and then inserting affiliate links. Whatever
you do, make sure you select the right network for your particular
affiliate products.
Best Wishes,
Marlon Sanders
