Within the vast array of the MySpace community, you will not only find individuals and music groups, but many businesses have also joined the online social network and the numbers continue to grow. If you’re thinking of using MySpace to plug your business, however, there are some rules you need to abide by in order to be successful.

1) Be a part of the community.
Spend some time as a user, keeping a low profile, and learning the rules and culture of the online community you’ve joined, whether it be MySpace, YouTube or one of the many others available. If you don’t keep to the cultural regulations of that community, you will be branded an outsider immediately and few will respond.

2) Focus on giving, not receiving.
If you join MySpace with the unmoving goal of getting new contacts and creating new business, and make little effort to provide anything to your contacts in exchange, no one is going to want to be your MySpace “friend.” Give people a reason to like you. A good place to start would be providing something of value to those who visit your page, such as downloads (screensavers or video).

3) Keep a low profile.
In other words, don’t send out gobs and gobs of “friend requests” to practically everyone on MySpace. You would probably be deemed a spammer and get kicked out of the community indefinitely. Instead, start with a few friend requests a week. If those people like what they see, they will tell others. Word of mouth is always best. And be sure that the subject of your message is subliminal or cryptic - keep it simple and clear so people know why you’re contacting them.

4) Quality is the key.
Focus on the content of your MySpace page. Don’t attempt to hard sell your business, but be honest about your business goals, why you do what you do. Don’t be fake about it. When you’re a phony, people can tell, even through words on a page. Also, refresh your content often. A great way to do this is to keep an active blog about how the business is going, your successes and frustrations (and yes, sometimes even your promotions).

5) Connect to other marketing agents.
Put your MySpace page address on your website, business cards, store front, etc. This will bring people to your page without risking “spammer” status. It will also let the community know that you are in sync with the popular cultural practices, tech savvy, and not afraid to try new things. It builds the consumers confidence to know that a business is willing to take the MySpace plunge.

Source:
• BusinessWeek.com: Avoiding the MySpace Mistake

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