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Are your ad dollars ready for social networking?

We're all members of one of the many social networking sites, right? How can we not be if we like to meet people, share music, or just pass the time commenting on videos, recipes, or interesting news.

As a matter of fact, some statistics suggests that 2 out of 3 people now use a social networking site! Just keep in mind, when advertising to these new community sites? the old rules may no longer apply.

Consider these 6 points before advertising on a social networking site:

1. It's about building relationships. It's not about generating clicks... so be patient and don't look for immediate results from your ad campaign since the most effective element of social networking is word of mouth.

2. You won't have a lot of brand control. The social networking site's content is created by users and recommendations are made by users. This means you won't be able to control what content or user your brand is associated with.

3. Don't expect much from display ads. Users are not real happy with all the ads bombarding their favorite social network site and this means response rates will be well below the Internet's average.

4. Use interactive and highly relevant ads. Ads that have the most promise with this audience are highly interactive such as videos, and especially relevant such as dating or music. Just remember, this community is used to seeing things "play" before their eyes.

5. Consider developing a custom Facebook application. And make sure to do a company profile along with your ad campaign... it's the perfect "landing page" for this audience.

6. Speak their "language". No matter how you decide to advertise, make sure and use the language of the community in your ads. Speak their language and you'll have a better chance of connecting and getting your message across.

Social networks are about creating and nurturing relationships. By focusing on long-term goals and developing customer relationships, social networking sites can definitely offer you a path to reaching new customers.

 
 
 
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