It seems as if Social Networking has taken the online world by storm. Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are all enjoying an explosion of users which translates into higher revenues for many advertisers. Marketers are beginning to look at social networking as a way to interact with customers, prospects and even employees, but many are unsure where to begin. Here are a few tips:

1. Be aware of the hard sell and the publicity.

Many marketers see the enormous hype that social networking has attracted and dive right into the deep end of the pool. Rather than a headlong rush, take a little time to ask a few questions. What is my goal? What do I hope to achieve? Is social networking a good ROI for the company? Social networking will only work if your direction is clear and you have specific objectives.

2. Engage your audience

While making your entire social networking page an advertising site may be your first impulse, it is better to find a way to engage your viewers. Advertising banners and skyscrapers are not going to get you what you want from the site. You have to find a way that draws the user in, using creative interaction such as games, competitions, and incentives. Facebook offers free widgets and applications to users, for example.

3. Understanding Social Networking Success

In an article on the subject in Computing SA : “Many advertisers are disappointed by the click-through rates they experience from social networking sites. The average click-through rate on MySpace is 0,10% and the rate on Facebook is a mere 0,04%. These numbers are well below the average industry of 0,3-0,4% for major portals and other sites.”
In social networking sites, a large click through rate is not the measure of success. For example, the number of times a video is viewed on YouTube is one gauge, but more than that, how many times users email the link to the video to their friends is true success. Word of mouth is what adverstiser should be seeking when looking at the probability of advertising on social sites.

4. Be certain to diversify

Social networking is an exciting new field for many marketers, but you have to remember that users don’t spend 24/7 with MySpace or Facebook. Other areas are still very popular on the Internet, such as news portals, entertainment, sports, and recreation portals. Prospects will visit many different sites during the course of a day for both personal and business reasons. Examine your business carefully. Your business may be better suited to a travel site or news site instead of a social networking site.