Everyone knows about Myspace. While not the original, that would be classmates.com, it is certainly the most prolific social networking site today. I’ve seen quite a few blogs touting why, but it is important to know how. That is my intention with this article.

The Culture

One key to a successful Myspace marketing campaign is to know the culture you are trying to reach. The culture is not the same as the demographic. I will explain that in greater detail in a moment. A few things to realize about Myspace users in general -

They are not kids

In the past the 12-17 age group has made up the bulk of Myspace users. Today the vast majority of Myspace users are NOT teens. Demographic shows adults are the largest groups of users. Between the ages of 17/18 to 35 is actually the largest most active group.

They are computer saavy

Users of Myspace know how to use a computer better than any generation before. They know basic HTML, and are not easily fooled by shady tricks. Even if they click and visit your site you’ll lose any chance of converting them if they were tricked into it.

They are under constant assault by advertisers

From log on to log off users are assaulted from all sides. Myspace is not a novel new idea for marketing. If there’s been one there’s been 1,000,000 using it.

They are a global audience

Every nation in the world is represented on Myspace. From the wealthiest to the poorest. From the most blessed to the most distraught.

They are fast paced

The typical Myspace user doesn’t sit around waiting for something to grab their attention. They want a return on their time immediately. If you can’t provide a reward for them looking at your page they won’t.

The Demographics

The demographics of Myspace users is varied. Pretty much every age, nationality, income level, religious belief, ethnicity, and much more is represented. That is why it’s IMPERATIVE that you know the demographic you want to reach. You can have a thousand friends but if you market the same thing to each of them you won’t get far.

Choosing your friends

Once you’ve made an account you’ll see a toolbar across the top of the page. Click where it says browse.

This will let you start picking and choosing who you want to target by a variety of means.

Choose advanced.

Spend some time in this section and build a profile of your desired audience based on the many options you can choose from. It is what makes Myspace so powerful for marketing purposes.

In the lower left corner click where it says Update.

You’ll be taken to a page with all the profiles that fit your criteria. Now start making contact with these people. The best way to do this I’ve found is a three step process.

Step 1: The Message

Compose a generic yet customizable message for everyone you contact. Generic in that you can copy and paste, customizable in that after looking at their profile for 10 seconds you can incorporate something personal into the messages. Under the main profile picture you will find the “contact table”. Click “Send Message”.

Many people customize their profiles so the contact table may not look like the version in the picture, or might not be visible at all. If you have Firefox and an extension called Grease Monkey you can find scripts that will let you see the site as it looks without customization.

Step 2: The Invite

Immediately after you’ve sent the message it is time to send the invite to the person. On the contact table is a link that says “Add to Friends”, click it. You’ll be forwarded to a new page that will either ask you to confirm/cancel the requests

Unless of course you change your mind in which case click “Cancel”

On rare occasion you might find that you come across a profile that requires you to enter the email address or last name of the person you are trying to add. If you don’t know it just skip it.

It is important to send the invite as soon as possible after you’ve sent the message. This is to associate your invitation with your message.

Step 3: The Comment

Once you’ve been accepted as a friend wait for a while, several hours to a day, and go to your new friend’s profile and leave them a comment. How you do this depends on how they have their profile setup and if they allow HTML comments or not. If you prefer you can always send them another message thanking them for their “friendship”, but I’m of the belief that a public acknowledgment (which a comment is) is a far better choice. First of all people like to have their egos stoked publicly, but it also puts your name out in front of everyone else who reads that persons public comments. I’ve gotten more than a few contacts out of people who have seen my comments on their friends profile.

A few more things to keep in mind. When you create your profile keep it professional and related to what you are marketing. It’s not the place to talk about how you can’t remember what happened after 10pm on Saturday night. Make sure your profile picture isn’t “weird” or you will drive potential “friends” off. Finally once you’ve gone to all the trouble of getting someone as a friend make an effort to keep in contact with them. Don’t pressure them to “buy” just build the relationship and let them come to you when they are ready.