Does an internet Marketer have to start with names or emails? Can we begin elsewhere? Are places like MySpace & Facebook & Craigslist still a viable place to start? Were they ever?
The internet marketer does not need to start with names of consumers. They can begin on websites that reach their target. It most certainly helps if the budget is low when sending out emailers, but a good email marketing campaign starts with knowing if the names you are send the information out to have an interest in what you are sending them. Beginning else that would aide in getting this kind of information would be best.
As Starting Points
MySpace, Facebook and Craigslist are unique and offer three different value propositions. To start off I will say that they each use to be quite viable starting points. Today to an extent they are no longer as strong a marketing tool as they once were, this is coming from a small business owner who has been out shadowed for the time being by million dollar marketing budgets. The system has been figured out and the process made more costly and less accessible.
Craigslist
This site had the potential to be the local advertiser. It still is so especially in New York City but it has become full of clutter, a lack of response time and it has been raped by hiring companies. People once trusted Craigslist to be their go to guy where Google was too broad. The editors of the site however allow employers to say what they want in ads e.g. “We are looking for a bartender with a Blondie look only”; meaning white females only need apply. They then turn around and block off ads that legitimate businesses place in the sections that customers would actually look in. It is the local space for locals from local people only. I guess local businesses don’t matter in their agenda. But there is a system to override that as employers get hundreds of emails daily from Craigslist employment hopefuls.
“Does anyone else smell that”
This community site from my vantage point has not been a helpful tool to begin dollar less marketing the way MySpace and Craigslist have been. It does have a fairly decent databank available to marketers with searchable interests, hobbies and demographics to aide marketers in buying ad space. They were taking all their “Feel safe to divulge” information and selling it in ways no different from free email sites. One may argrue this practice wasn’t sneaky given that marketers could search demographics without paying for it right on Facebook’s site.
Facebook had built an interface that makes the visitor feel separate from the advertising world (Since this was written Facebook changed its interface which now includes more ad space and more feed spam!)
MySpace
You know from the beginning that your information is searchable and readable by all. MySpace provided an open environment and standard webpage to allow individuals to market themselves which in turn allows them to be marketed to in a very specific manner.
Let me illustrate, my MySpace page is an ancillary website to my clothing line’s site TheDoCollection.com, It is an easily accessible page that is viewable without my having to know about SEO or telling people about it. Friends made in MySpace can just look it up or surf to it by coming from another friend’s page. This gave my company a hit and search rating and drove traffic to my site. MySpace now benefits by having targeted ad space inventory on my profile available to advertisers. Because my business’s online presence has been boosted and gained SEO this adds a world of value and helps me continue marketing with network affiliations, groups and friends of friends.