Another Way to Make Money
Social networking - it's not just for kids anymore
Ok guys, the Facebook thing isn’t over. You know how it usually takes parents and other old people a while to catch on to things? Well this is no different. Facebook.com became a huge phenomenon among college students, and then MySpace.com came along so recent graduates could talk to each other, and all of that fun. Well now it’s our parents’ turn… great.
With the recent success of Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster big time investors are taking an interest. News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million last July and now GE and NBC have their sights on Internet networks. The investors have no interest in making friends or setting up photo albums though. They are interested in the buyer potential created by these social networks. Let me explain…
First, social networks like MySpace allow users to share music, pictures, jokes, etc. These social networks are also a great place to put advertising aimed a niche market of users. Second, people on these networks can share their thoughts on certain products with each other. Basically, it would be like your friend telling you to go out and try a product. Advertisers are starting to take advantage of the possibilities of advertising on these sites and more will follow.
I think this is a great opportunity for companies to reach a certain type of consumer. These consumers are usually younger in age, tech savvy, and educated. I think the best part of this type of advertising is just people talking to each other about the products.
With that said, I would just like to ask anyone who reads this to feel free to ask me to be friends on Facebook… Thanks guys, I know I can count on you.
posted by Jeff at 8:24 PM
5 Comments:
Sorry Jeff, I'm not doing the facebook thing. Therefore you will not be my friend on this online social network. I'm actually surprised that you're even my friend on this blogging social network. But anyway: I feel like the myspace and facebook phenomenon has the potential to really have a promotion and advertising affect for companies. The numbers of people who join these networks are growing exponentially, and people love to share their thoughts about new products, music, etc. I just hope that I'm not pressured to join one of these things when I grow up. I fought the temptation in college and succeeded. I don't need the pressure when I become an adult.
April 23, 2006
Desperate for friends, Jeff? Anyway- this little scheme that the advertisers have going on seems like a good idea. They would definitely be reaching a niche market of users. Such a huge number of people go on these websites that it would be silly for advertisers to not market to them. The only thing I don’t completely agree with you on is that the Facebook thing isn’t over. I think that it may be headed in the wrong direction primarily because of the negative things happening with it (i.e.: employers looking up students). The MySpace thing is even worse. Oh well, I guess we’ll see what happens in the future. And PS- I hope you keep this blog up after class is over. It is the greatest blog EVER.
April 23, 2006
I agree with Jeff. Advertisers saw the potential in these websites to reach target markets. It is easy to sign up and it is free. And you have the information of millions of people at your finger tips. I think using these sites is a great way to get to know young consumers habits. The only downfall I see is that it may be time consuming to have marketers go through one profile at a time to find their likes and dislikes and then draw conclusions from this information. I am not part of either of these websites so I am not sure about how accessible the data is. I will be interested in what kinds of findings they receive from all of this data.
April 26, 2006
Jeff, I totally agree with you. With millions of users on the site (yes I am a Facebook user and proud to say so!). Advertising on these social networks offers a HUGE revenue potential, due to the millions of people on it. This kind of advertising could attract clothing companies like Abercrombie and Fitch, to even cell phone services because teenagers user both of those products. I would think that even though MySpace is available to anyone, they would still focus their advertisements on the 12-24 age range because that is the bulk age of consumers on the website. It will be very interesting to see what kind of ads pop up on Facebook. I will keep an eye out!
April 28, 2006
I agree with Jeff, in that marketers and advertisers have unleashed a new medium for promoting to niche markets through the usage of Facebook, and MySpace. Popular, recognizable sites that generate a lot of traffic, these social networks have a great deal of opportunity for big companies. Encouraging word of mouth, I am sure success will be a result of these recent purchases and continuous advertising throughout this medium. I think it is purely beneficial for companies to use Facebook and MySpace for promotional usage.
May 03, 2006
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