Comments on: Can small businesses market on MySpace?

By: charris

charris — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 01:48:54 +0000

Small businesses all have a place on MySpace - that’s where the people are! If you don’t - you’re making a classic mistake of not seeing what’s right in front of your eyes.

By: MrPenn

MrPenn — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 19:35:07 +0000

Paul Drago again– sorry for the name change.

I am sure it could work for certain services– but you are targeting a 15-25 demographic and they expect a lot of free things.
I’ve seen a few stores that have built their entire initial launch around the concept of myspace and it has worked for them. I have given a lot of thought to it (I am within the 15-25 demo and was an early myspace adopter) and it seems certain services can do marginally well within Myspace– but they are little myspace cottage industries (we will design your myspace layout) and a lot of them are getting cease and desist letters from Rupert as of late.

I saw E-Trader (or Scottrade or Ameritrade– I forget which now) run a large scale banner add trying to get people to use their services– they disappeared after a few weeks so I suspect the ROI must have sucked. (Actually, the ads sucked too. so that doesn’t really help)

By: Matt McGee

Matt McGee — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 03:06:55 +0000

Thanks for the comments, Paul. So you’re saying it could work for a small business on two conditions:

1) Has to be product-based, not service-based; and
2) Has to targeted/connected toward youth.

Is that an accurate explanation? I certainly agree with #2, and I think the evidence probably supports #1, too. The success stories I’ve read about in MySpace marketing do all deal with products. But surely there has to be some youth-oriented service that could make it work, too. Have to think some more on that….

By: Paul Drago

Paul Drago — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 17:50:28 +0000

Angela Natividad wrote an article on it a few months ago called “Myspace isn’t for advertising, it’s for sex”
Rand at SEOmoz did the same recently.
I disagree to a point, some small businesses with “edgy” products that feel “real”
And I seriously and strongly doubt it would work for services “I’m a painter” or Mortgage brokers. It has to be something connected intimately with youth culture.

I’ve looked into it in the past– and I think it is viable within a strong youth oriented niche market and that is about it…

…Or if they are selling something related to sex.