DANA POINT, Calif. — SpaceGravy.com and Splash Media CEO Jennifer Lange released a list of rules aimed at improving businesses’ presence on social networking websites.
Lange owns and operates SpaceGravy.com . The company provides free layouts, backgrounds and add-ons for networking sites MySpace, MyYearBook, Friendster, Xanga and Virb.
Lange said businesses need to keep some important rules in mind when attempting to market their businesses through popular online communities.
The No. 1 rule on Lange’s list: don't ignore the social space, it could be the single biggest mistake a business could make.
"Websites like MySpace and Facebook are behemoths,” Lange said. “You need to be where your customers will most likely be and chances are, they're socially networking. Neglecting to have a social networking presence is akin to neglecting your customers."
Rule No. 2: Advertising isn't everything. According to Lange, businesses don't have to invest tons of money in advertising to have a presence at social networking websites. In fact, Lange says companies can make significant inroads simply by having free profiles, and effectively managing those profiles, at MySpace, Facebook and other social sites.
Rule No. 3: “Work” your profile by adding friends, posting comments, writing blog entries and sending bulletins.
"Don't expect to throw up a profile and have millions of people find it," said Lange. "Our advice is to have someone dedicated to managing your company's social networking profiles and to take a proactive approach to working those profiles, to grow brand awareness."
Rule No. 4: MySpace isn't the only game in town, so businesses shouldn’t focus on one single site, but should instead, have a presence at a variety of social networks.
Rule No. 5: Maintain the integrity of social networking. When it comes to creating a social networking profile it’s important to maintain a balance between marketing your company and preserving the social networking experience to which millions of users have become accustomed, Lange said.
Don't change the overall structure of your profile so visitors get confused about how to navigate through it and don't turn it into a blatant online sales brochure for your company with little semblance of how a general user's profile looks or functions.
"Also, aside from profanity or verbal abuse, allow friends to post comments about your company, even if they're negative. You can learn a lot about your customers — and your business — that way."