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I'll be honest... Only reasontly started dabbling with social networking as such and I'm finding it very difficult to asses which area of Social Networking i.e. which sites to target and how to target them. I also get very easily sidetracked as there are so many avenues that can be approached.

The problem I have is that I'm in Real Estate / Mortgage Origination. The problem with this sector is that it's always had a negative stigma attached to it. Crap SPAM, dodgy people trying to make an extra buck, lets be honest how many of you actually enjoy dealing with estate agents? Also, people are always thinking that I'm out there just to sell property...

If you take a look at my site it's actually a free for all BLOG just educating people in terms of real estate and mortgage origination in South Africa. The problem is how do you target this to Social Sites without them "segregating you"?

I do however think that it's a very untapped "AREA" in the market and I'm kind of hoping to find out, receive help in marketing this from your FORUM.

Nice topic!

Well no I wasn't was trying to make a point but thank you for the comment... I'll refrain!

My experiance shows that Diggers are not Buyers

I've found Myspace to be a boon for marketing my particular product..  I guess you could call it a niche market for this particular example, but really its not considering the product is used by a much wider variety of customers than this particular market.

Why is it a boon?  Several reasons.

Firstly the product branding/name recognition.  My product is related to the music industry and since myspace is set up basically for bands it only makes sense to market there.  With the ability to add (frineds) contacts who can see each others contact list its great for spreading the word.  I currently have about 18,000 bands on my contacts list. and theres usually 4 or so people in a band so my potential market is really somewhere around 72000.. (and those are just the people on ly contacts list theres 100,000's more) Now I know 72000 people don't need my product, but they might at a later date because any serious musician uses my products if they travel. so even if they don't buy directly my contact info is with them.

The ability to market to a particular location.  I can go through by zip code and market to select areas  which can be informational and useful.

Direct customer relations.  Since it is a social networking you do need to be social about it. I leave comments on other people site about their music and what not.. not only do the bands love it but its also a link for others interested to come visit my site..  If you include a banner with a link to your main website in your banner its another external link that helps with the search engines. (some)

Word of Mouth.. Or e-mail.. If you have a good product word does get out.. I have people referring  us all the time. plus its a great non-search engine way to get hits from people who are actually interested in my product..
Sure I could drive plenty of traffic to my site but if I'm just fooling them to get there its of no use..  With this they go there because they are interested in my products..

I use endorsements and sponsorships.. Bands love it when they have endorsers and sponsors.. especially if they get a deal on the product. I feature bands on my site with their music and links to their site for others to look at.  they love this as well.  More exposure for them.

Its also a great way to let people know about events you might be having..

For me Social media marketing has paid off in spades when used correctly in conjunction with your main website.

Its not a perfect tool and its not suitable for many types of marketing, but if you have music industry related products, then your really missing the boat.

heres my site.. enjoy..

[admin edit: site url moved to signature panel]

Social Media Marketing certainly does require some effort, but you have to enter that realm with an open mind. Admittedly there are a lot of sites that don’t perform, but there are some that have the potential to exceed many expectations. I know of a fair amount of social media participations that have led to increased sales and new working relationships, all which have been attributed to participating in online communities. We actually had an order come through yesterday and in the order Comment field it said “I saw your post in Introduce My Blog” so having said that, if I look at referral conversions coupled with actual unsolicited feedback, I would have to say that there is indeed some benefit.

I set up a paid account with Stumble Upon a while back and have been pleased with the results.

Similar to what's been mentioned in earlier posts above concerning demographics, the site I promote on Stumble Upon is aimed at 18-30's, so perhaps this has a bearing on it's success. It wouldn't be suitable for some of the other sites I manage.

At 5c a click (which works out at about 2.5p for me on exchange back to GBP) the value gives PPC a good run for the money.

Tracking ability is poor though, as they force you to use your main URL to prevent duplicate 'stumbles', so it may disappoint if you're used to using tracking URL's etc to monitor your advertising campaigns - it does go against the grain, but why not through a few quid at it and see if any of it 'sticks'?

Perhaps an easy intro to paid Social Media Marketing for those with a bit of budget.

Cheers