Social Networks: Ready to Join the Party? Selling Yourself On Facebook.

Posted on | October 21, 2009 | No Comments

By Leigh Buchanan, Max Chafkin, and Ryan McCarthy |  Feb 1, 2008 Inc. Magazine

Though roughly two-thirds of all North American Internet users visit a social network at least once a month–and they spend four hours a month on these sites on average, according to ComScore, a Web-traffic research firm–most marketers have so far steered clear of social networks.

“The perception was that social networks were these crazy free-for-alls, basically an extended bar night,” says Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal and founder of Slide, a San Francisco–based widget developer. “But the fear of putting brands on social networks is starting to subside.” (In the interest of full disclosure, Inc.’s parent company launched IncBizNet, a social network for the owners of private companies, last fall. Operators are standing by.)

Beyond the simple fact that social networks offer advertisers access to tens of millions of potential customers, they present two clear opportunities for more effective campaigns. First, they promise the ability to target customers with precision. If you want to reach baseball-loving twentysomethings who live in Seattle and have a college education, you can find social network groups that fill the bill. Second, social networks encourage your customers to recommend your company to others. Let’s say your company has a Facebook profile, and another user signs on as a “fan” of yours. Facebook will then alert that person’s friends, informing them of the connection. Voilà: textbook viral marketing for free.  That’s the hope, anyway. But skepticism is in order, as social networks have a ways to go.

For more of this article, simply click on the author’s name below.

By Leigh Buchanan, Max Chafkin, and Ryan McCarthy |  Feb 1, 2008 Inc. Magazine

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