The Clean and Green Club

Shel Horowitz’s Monthly Frugal Marketing Tip, March, 2008
Vol. 11, #10

It’s kind of funny, but it took me quite a while to begin actually marketing on social networking sites. I’ve been on LinkedIn for probably five years, MySpace for maybe a year, and several others (Ning, Ryze, Eons, probably more I’m forgetting). But it was only when I joined Facebook in October, and then shortly thereafter found my way to Plaxo and CollectiveX that I finally started using them to really do some business.

It’s kind of odd that it took me so long because I’ve been marketing very effectively on their predecessors–email discussion groups or web-based forums and bulletin boards–for over a decade, and I first wrote about the idea of marketing online via many-to-many groups way back in 1991, when I wrote Marketing Without Megabucks.

And I freely admit there are bugs to be worked out. Some of the interfaces are confusing. I find that I see a screen and find two or three things I want to follow, and then after I’ve followed one I can’t always get back easily to the next one. The e-mail notifications seem to be very erratic; sometimes I’ll sign on and find a dozen posts I should have been notified about.

Yet in the few months that I’ve been participating actively, I’ve found that there’s a lot of good to be had. A few examples:
* I get notices from a Facebook group called “If I can help out a reporter, I will”–Peter Shankman, a well-known NYC PR, guy posts notices from journalists looking for sources. There’s a lot less competition from other responders compared to some of the other media services, and the price is right (zero). Very few of the leads are relevant to me, but if I get covered in even one major publication, that’s well worth participating.
* The owner of a large marketing agency on the West Coast had a long talk with me about the possibility of opening up an East Coast division for him. This is in the formative stages, but should it materialize, it would be a major step forward in my business. I met him on Plaxo.
* This same person connected me with a like-minded gentleman only an hour away from me. I’m scheduled to meet him in person later this month when he attends my speech. And all three of us have a number of ways we can co-market.
* Facebook allows me to post my blog into my profile, potentially exposing it to many, many more readers.
* When I post something to my blog that I think will be relevant to some of my social networking communities, I can post the link and a comment. I can also do this for links I didn’t write, but which others will find useful, and this boosts my standing in these communities.
* The France-based founder of two of the communities I participate on through CollectiveX had a long phone call with me, and will be looking for chances to bring me to Europe to speak at his conferences. And if that happens, I can finally bill myself as an international speaker (a goal of mine for several years).
* Industry experts who no longer respond to e-mail can often be reached through social network sites.

Next month: Specific strategies to use on social network sites