Social Network Promotions: Twitter, Facebook Or MySpace?

Social networks can be a cheap and effective way of advertising a product, brand or business. It is important to tailor the promotional campaign to the specific social networking site since each work in its own particular way. Promoters should ensure that they understand the site with which they are working, and that they choose the social network which they will be able to use to the best effect.

Twitter is probably the easiest site to use as a promotional tool. Users post tweets of up to 140 characters, follow the feeds of other users and converse with one another through comments and tweeted conversations. It is possible to add links to photos, videos and websites, and users can also use hash tags to link their tweets to a particular topic. The use of these tags is perfect for promotional uses since people can be encouraged to use the name of the business being promoted as a tag. Twitter works best when it is updated frequently since the short length of the posts means that it is a very fast-paced online conversation. It is possible to place a small ad at the end of every tweet, or to intersperse tweets that are solely for advertising purposes with others that contain useful or entertaining content. Twitter feeds should always provide something more than adverts, as otherwise they will not attract and retain many followers. It is possible to set up a private Twitter feed, however, which could be used to provide ads to paying customers, or to offer special offers or information only to people who have earned the privilege, for example by previously making a purchase. 

Facebook may be the most versatile site since it offers a variety of ways in which to interact with other users and it is possible to use or create applications and games that can be used on the site. Facebook is a good option for promotional campaigns that will be multifaceted. It is the perfect place from which to coordinate and bring together different elements of the advertising campaign, by organizing live events through the event scheduling facility, keeping people up-to-date by posting messages on the home page, communicating with friends through messages and posting public notes on their wall, and posting links to websites and media. Since there is so much content of different kinds on Facebook, it is important to be able to offer some substantial content in order to promote something successfully on this site. 

MySpace is the favorite social networking site for people who are working in the creative industries, particularly musicians and the music business. This is because the MySpace profile page is designed to allow people to share music with one another. Artists can provide examples of their work for free streaming and for downloads, either free or for a charge. The profile page provides artists with a chance to present bios for each member of the band, and the event management function is ideal for notifying people about upcoming gigs and events. MySpace can also be used to promote other types of products. It is a good site to use when promoting a business or an individual with a strong brand image or persona since the site is based on profile pages which can be customized to reflect the user's personality.