Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard about some of the big social networks, especially My Space. These sites are hugely popular, driving astounding levels of traffic. While you can envy those running the sites, you can still take advantage of their success.

There are a variety of ways to advertise on these networks. You can purchase advertising directly or through any advertising networks they use.

You can also set up a profile. Watch the terms of service, as many really don’t want strictly business profiles on there, but you’ll also find them often enough.

You’ll want to have a large network of contacts to advertise well on a social network. You’ll have to choose the best way to do this. Some just start requesting people to add to their Friends list while others use software, which is often against the Terms of Service.

Social networks such as My Space may allow you to send bulletins to all your friends. These are a popular way to advertise. I suggest taking a look around and seeing how others make their bulletins to figure out the best way to do this.

Consider your target market when you choose a social network. Some appeal to a younger audience, while others are geared toward older markets, toward people in business and so forth. You want to find a group of people who are likely to be in your target market.

Marketing on social networks can be much like marketing on forums. The more people trust you the more success you are likely to have. It’s not always easy to get things going, but some marketers have good success with this.

Marketing in social networks is not as straightforward as search engine marketing. You’re dealing with people, not computers. Tastes can change, you can offend people, mistakes can be transmitted to huge groups of people, destroying your reputation. Or you can do something brilliantly and be popular almost overnight.

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