Using Social Networking Sites For Affiliate Marketing

You might not know this, but social networking sites aren't just for teenagers anymore. In fact, social networking sites have evolved into something different altogether than what they once were networks composed mainly of teenage girls.

Today, social networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all share some common interest, such as a skateboarding or investing.

Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are increasingly becoming used by another group businesses. That's right: many businesses are now infiltrating social networks to advertise in some subtle manner and then replicate their message through systems that are already available within the social network.
The most prominent social network is MySpace, which boasts a membership base of 1.06 hundred million (and still growing!).

If the affiliate product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use MySpace to market your product, as you will be able to reach the largest crowd quickly.

Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market your affiliate product through MySpace. One way is to setup a profile, purchase what is called an adder and then begin adding friends to your list on a daily basis.

Depending on your goals, you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and then talk about your business/product on your page; or you may want to simply create a profile for your business and use that to market your product.

While you can send out bulletins advertising your product through MySpace, this is generally discouraged by the MySpace staff and could lead to your getting banned. It is probably a good idea to avoid this; instead, post related bulletins that don't advertise your product, but talk about something similar.

This will drive interested visitors to your page, where they can learn more about the affiliate product you are selling. Note, however, that you will have to link to a non-affiliate page, as affiliate links are expressly forbid on MySpace.

Once you have had some experience marketing to the MySpace crowd, you will want to consider looking at other social networking sites.

One other large site is Friendster. Bear in mind though, that this site is generally very popular in South-East Asia and other Asian countries.

Facebook is another large social networking site, which caters specifically to college and high school students. You will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.

Whichever sites you decide to use, keep the following in mind: your goal should be to develop a network of people who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in your specific product.
For this reason, it is always a good idea to think long term (i.e. don't do things that are going to get you banned); instead, concentrate on building your network and introducing them to your affiliate product.