I am convinced that the really hard part, the critical part, of a success niche social network is a two-pronged marketing.
Entrepreneurs come to me having spent thousands of dollars with developers and numerous hours designing their network. When I ask about marketing, they wave their hands and say “viral marketing,” or “I’ll worry about that after I finish the development.” Wrong answer.
Two Marketing Targets
Those starting a business often underestimate the importance of marketing. And they don’t realize that for a social networking business, you actually have TWO marketing targets.
You need lots of prospects to visit your site, and a significant number of those in your demographic or interest area to become your loyal members.
Unless you have operating cash, you need a totally separate plan to generate revenues. This may be from Adsense, affiliate programs, product sales and the like UNTIL the big advertisers start beating down your doors, and you meet the traffic requirement of the advertising networks. Or until you can start selling a significant number of premium upgrades.
I contend that your marketing plan needs to have two separate action plans to promote the site first to prospects/members and second to advertisers and other revenue sources. Different activities, different targets, different costs, and maybe even different people assigned to execute.
In case you’re looking for general formats, here’s a link to a general marketing plan outline from the national website of SCORE. And don’t forget to include a marketing action plan and detailed marketing budget.
What do you think about the need for two-pronged marketing? Please share your thoughts in a post.
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My name is Gerard Brown, the President and Founder of Exit Sports http://www.exitsports.com. My social networking website is due to launch July 20, 2009. Along with my Co-Founder Montez Swinney we are expecting great success in the near future and have been doing alot of research about your company. We are currently searching for a credible venture capitalist firm.
Gerard,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Finding funding is certainly difficult for social networking websites.
I’m interested to know what software you had your site built in, and if you would recommend your developer. I hear so many stories about problems in this area.
Peg