The Pitfalls of Advertising on MySpace

Many users of MySpace tout the potential for advertising to be one of the most useful
features of this online community. However, there are quite a few pitfalls to advertising
on MySpace. Most importantly those who advertise on MySpace run the risk of finding
themselves in violation of MySpace’s terms of service and facing the consequences of
these infractions. In addition advertising on MySpace can appear very unprofessional to
potential customers. Finally, those who advertise on MySpace may become guilty of spamming.
This article will take a look at these three advertising pitfalls and provide advice for
avoiding these potential problems.

Violating the Terms of Service on MySpace

One of the most serious potential problems with advertising on MySpace is violating the
terms of service outlined by the administrators of MySpace. This is significant because
members who are found to be in violation of these terms of service can have their websites
deleted and may be banned from the community. The terms of service should be reviewed
carefully to determine which types of activities, in relation to advertising, are permitted
and which activities are prohibited. Special attention should be paid to the section of
the terms of services which specifies member websites are not to be commercial in nature.
It might be necessary to contact MySpace directly for ask for clarification of this
section and additional information on what constitutes a commercial website.

Appearing Unprofessional

Another potential pitfall to advertising on MySpace is appearing unprofessional. MySpace
websites can be created very quickly and easily through available templates. This may
result in some members becoming overly anxious to start advertising immediately. When this
happens the members may be sloppy in their design and may create a website with many errors
which does not present a professional appearance.

Additionally, MySpace is a rather relaxed community where members often use slang or
abbreviations haphazard. This practice can also create an unprofessional appearance which
may alienate some potential clients. Also, MySpace members must consider the comments left
for them by other members of the community. The individual who maintains the website should
understand the comments left for them are considered by others to be a reflection of them.
Therefore those who do not think highly of the comments left on your website are not likely
to think highly of you or your business either. For this reason care should be taken to
maintain a lee of control over the comments left for you. This can be done either by not
allowing comments at all or by only allowing comments that receive your approval to appear
on your website.

Engaging in Spamming techniques

One of the most dangerous pitfalls those who advertise on MySpace might encounter is
spamming. Before advertising care should be taken to review MySpace’s policy on spam to
ensure the advertising techniques you are using are not considered to be spam by MySpace.
This is important because those who are found guilty of spamming may have their account
and website deleted. They may even be banned from creating a new account in the future.

Also, potential customers are not likely to think highly of a business that they view as
engaging in spamming techniques. These customers are likely to purchase products and
services from other providers who they believe run a more honest marketing campaign.
Spamming can therefore be a very costly mistake for business owners.

Written by Michael L. Mayhew
Michael Mayhew is the webmaster of WebmasterAutomation.com.
You can get additional information at his website:
http://webmasterautomation.com/
(c)2007