Beyond MySpace and Facebook: Octopus Marketing

I must be insane. My plate is already full with enough projects, errands and to-do list items to make anyone's head spin. But I've still found time lately to wade into the deeper waters of social networking online.
Sure, I already have a presence on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Ning and Digg. But after months of putting it off, I finally set up accounts at StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us and Meebo. You should consider doing the same. Why? I'll explain in a second ...

On top of that, I just set up a Music Marketing Video Showcase page at SquidVids.com -- a sister site to Squidoo, where anyone can create a "lens" on the topic of their choice. My new showcase page offers a bare bones video list to start, but I plan on adding to it in the weeks and months ahead.

Why all this posting to so many different sites? I do it for the same reason you should: to reach people online in as many ways as possible.

My friend Scott Ginsberg encourages people to think of themselves as an octopus. Why an octopus? Because an octopus has tentacles -- and lots of them.

To make an impact on the Web, you must stretch your promotional arms in many directions. You have to show up in the places where lots of people are hanging out online. You must be seen and discovered by people who are looking for the kind of stuff you create.

So, if you play in a Tex-Mex blues band, set up a Tex-Mex Music Video Showcase at SquidVids.com and link to the best YouTube videos in the genre. Set up accounts at StumbleUpon, Digg and Del.icio.us and link to the best Tex-Mex music sites you know of (including your own).

Write your own blog about Tex-Mex blues music and plug your posts on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. In other words, spread yourself around so Tex-Mex music fans have many places to find you.

Better yet, fans will eventually see your name popping up on several web sites and think, "I see this band all over the place. They must be something worth listening to."

Now wouldn't that be nice?

Hop into the deeper social networking ocean. The water's fine. Just keep an eye out for the octopuses.

-Bob

P.S. Note that the "squid" of Squidoo and SquidVids is another aquatic animal reference. Coincidence? I think not!

Want to create a music buzz online? Check out my special report 50 Ways to Promote and Sell Your Music on the Internet.

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