Social networking: be social

Let’s face it. These are difficult times for the adult industry. The “easy money days” are over and it does not look like they will be coming back.
In my personal opinion the slow economy is only part of the problem. As I see it, the changing Internet and as a result the changing surfer is.

*Back to basics*
In many ways we seem to be back in the 1990s. Surprised? Sure you are. Well, take another look and you may not be that surprised anymore.

If you were around in the 1990s you will have faced the trouble of having to explain how the Internet (and sometimes even a computer) worked. And although the
Internet isn’t new anymore and very well spread, surfers very much are new to Internet. Simply because there are so many new options, many of which nobody has ever heard of. Let alone has experience with.

Besides, the vast majority of Internet users are not on a high profile, superfast, modern machine-with-super-plasma-screen. Would you believe some 14 to 15 percent of your visitors may actually still be using a dial-up modem?

Most surfers behave on the Internet with, what I call, “backyard behavior”. Meaning that they will be using very limited options and will only use what they feel
comfortable with. This will be MSN and a few sites they more or less “know”. I.e. they stay within the trusted boundaries of their own back yard and are unlikely to
open the gate and really explore the world.The average surfer is not spending hours on Google exploring the virtual world. Instead they are much more likely to go to
sites that their neighbors, co-workers, the media or friends tell them about. And they will use these over and over again, while hardly leaving the safety of their own bookmarks list.

*Buzzwords versus reality*

The industry is overwhelmed by buzzwords. “Social networking” is one of them, “blogs” is another. Not mention “go mobile”, “tubing” or “video blogging”.
Well, let be burst some bubbles here.

MySpace has millions and millions of users. So has Facebook. None of these millions are surfing the millions. Let alone talk to them. The vast majority of social networks members use these networks to communicate with people they already know anyway: schoolmates, neighbors, family, friends, you name it. The average social network user has between 25 and 50 “friends”.

Adult networks aren’t any better. I spent quite some time researching XPeeps for example. Well, here is the none-scientific outcome of this research.

* I have an XPeeps profile with some 9,000 “friends”.
* More than fifty percent of these haven’t used their Xpeeps profile
since 2007 or even 2006. I.e., these profiles are abandoned and
dead. Any attempt to do any promotion in that area will fail. It
will never be seen.
* This leaves 4,500 “friends”, most of whome haven’t used their
profile in the last three months! In other words, if still active
at all that activity is about as exciting as the activity of a
koala bear on a hot day!
* Similar “research” on RedLightDistrict shows similar results.

*But it gets worse!*

Of course I have highly “promotional” profile, with all the right pictures - in my case girls in bondage. Guess what? I attract a significant number of lesbians
that do not want to make friends with guys. Why? because my profile avatar is a girl in ropes. I.e.: many people never actually read profiles, but just go for the
pretty face in the picture. More promotional time and effort wasted. I am not kidding you when I tell you that this 56 y.o. tattooed GUY got an email from some guy
asking me if I wanted to carry his child!

Want the truth about blogs? People don’t read them and if they do most will read only the first two lines at best. if you have pretty pictures or nice clips in
your blog they’ll look at those, but that’s it - most of the time.

*So what do you do?*

They keyword is - and always has been - niche marketing. Know your usergroups, locate their hang outs on the net and most importantly: BE ONE OF THEM!
If you have a fetish site, be a fetishist. Talk to them, speak their speak, learn the lingo, integrate and as a result become their trusted resource for information,
pictures, movies or whatever else it is you are selling!

The only Unique Selling Point for an adult site is: YOU! Or the person you created. If it isn’t you, create a virtual persona that will be your site icon. Maybe
create diiferent personae if you cater more than one group. And THEN start to network.

No, that is not the quick and easy “two mouseclicks away from millions of traffic” approach. It’s hard work and it’s labor intensive. But it gets you loyal, returning customers that are likely to become ambassadors for your site over time!

Hans Meyer

(The author has been an adult webmaster since 1993 and is the founder of www.powerotics.com , one of the oldest adult sites on the Internet)