Marketing and Public Relations: (Doing Virtual Business Part II)

Marketing in Second Life ™ works on the same principles as real life, however there are some limitations that affect the way you market. Conventional advertising like television, radio and billboards are largely ineffective as people in Second Life ™ don’t normally watch and listen the way they do in real life. While Second Life ™ radio is gaining strength and will become an effective tool, at the moment it is not in the same arena as real life radio.

So what can you do to market your product or service in Second Life ™? Let’s begin with the basics and things that everyone should do. They are not costly and in some cases not overly effective, but still a necessity.

Event Notices:
I’ve found that posting event notices is one of the more effective tools provided by Linden Labs. It appears that a lot of people search events to find out what is happening inworld. While commercial postings are not generally allowed, you can use event notices commercially to announce product launches, sales or to promote events. For this reason, it is always a good idea to have something happening whether it is a new product or sale or to have some sort of special event happen at your business. I try to announce each new product through event notices (weekly) and try to have a hunt or grand opening as often as possible. While you are limited to five postings a day, that should suffice to get your message out. As well you can have staff members post.

Parcel Search:
Parcel search is also fairly effective and for a fee of 30L per week, it is cost efficient. All you need to do is check your show in search box on about land and it’s set. Make sure you fill in the name and description areas with appropriate information and try to use full sentences as opposed to tags. I find it works better. In addition, the snapshot showing in search will be the one in your about land tab, so use more than just your logo. Use this as an opportunity to display an advertisement either showing your product or use an enticing snapshot.

Classifieds:
I have found that classified ads in Second Life ™ are not really effective unless you spend hundreds of thousand of lindens per week. Since that amount is out of my budget and probably yours, your classified ad will be pushed down the list. The difference between spending the minimum 50L and one or two thousand lindens is negligible, so don’t do it. All my classifieds are at the minimum price and there just to reinforce the other forms of advertising I do. Classifieds give you the number of tps and map views requested, so view those often and update your ads if the numbers are low. Using the words free, gift, and various forms of the word sex, usually attract more people to an ad, so use them, but be appropriate.

Adboards:
I find the use of adboards hit and miss and much like classifieds tend to only be effective if you spend a lot of money. Finding a high traffic area with adboards will either be expensive to rent or you’ll find that the traffic is not what it appears (bots or such) and you won’t get great response. I try to find a couple places that have moderate, inexpensive ad boards and boards that are close to the landing area. Also places with a multitude of adboards will just lead yours to get lost in the confusion. I tend to rent for shorter periods, one or two weeks at a time. If response is good, you can renew, if not you can move on to another location. Don’t be afraid to move around.

The above methods pertain primarily to inworld advertising and while necessary are not overly effective. Other methods need to be used to bolster your marketing and product.

Blogs/Websites:

If you can afford a website, great, but if not blogs are equally as effective. Blogs are free and nowadays you can do almost as much on a blog as on a website. Blogs were originally designed to be a sort of diary and while they still function that way, you can add video, pictures and a wealth of other items. Posts can be used to describe your business, introduce new products and to offer advice or instruction on your products. Since people can post comments, you can also use it as a question and answer forum. It’s a good idea to be as visual as possible so pictures or video is essential. As an additional form of revenue, you can even post ads from other businesses and charge for their placement. The number of pages you can have is endless and allows you to create links to each page so that you don’t have to cram a lot of information on one page. I have two blogs; one has over 12 pages that I use for different aspects of my businesses and for things like special events, my staff and so on. The important thing about blogs is to stay current. Don’t’ just create it and leave it. People won’t come back to your blog if they see that nothing has changed, so try to update it on a regular basis. Do this by posting a new article or introduce new products regularly. I have a new post weekly and toss in new items whenever I release them in a store.

XStreet SL/Onrez:

Both of these services are great places not only to list and display your products, but also to make announcements through their forums. XStreet SL’s forums have categories to announce new releases and events and to offer employment. Using the forums not only informs readers of your product/services/events, but also keeps your name in the public eye. Be creative and use links in your posts to your products listed for sale and to your blogs and store. Posting in the forums is free and is an essential part of promoting your business.

Aside from direct advertising, there are also a number of other ways to get your name out there.

Events:

Holding events can bolster you visibility. Some events can be directly attributable to your business, like holding a fashion show for a clothing business. Others can be a little less direct. Holding how to seminars or displays or even having a demonstration on how to use your product effectively may prove beneficial to potential customers.

Sponsorships:

While I don’t find sponsorships to be extremely effective unless you do a lot of them, you may want to try to see how it impacts your business. Try sponsoring an event at a club and get them to announce your business during the event and allow you to place a few adboards in the club.

Press Releases:

Many publications about Second Life ™ are looking for articles and notices regarding happenings in second life. While they won’t take something that directly advertises a product unless you pay for an ad, a press release regarding an event or happening will be accepted. Send a press release to as many publications about Second Life ™ as you can. Not all of them will print your release, but some will and it will increase your visibility on the net.

Promoting a business in Second Life ™ is a lot of work. If you simply place a couple ads and sit back and wait, you probably won’t survive too long. The key to being successful is visibility; the more visible your business, product, brand is, the more likely you are to attract business. Work at it and work at it constantly. Update frequently and if something doesn’t’ work, try something else. Well promoted businesses are the result of people spending a significant amount of time not only developing an effective marketing strategy but maintaining and tweaking it.

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