How To Guide: Strategizing for Myspace's Comeback

1. How To Guide: Strategizing for Myspace's Comeback How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Strategizing for Myspace’s Comeback Executive Summary As of June 2013, Myspace’s re-release is now out of beta. With an image overhaul and a reignited business focus, this social media network is determined to re-establish itself in the social media hierarchy. Most will remember that in 2005, Myspace had the most users of any social network. This user base quickly dissipated in subsequent years due to the rapid growth of Facebook. In the wake of its demise, Myspace was sold in 2011 for well under its peak estimated 2005 valuation. Today, Myspace has a fresh look and strong support from the music/entertainment industry; Myspace seems poised to take back its social network crown. However, with the strong association to music and arts for the new Myspace, many organizations are wondering if this platform is a viable marketing channel for their product(s)/service(s). This How-To Guide describes the new Myspace identity, the advantages to establishing a Myspace presence for your business and the challenges it may pose. Myspace’s New Identity While existing user information remains, MySpace has been replaced with the new moniker Myspace (lower-case ‘s’). The slight, almost unrecognizable change is quite modest compared to the total brand renovation this social network has undergone. The sleeker, more modern appearance of Myspace goes hand-in-hand with the technology upgrade. “Classic MySpace”, as the original format is being referred to now, began as a social network featuring capabilities for video and audio sharing. Musicians and bands utilized these features to their advantage to highlight their talent and promote their music. Eventually, the teen and young adult population found the network and saturated it with self-portrait photos and personalized pages to communicate with others. The new

2. How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Myspace digs back into the roots of the social network by providing popular and unknown artists with a chance to share content and engage new audiences. While the new platform is geared toward the creative arts (as a user, you are asked to choose an account type – “Musician”, “Photographer”, “Entertainer”, etc.), most businesses are able to identify themselves (“Member” and “Brand”) to increase brand recognition, engage new audiences and drive website traffic. Currently, it seems that organizations heavily involved in the music/entertainment industry will benefit most from creating a Myspace presence. Likewise, companies that target Generation Y (teens and young adults) may find value in identifying themselves through this social network because of the audience that Myspace is attracting. Since the Myspace resurgence is fairly recent, there is clearly room for potential identity growth and added benefits for the abovementioned industries as well as other corporations. Advantages of a Corporate Myspace Presence Even though Myspace’s new identity is still a bit fluid (which may work in the favor of corporations that wish to use it), there are benefits to creating a Myspace presence for your organization now. Some of the advantages of building a corporate Myspace page include:  Share Content – For most organizations, the “Add a Song” feature may not seem relevant, but it can be used for linking musical selections to your brand identity. The “Add a Photo”, “Add a Video” and posting features are also applicable to organizations as they allow them to share unique content. This may prove beneficial for corporations looking to release images and videos related to product(s) and/or service(s).  Engage New & Existing Audiences - Now that Myspace has released the feature to find your Facebook friends and Twitter followers, you will be able to engage existing fans of your product(s)/service(s) from these other social networks. Likewise, connecting with users that are not using those other social networks, but are interested in your business model will increase your brand awareness. How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Myspace digs back into the roots of the social network by providing popular and unknown artists with a chance to share content and engage new audiences. While the new platform is geared toward the creative arts (as a user, you are asked to choose an account type – “Musician”, “Photographer”, “Entertainer”, etc.), most businesses are able to identify themselves (“Member” and “Brand”) to increase brand recognition, engage new audiences and drive website traffic. Currently, it seems that organizations heavily involved in the music/entertainment industry will benefit most from creating a Myspace presence. Likewise, companies that target Generation Y (teens and young adults) may find value in identifying themselves through this social network because of the audience that Myspace is attracting. Since the Myspace resurgence is fairly recent, there is clearly room for potential identity growth and added benefits for the abovementioned industries as well as other corporations. Advantages of a Corporate Myspace Presence Even though Myspace’s new identity is still a bit fluid (which may work in the favor of corporations that wish to use it), there are benefits to creating a Myspace presence for your organization now. Some of the advantages of building a corporate Myspace page include:  Share Content – For most organizations, the “Add a Song” feature may not seem relevant, but it can be used for linking musical selections to your brand identity. The “Add a Photo”, “Add a Video” and posting features are also applicable to organizations as they allow them to share unique content. This may prove beneficial for corporations looking to release images and videos related to product(s) and/or service(s).  Engage New & Existing Audiences - Now that Myspace has released the feature to find your Facebook friends and Twitter followers, you will be able to engage existing fans of your product(s)/service(s) from these other social networks. Likewise, connecting with users that are not using those other social networks, but are interested in your business model will increase your brand awareness.

3. How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.  Increase Brand Awareness & Recognition – By simply creating a new Myspace page, connecting with existing followers and engaging other Myspace users, you are generating buzz for your organization. You also have the option of including your website URL in the “About Us” section to share more about your organization with your new Myspace following.  Drive Traffic to Website – As with other social media networks; new connections, accessibility to your website and platform maintenance will help drive new traffic to your website and, in turn, increase lead and prospect generation. Business Challenges Associated with Myspace Myspace’s current strategy of engaging the music/entertainment industry poses several challenges to traditional corporations. These challenges include:  User Interface Compatibility for Organizations: o Gender Specifications – When setting up a profile, you are forced to select a gender. Most organizations would prefer to stay gender neutral; however, the process compels even corporations to select one or the other. o Age Selection – Just as with the gender category, the new Myspace constrains you to select a birth date, however, you can only use this network if you are over the age of 13. There are also constraints placed on those under the age of 18 on Myspace. Although most companies would most likely prefer to include the “founding date” of their company, it is best to select a date that will make your company appear at a minimum age of 18.  Target Audience Adoption – Thus far, the teen and young adult demographics have been the initial adopters of the new Myspace. Organizations that do not target those demographics may want to prepare themselves with an initiative to create a page after their audience’s presence is identifiable instead of developing the page right away. Action Plan: 1. Get to know the new Myspace – Have your Social Media Manager and/or other members of your marketing team sign up for individual Myspace accounts How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.  Increase Brand Awareness & Recognition – By simply creating a new Myspace page, connecting with existing followers and engaging other Myspace users, you are generating buzz for your organization. You also have the option of including your website URL in the “About Us” section to share more about your organization with your new Myspace following.  Drive Traffic to Website – As with other social media networks; new connections, accessibility to your website and platform maintenance will help drive new traffic to your website and, in turn, increase lead and prospect generation. Business Challenges Associated with Myspace Myspace’s current strategy of engaging the music/entertainment industry poses several challenges to traditional corporations. These challenges include:  User Interface Compatibility for Organizations: o Gender Specifications – When setting up a profile, you are forced to select a gender. Most organizations would prefer to stay gender neutral; however, the process compels even corporations to select one or the other. o Age Selection – Just as with the gender category, the new Myspace constrains you to select a birth date, however, you can only use this network if you are over the age of 13. There are also constraints placed on those under the age of 18 on Myspace. Although most companies would most likely prefer to include the “founding date” of their company, it is best to select a date that will make your company appear at a minimum age of 18.  Target Audience Adoption – Thus far, the teen and young adult demographics have been the initial adopters of the new Myspace. Organizations that do not target those demographics may want to prepare themselves with an initiative to create a page after their audience’s presence is identifiable instead of developing the page right away. Action Plan: 1. Get to know the new Myspace – Have your Social Media Manager and/or other members of your marketing team sign up for individual Myspace accounts

4. How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. (http://www.myspace.com) to educate themselves on its new identity and functionality. 2. Find your Target Audience – Determine whether or not your target audience is using Myspace. Use the individual accounts to search for your customers/prospects/leads on Myspace to see if establishing a presence is a good fit. 3. Review your Strategic Plans – Ensure that developing a Myspace presence fits into your overall marketing and social media plans by utilizing the Marketing Strategy Plan Methodology, the Marketing Communications Plan Methodology and the Social Media Plan Methodology. 4. Create a Myspace Page for your Organization – Open an account for your company and begin updating it with your organization’s information. 5. Track your Implementation Progress – use the Myspace for Business Implementation Checklist to monitor the tasks associated with creating a Myspace page for your company. 6. Update your Page Daily to Increase Benefits to your Business. Bottom Line The new Myspace has the potential to help organizations build a larger online presence, increase brand awareness, engage new & existing audiences and drive traffic to company websites. Again, since the new platform is just out of beta, there are a lot of unknowns about how it will perform compared to other social media networks. Likewise, there is little known about what else this renovated network has in the pipeline as far as feature releases. However, the initial reaction from marketers seems to show that the advanced applications and inherent connection quality of Myspace will prove advantageous for businesses in the second half of 2013 and into 2014. How-To Guide © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved. (http://www.myspace.com) to educate themselves on its new identity and functionality. 2. Find your Target Audience – Determine whether or not your target audience is using Myspace. Use the individual accounts to search for your customers/prospects/leads on Myspace to see if establishing a presence is a good fit. 3. Review your Strategic Plans – Ensure that developing a Myspace presence fits into your overall marketing and social media plans by utilizing the Marketing Strategy Plan Methodology, the Marketing Communications Plan Methodology and the Social Media Plan Methodology. 4. Create a Myspace Page for your Organization – Open an account for your company and begin updating it with your organization’s information. 5. Track your Implementation Progress – use the Myspace for Business Implementation Checklist to monitor the tasks associated with creating a Myspace page for your company. 6. Update your Page Daily to Increase Benefits to your Business. Bottom Line The new Myspace has the potential to help organizations build a larger online presence, increase brand awareness, engage new & existing audiences and drive traffic to company websites. Again, since the new platform is just out of beta, there are a lot of unknowns about how it will perform compared to other social media networks. Likewise, there is little known about what else this renovated network has in the pipeline as far as feature releases. However, the initial reaction from marketers seems to show that the advanced applications and inherent connection quality of Myspace will prove advantageous for businesses in the second half of 2013 and into 2014.