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A place for business, too

Smart companies know to go where the customers are. More and more, they are on MySpace.

By CHRISTINA REXRODE
Published August 6, 2006

Sean Smith almost never checks his MySpace profile. But he logs on to the social networking Web site almost every day to check out the profile for Top 5 Records, the indie music store he owns on Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

In the year since Smith, 32, opened the store and launched its MySpace profile, the site has attracted more than 1,400 visitors who registered as "friends" of Top 5.

He doesn't know most of Top 5's MySpace friends or how they found the profile. But he knows that MySpace has drummed up business. He thinks his MySpace site gets more hits than his store's traditional Web site.

In 2006, MySpace is the gem of young people who want to share photos, invite people to parties and blog about the weekend.

Now local businesses are harnessing its power as well.

Smith sends bulletins to his MySpace friends to spread the word about the shop's screen printing business. Kirk Johnson, 42, who recruits for Hooters restaurants throughout the Tampa Bay area, finds potential applicants. Catherine Watkins, 43, who owns St. Petersburg's Cafe Alma with her husband, posts dinner specials. Vallee Skin Care Studio, Cafe Bohemia and the Globe Coffee Lounge, all in downtown St. Petersburg, have jumped on the bandwagon, as have many more companies.

"It's just exploding," Johnson said.

He's right.

Last month, for the first time, MySpace garnered more visits than any other Web site, according to Hitwise, which monitors online usage information. Yahoo properties, taken together, still surpass MySpace properties.

Largely invisible two years ago, MySpace has 99-million profiles. It's been growing astronomically since it was acquired last summer by News Corp.; it adds about 230,000 profiles - more than double the population of Clearwater - every day. Each user can have multiple profiles, so MySpace doesn't necessarily add 230,000 unique users each day.

Even among social networking sites, MySpace dominates. According to Hitwise, it captures about 81 percent of visits to social networking sites. College-geared Facebook, with about 8 percent of that market, is the only other social networking site that registers even a blip on the radar.

No wonder businesses are paying attention.

There is a caveat to entwining MySpace with businesses. MySpace's terms of service say it "may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by MySpace.com."

LeeAnn Prescott, director of research at Hitwise, said she's sure that MySpace knows how businesses use it. The site welcomes musicians to create profiles, and any band that's on MySpace is probably using it for commercial purposes. Letting small businesses on MySpace, Prescott said, is just another way to allow creative people to display their wares.

Watkins said that prodding from friends convinced her that putting Cafe Alma on the site was not only acceptable, but something users wanted.

Anyway, she said, "it seems like they (MySpace) want all of the cool things to be on there."

MySpace representatives declined to discuss their policy on how businesses use the site, and they wouldn't give certain company details, such as number of employees. So for businesses, the rules may be fuzzy, but the mass appeal is clear.

Besides the fact that so many people are on it, why MySpace?

- It's easy to set up: Unlike a traditional Web site, a MySpace profile requires no special computer skills to set up. And even businesses that don't have MySpace profiles can post to MySpace Events, a calendar that users search by category or ZIP code.

- It's easy to use: Finding her business' MySpace profile is simple, said Rene Vallee, 22, the owner of Vallee Skin Care Studio. Her spa doesn't have a traditional Web site, so the MySpace profile is the first hit in a Google search of the spa's name. It also appears on a MySpace search for "skin care" or "spa," she said.

- It's free: MySpace makes all its money from advertising. The company says it may eventually add paid premium services, but says its features will remain free.

- It's targeted: Smith of Top 5 Records knows MySpace probably wouldn't be much of an advertising venue for, say, an insurance company. However, it helps him reach teenagers, a large part of his clientele, even though he's not in their age group.

- It gives the customer an active role: The site lets users post to a company's site and send messages to it, like a high-tech suggestion box. "Listening to your customers is very important for keeping your business growing," Prescott said. "And if this allows them to do that ... it seems to me like a great idea."

- It's self-sustaining: When Johnson adds one of his Hooters employees as a MySpace friend, his profile appears in the employee's friends list, which other users will scroll through. "It's a way of ... making users evangelists for your site," Prescott said. "It really takes word of mouth to another level."

Local businesses aren't the only ones drawn to MySpace. Honda maintains a profile for its Element SUV. Nike set up a profile for the U.S. soccer team. Movies, TV shows and rock stars are on MySpace. The Marine Corps is, too.

There are pitfalls, however. Workmanship can be shoddy, and users run the risk that other users might post inappropriate messages, although those can be deleted.

Smith has never had to delete messages from other users. But he did have to use a little creative personification to set up a company profile on a site meant for individuals, who usually post personal details like age, education or hometown.

Smith gave Top 5 Records a bit of spunk.

Status? Swinger, he picked.

Body type? Body builder.

Children? Someday.

Christina Rexrode can be reached at crexrode@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8318.

[Last modified August 5, 2006, 20:24:00]