Creating an affordable social network
by Julian Gratton
They’re an enduring part of everyday life, and it’s safe to say they are here to stay. Facebook, Faceparty, Bebo, Badoo, Cake Financial, Gurgle, Fubar and Geni… these are just a handful of social networking websites that can be found on the web that allow users to meet online, share interests and interact with each other.
For companies wanting to create their own social network, the expense of setting one up can be huge. And for every success story like Facebook and MySpace, there are stories of failure like The Globe, Bolt and Capazoo. Many companies have got round this expense by creating Facebook and MySpace brand pages, that act as their own ‘low cost’ social network… but there is another alternative, a ‘white label social network’ that allows you to have total control.
Meet Ning… it’s more than just the Chinese word for peace.
Find more videos like this on Ning Network Creators
The idea of ‘white label social networks’ has been around for a number of years, and there are now a number of companies who offer this service. By looking at a ‘white label social network’ comparison chart published by Techcrunch, it’s clear to see that the best of these is called Ning.
Launched in October 2005, Ning (meaning ‘Peace’ in Chinese) quickly gained in popularity. This popularity came about as Ning allowed people to create their own social networks based around their specific interests with their own design and (for premium members) their own bespoke URL.
For Developers, as the Ning code is Open Source, at allowed the creation of third party applications to enhance the list of tools available to be added to pages. A quick search on the Open Social Directory reveals that any Ning profile would have access to everything from live Chat applications to Translation tools for foreign visitors and even games such as Sudoku and Super Mario Bros; in fact at the last count there were over 30,000 user created applications for Ning.
No one need know you’re using Ning.
Find more videos like this on Ning Network Creators
Another advantage of Ning over the likes of MySpace and Facebook is the ability to re-skin Ning’s templates to achieve your own desired look. This means that Ning can be incorporated into any site and maintain the site look and feel. Having a premium membership also means that you’re not stuck with having to have Ning in your URL and the whole thing can be attached to company website to enhance the belief that you have created your own social network.
Selling ad space on Ning.
One of the many benefits of setting up a social network on Ning is the ability to sell advertising space. This option is only open to premium members, but for those who then create a network that is popular, the revenue stream that it can create is one that cannot be ignored.
There are two ways that you can do this on Ning. You can run ads from an external ad provider such as Google AdSense or AdBrite and retain the ad revenue, or you can use your own ad code and offer the ability to purchase ad space to both members of your network and companies you feel might have an interest in marketing to your members.
Using Ning to enhance your organic rankings on Google.
Like any other website, a Ning page can have Google Analytics attached to it which is invaluable for collating information about visitors including where they’re coming from, where in your social network they spend their time and how often they’re coming back.
Along with most other websites on the internet, Google crawls public social networks on Ning and pages on Ning regularly appear high in the rankings of Google search results. Not everything on Ning will be indexed by Google though, as network owners can limit what Google can find.
Basically, anything that’s accessible without signing in will be indexed by Google and will appear in Google search results. If you don’t want any content on your social network to appear in Google search results, all you have to do is make your social network entirely private.
500,000 social networks can’t be wrong
In October 2008 Ning announced that it now hosts half a million social networks on its platform, meaning Ning users now create a new network every 30-seconds. 65% of these networks are currently active and 3% of them are premium users, which might sound like a small number but it still equates to 15,000 social networks that are serious about building an online community.
Just a few white label social network sites!
Ning isn’t the only option out there if you’re looking for an affordable way to create a social network. There are a large number of ‘white label social networks’ available, here are just a few others:
· Social Spring: Built on a modular and extensible platform, SocialSpring powered networks can easily integrate everything from photos and videos to forums and community questions
· OneSite: A leading provider of online community and social media solutions offering a complete community experience with Blogging, Photo and Video Sharing, Tagging, Rating, Flagging, Commenting, Built-in Messaging, and Groups
· CollectiveX: Empowers people to easily create collaboration communities
To find out more about the white label systems that are available to create an affordable social network, the best advice is to take a look at a chart published by Techcrunch.
How to make your affordable social network a success!
The biggest mistake that any marketer can make with regards to a social network is thinking that people will find it and happily become a part of it. The majority of social networks fail simply because there is not enough user take-up to create interesting and relevant community content that other participants want to share in.
A busy network powered by fans of The Smashing Pumpkins
Any social networking activity needs to be done as part of a wider marketing plan. Emails, direct mail packs, publications, adverts… all of these should be used to promote what you have created. In addition, create an internal team tasked with adding content into the network… if people see other people participating they are more likely to want to get in on the action.
Remember, you may have paid out less to create this affordable social network, but you have to ensure you invest both time and money in other areas to ensure it is a success.
If you’d like to see how Social Networking can help you… why not give Red C a call on 0161 872 1361 or click here
Tags: Advertising on Social Networks, Affordable Social Network, Facebook, Gurgle, MySpace, Ning, Online Communities, Social Networking, White Label Social Network
