I have a new client which might be very interesting. The idea they have seems to be very social in concept and should end up growing. When I'm looking into it the site looks more and more like social media site similar to what facebook was at the start. So if you had the chance to see facebook at the start, and understand where it would go, how would you do the marketing?
Making a new original product that engages users is the only real y way for such a site to become a success. You are aware that facebook has been online for over 10 years right?
Yes, this site is in a different niche but has similar concepts to facebook (friends, connections etc.). I'm thinking significant social media marketing along with some other things. Anybody have some other ideas?
@klown: You have to figure out who is the target audience of your client's site. Then accordingly promote it on those spaces. Social media is a great way to spread the word without any cost. But the only way to be effective is to target the sites properly instead of posting a link at any random social media space. But, if you are looking for very innovative ways of marketing and promoting, then its worth looking at idea databases, like http://www.getmemedia.com/. Good luck!
Capture the attention of your target audience. This is best done in your case by ads, PPC or colorful banner ads. It is unlikely that people are going to search for 'social networking site' and enter your site, since they already have regular sites that they visit, like facebook, etc. So dont spend much on SEO for the site. Concentrate on getting the word out using word of mouth marketing , viral marketing etc.