MySpace dominates the online social community scene. Or does it? Amongst the 35+ demgraphic, MySpace does indeed rule the kingdom. 40.6% of MySpace's visitors are 35-54, and 11% are 55+.
What is one to do in order to break into this market? Narrow the focus! MySpace isn't going anywhere as the leader. Instead of a full frontal assault, smart sites are targeting demographics.
Facebook.com was launched originally as a student-only network. One had to possess a college or high school email address. Their largest numbers come from the 18-24 demographic. The mistake they made was making Facebook available to anybody and everybody. Exclusive means elusive, and people always want to feel like a VIP.
MyYearbook.com has been expanding rapidly, too, siphoning from the 12-17 demographic on MySpace. From August '05 to August '06, MySpace saw a 12.8% decrease in their share of said demo. With the problems of sex offenders prowling MySpace, kids have moved over to MyYearbook in droves.
What MyYearbook does very well is keep a narrow focus. The whole site feels very high-schoolish. One can post superlatives, give a person "flirt" or "bully" status, and even write those cool wills (where someone wills the unwillable, like their jersey number and jump shot).
Most markets are very saturated. As are most categories. "We want to be all things to all people," comes the battle cry from my execs. MySpace keeps trying to head off competition, building a video player to stop YouTube, a comic book to cut off ComicSpace. As for the latter, ComicSpace would not be vulnerable to such an attack if it functioned better.
Think of the Swiss Army Knife. Everybody knows what it is, and some of us have one. But how often does one really use it? If the job requires a screwdriver, they’ll use a screwdriver, not the goofy Swiss Army Knife (unless they’re in a bind). We have been trained to believe that a narrow focus is better.
Who makes the best selling foreign luxury car? It used to be Acura. Then they started selling 4 cylinder cars with price tags around that of Honda’s. Toyota stepped in, but not with the Toyota Plus or the Toyota Ultra. They narrowed their focus and created a new brand: Lexus. Lexus has been the number one selling foreign luxury car for quite some time.
Thus the lesson becomes this: first to market has the best chance of succeeding. First to mind wins. And it then becomes their category to lose. The "better mousetrap" theory that existed in the 50's is dead. It stated that if one were to build a better mousetrap, all they would have to do is advertise it, and they would be a success.
Consumers are fed up with marketers and their lies! A better product does not cut it nowadays. MyYearbook is not better than MySpace (for all intensive purposes), and nor is Facebook. They simply serve their target demographics! What this teaches an astute businessperson is two-fold: narrow is better, and all-things-to-all-people is a business model that will leave holes in your company.
What is the online community for photographers and artists? DeviantArt. What is the online community for photo hosting? PhotoBucket. What is the online community for video? Now, MySpace. Soon, YouTube. YouTube has been rising at unreal rates, thanks in large part to its narrow focus and gobs of press coverage. MySpace has the latter, but lacks the former.
And YouTube is going straight to the top. The flailing imeem.com hails itself as the YouTube of all media, not just video. Their numbers have been disappointing overall, with a random recent rise. A narrow focus versus a wide focus—narrow wins in the end.
Granted, MySpace isn’t hurting. They report nearly $25M a month in ad revenue. These other sites, however, are pulling away the 12-24 crowd. If MySpace is smart, they will continue to focus on their main objective: music promotion. That was the very reason for which MySpace was developed, and that has helped make it a resounding success.
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