Project Second-Life - Promote eBid for peanuts!

[moonwitch]

Hi Simon...you identified correctly the problem I was having on arrival at Second Life.

Each time I turn up there I end up in the welcoming section where the tutorials are....so I only saw random newbies and the occasional helpful soul who seemed to have been there for ages.

I'm Moonwitch Mistwalker and currently am dressed like I just graduated .....oh....and I did the hair myself

[rupert691]

I assume the marketing aspect could come as much from ebid being there, as much as anything. For all I know they could be the first and only auctions site on there. Has anyone looked for any of the others?
I assume second life has its own forums and follower groups and blogs, which all interlink back to ebid, just the same as facebook, and the other P2P does.
People like us will blog our thoughts on it and hopefully it will spread as all news does.
Donahoe called it "noise," not understanding that, that same noise is what built ebay, before they even thought of TV adds.

I still do not know enough about it, to know how much it would bring in direct business or how much each of us being a friend or member will build its profile, as with other P2P but when you look at the peoples stuff there it is getting clicked, if people are following it through or not I do not know, as the only drawback from the system is that it does stretch peoples resources, so a lot of people will struggle to have that and anything else open at the same time. Now I do not know if those links can be transferred to the website part of second life, as stored links to check later but they should.

It is one of those things that I do not know if I would use it a lot or not, but my techie head is really drawn to the idea enough to do a little more research.

When we began the Project, we searched for other Auction sites that were using SL for Promotion, and to our amazement, none were. The 'problem' is that many 'non-techie' Businesses, simply do not understand SL, or worse, see it as a 'game' which it isn't, as there is no way to 'win', or 'finish' it. We look on SL as an experience. As far as I know there is no other prominent promotion of RL auctions within SL, but wouldn't be surprised if this changes soon. That's why the Group is constantly redeveloping the area, in order to make it interesting and maintain traffic. There are 'in-world' auctions, but we do not have any involvement with them.

Yes, there are SL Blogs, on the SL site, and also Web-sites of links to information about 'Manderley', so that works in our favour too.

http://digging.secondlife.innx.co.jp/place/ac18043e-dabc-4b8f-1606-4dfecc2a9c40

http://world.secondlife.com/place/ac...6-4dfecc2a9c40

Adding 'Manderley' to your in-world profile also boosts awareness of eBid. Do this by standing in the Mall, right-clicking on your avatar, and select 'Profile'. Then go to the 'Picks' Tab, and hit 'Add' (or 'New') - can't remember exactly now LOL. Much of SL becomes second nature, so you don't even think about it after a while.

All members of the Core Group have experience in marketing and Business, and are passionate about SL and it's marketing potential, running 'in-world' businesses too, in order to once again, help promote the eBid name, by linking to Manderley.

All the best, Simon.

[rupert691]

Hi Simon...you identified correctly the problem I was having on arrival at Second Life.

Each time I turn up there I end up in the welcoming section where the tutorials are....so I only saw random newbies and the occasional helpful soul who seemed to have been there for ages.

I'm Moonwitch Mistwalker and currently am dressed like I just graduated .....oh....and I did the hair myself

Nice one Moonwitch! I'll send you a 'Friend request' when I log on, so please accept it, or I can't contact you hehehe.

Can't wait to see the hair! Sounds like a job for 'Hiya'! What she doesn't know about SL Hair/Clothes etc. isn't worth knowing! (Ask her about the time I accidently wore mine on my chin in order to wear a hat! She was so embarrassed, she had to take me outside the Club we were dancing in, in order for her to sort it out!)

One of the easiest ways to leave the Newbie areas, is to just hit the 'Map' button at the bottom of your screen, and then click on a different area on the map itself. (Not the completely' blue' areas though, as they are the 'sea'!) After a while, you'll find places you really like, and can then take 'Landmarks' that will take you back to those places easily (go to 'World' at the top of your screen, then 'Create Landmark here'. Everyone has their own favourites .

All the best, Simon.

[hotandvintage]

rupert691

I never IMed random people. I'm not sure any of the Group would either. That may be dangerous, because the 'girl' you are speaking to, may well be a 48 year-old trucker, from Birmingham, called Steve.



That is something I noticed when looking at the mass of how to;s on youtube, that a lot of the avatars are female, yet the person controlling it, and talking is male.

But looking through the events on the website account a lot of the events are for woman, especially the ones that are paid larger prizes.

I just wondered any reason why?

My thoughts so far are, they live in hope, to attract more woman, woman outnumber men in second life, there is more money in woman's stuff than men's, or they just enjoy it?

[Lovetosell]

rupert691

I never IMed random people. I'm not sure any of the Group would either. That may be dangerous, because the 'girl' you are speaking to, may well be a 48 year-old trucker, from Birmingham, called Steve.



That is something I noticed when looking at the mass of how to;s on youtube, that a lot of the avatars are female, yet the person controlling it, and talking is male.

But looking through the events on the website account a lot of the events are for woman, especially the ones that are paid larger prizes.

I just wondered any reason why?

My thoughts so far are, they live in hope, to attract more woman, woman outnumber men in second life, there is more money in woman's stuff than men's, or they just enjoy it?

Hi All,

I think what Simon was trying to point out is that an avatar could be anyone, male, female, old or young. Because everyone is able to create any avatar they want, rabbit, fox, mouse, cat, even spider or alien, you never really know who you are talking to unless you make friends and get to know them well.

In my time on SL I've always found that the mix of male and female is pretty much even no matter what their avatar is. Events and contests are aimed at both sexes pretty equally and most invite all to join in.

However this thread isn't really to promote Second Life, it was started to show the advertising potential that is available in world. You don't have to like or even go on SL to benefit from the vast audience that is there.

A few of us have put a lot of hard work and real life money into promoting eBid in SL at every opportunity so it would be nice to have a little support, and appreciation for the fact that at least we are trying to do something positive.

It may seem like an unusual marketing tool, but lots of large real life companies have invested time and money in Second Life because they see the potential in a growing virtual world. Some of these names are Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Dell, IBM, Disney, Nestle, Colgate.... to name but a few.

I predict that it won't be long before another auction site who we all know and hate will be on there sometime soon and they won't hesitate in their marketing strategy!

All the best

Wendy

[hotandvintage]

I hope you don't think I am knocking it, or the hard work put in, just trying to get a handle on the users.
As you say it is a new thing to most and if you are looking at anything for marketing purposes, you have to have some idea of who uses it and how it is used?

[Lovetosell]

I am not sure either, sorry



twitter.com/pikachuparadise

Not sure about what exactly????

If you read the previous posts EVERYTHING has been fully answered many times!

Regards Wendy

[rupert691]

Not sure about what exactly????

If you read the previous posts EVERYTHING has been fully answered many times!

Regards Wendy

Thanks for that Wendy. I didn't understand the previous post (now removed), hence me not responding.

For those new eBid, and/or the 'Second-Life Project', here's an edited (ie. brought up to date LOL) version, of the 'up-to-speed' guide. Please ask away if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by rupert691
Hi everyone,

I thought it was about time I posted the 'Quick Guide' to the Project again, for all those that have recently joined us.

...and if you haven't helped to support the Project yet by advertising your eBid Stores or Listings with us, it's not too late. There is still a small number of spaces available.

The 'Virtual World' of 'Second-Life', it's a massive online world, with thousands of users, where anything that can be done in 'Real Life (RL)' may be carried out. You can build, buy land, shop, socialise at Clubs, Dance, run businesses, compete in role-play games, enter contests and win virtual money L$ (Linden Dollars) etc. I cannot emphasise enough, that 'SL' is not a game, but an experience. There are no single 'goals' and no winners, although there are games within SL.

It is free to have a basic account and to download the SL Viewer.
The original concept for the Project, was simply to get the eBid name 'out there’ in SL anyway we could. A small group of us met, and discussed ideas, and quickly set up an SL eBid Group, recruiting SL members who were unaware of eBid's existence. The 'core' Group included members with Business/Marketing skills, which helped significantly with the progression.

We concluded that we should earn virtual money 'in-world' and buy land to build a virtual Shopping Mall on. (We could have bought L$ with RL Money, but decided that it would be better to spend time earning it in SL, so that we could also see how everything worked, and gain as good a knowledge as we could of building, and how SL could work for us/eBid etc.). Once we had saved enough, and after a lengthy search for suitable land, we bought three land parcels (later adding a forth), and set about building the two story Manderley Shopping Mall. We had decided to make advert panels for eBidders available for a small cost to help cover monthly land tier fees, land purchase costs etc. Blank advert panels were added, which have sold steadily since we made them available. When a Resident 'clicks' on the advert, which carries the eBidders logo etc. it gives out a direct link to the eBidders Store/Listings page, gives out a small text file (known as a Notecard) with as many details as the Advertiser requires, and also a Landmark so they can return to the Mall again easily. SL Users may click the following link to teleport to the Mall http://slurl.com/secondlife/Narugo/234/223/76

Early on, we realised that the real challenge was to get Residents into the area and into the Mall specifically to see your adverts. We discussed a variety of options to ensure this happened. These included running regular Saturday contests with L$ Prizes on the roof of the Mall, (which was set up with a small stage for live performances, and dance floors etc.), and possibly acquiring other land parcels adjacent to the Mall and building things that were popular in SL on them.

The Opening night was a great success, with SL Celebrity Elvis Tribute Act, 'BubbaC John' performing live on the roof. He has a great following for all his shows, and subsequently many attended.
Over the following months, more land was acquired and we have regularly redeveloped the area, in order to keep 'traffic figures' and interest in the area high. Among other attractions, we put a garden in, for ‘romance and relaxation’, another, smaller Mall, 'Haven' was built specialising in SL gadgets (again popular), with the second floor dedicated to 'Corrine's Fashions' - (Quality Clothes for Ladies, at Sensible Prices), and a 'Wedding & Reception area' for SL. Peggy, Hiya and myself attended a Wedding in SL and felt it would be a good way to gain more Traffic to the Mall, in the form of Wedding Guests. A pond for 'Second-Life Fishing' was also added, which again proved to increase numbers of Residents in the area.

Our Group is continually fine tuning the area to keep it interesting and increase Traffic, and we have more projects in mind, including a major revamp planned, which should prove particularly interesting! We have achieved a significant number of new members signing up to eBid. It is a SL area that we are all very proud of, and I would like to thank Peggy, Wendy, Hiya, (and the others that didn't want to be mentioned! IYKWIM LOL) for their great help so far. The Project would not be where it was, if it wasn't for you!

If you would like to join our SL eBid Group, or need any help at all with getting started in SL, please let one of us know. We are a friendly Group and it's always good to meet up in SL.

Best wishes, Simon.

We are always very grateful too, for any L$ donations put into the 'Donation box' in the mall, and of course Advert Panels rented for eBid use. We're charged a monthly fee for the 'land', and any L$ we receive, is set-aside for that purpose. Hiya and I have become full-time Builders ('SL time', I hasten to add! LOL), in order to earn L$ for the Project. I feel we have come a long way, since our core group used to 'camp' for hours to earn L$, whilst sorting out 'inventories'! LOL.

Thanks once again, Simon.

[rupert691]

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to say a MASSIVE 'Thank you!' to Peggy for your very generous donation to the Project! You are a VERY kind Lady, and the money will be set aside to go towards monthly 'land fees' for the Project Groups land. (All donations are very gratefully received!)

I'd also like to thank the latest eBidders who have purchassed Adverts to help promote their eBid listings and stores.

We're charged a monthly amount for the 'land' in Second-Life, that your adverts are displayed on, so the proceeds from any that we sell, go towards paying for these fees. Adverts are still available for various periods, (3 months, 6 months and 12 months), and we still have a limited number available.

If anyone has any questions about any aspect of the Project, please feel free to ask away.

All the best, Simon.

[ropegg]

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to say a MASSIVE 'Thank you!' to Peggy for your very generous donation to the Project! You are a VERY kind Lady, and the money will be set aside to go towards monthly 'land fees' for the Project Groups land. (All donations are very gratefully received!)

I'd also like to thank the latest eBidders who have purchassed Adverts to help promote their eBid listings and stores.

We're charged a monthly amount for the 'land' in Second-Life, that your adverts are displayed on, so the proceeds from any that we sell, go towards paying for these fees. Adverts are still available for various periods, (3 months, 6 months and 12 months), and we still have a limited number available.

If anyone has any questions about any aspect of the Project, please feel free to ask away.

All the best, Simon.

You are very welcome, Simon, just glad I could do it and that is not much considering all you guys have done for me. I am so happy that the church still has a place since the land sold it was on.

Good luck with all your work in that area.

I would like to add the money I donated was the L$ from the sale of the land the church had been on.