MySpace Design & Social Marketing

We wanted to give you an update on one of the big changes happening at MySpace in the coming months. A New Music Profile Beta has launched, and Out(Loud) has been invited to be a part of the Official MySpace Design Council (pretty cool, right?!).  So, we wanted to give you a preview of what’s coming:

What’s new about the profile?

• Cleaner, more simple look
• The same profile structure on all pages
• New “marquee” option offers even more profile customization
• No more CSS for users (this is important… remember this for later)

Samples of the New Profiles

• www.myspace.com/mrnorthmusic
• www.myspace.com/ladyantebellum
  

As previously mentioned the new profile is still in Beta, however we have been told by MySpace Music that there will be a forced migration for all MySpace Music profiles in the coming months.  So, back to that whole CSS thing… any profile currently utilizing CSS will become defunct at that time.  In plain English?  If you have a fancy-shmance profile, it’s going to break in a few months.

Do-do-do-doooooo!  Out(Loud) to the rescue!  We are currently offering DEEP discounts on upgraded profile design to ensure you’re all ready for migration.  (This is not a completely self-serving offer, we truly want to help you all upgrade in a professional a streamlined way!)  If you book with in the next 30 days, you will receive 50-75% off design rates:

• Past MySpace Design Clients: $150 full page redesign using current artwork
• New Clients: $250 full page redesign using new artwork

While there will be some changes to what we’re all used to seeing on MySpace Music, Out(Loud) is extremely excited about the Profile Upgrade!  We think this is going to really improve MySpace.com as a whole and allow artists to more easily and effectively connect with fans.

Contact us at info@outloudmarketing.com for more info.

A study by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that consumers are 67% more likely to buy from the brands they follow on Twitter, and 51% more likely to buy from a brand they follow on Facebook.

[via Mashable]

Facebook launched a feature Wednesday evening allowing members to share real-life locations with online friends, as expected. The feature, Places, along with an iPhone app, rolls out in the U.S. first, but the plan is to launch the app in other countries and on other smartphones.

Hmmm… does this sound similar to anything? Foursquare. Yelp Check-In. Whrrl. Should these other location-based networks should be concerned? Absolutely. Telecrunch reports that about 20% of users are pushing their check-ins to Facebook already. So, why not just take out the middleman? There’s also a huge difference in volume of users when you compare Facebook to any of these sites, so even if Facebook has minimal adoption initially it may blow the user-bases of these other sites out of the water. Currently, the main differentiation between the Foursquare and Facebook offerings is the badge, and I’m guessing Gossip Girl would rather sponsor a badge for Facebook Places if given the opportunity. Only time will tell, but I’m guessing another handful of social sites just bit the dust.

[via Telecrunch]

MRNORTH needs your help to mix, master and manufacture the CD. As you probably know, today’s music industry is shifting away from the big record companies with bands doing things themselves and bringing their music directly to the public via live performances and internet distribution. They’ve teamed up with PledgeMusic.com to launch a campaign to raise funds for their upcoming album and well be making contributions to the Heel Your Sole charity in New York which helps poverty-striken children complete their second level education and achieve self sufficiency. You can read more about their work by visiting HeelYourSole.org.

Everyone knows that Facebook is huge. Everyone’s on it… and you’re “friends” with everyone from you highschool crush who is now 35 lbs. heavier to your grandma. With such a large, diverse population using Facebook, there are many opportunities for users to spread the word about their music, sell products, etc. But how does one do this without being viewed as SPAM? Enter the Facebook Fan Page. Facebook recognized this need in its users and developed specialized pages on which people could promote themselves/businesses. However, many people still lack an understanding of how to best utilize these pages. Luckily, I just came across an article from Search Engine Journal which offers some great introductory tips. Give it a quick read and expand your Facebook reach!

Aggregate your blog feed.
Simply RSS allows to automatically update your fan page wall with your blog RSS. You may also want to import your blog feed to your fan page notes (for that go: “Edit page“, find “Notes” under “Application” and click “Edit“, then “Edit import settings” and … Read More.

MySpace has launched an updated mobile site available to iPhone, Android and Palm WebOS users which makes it easier for you to keep in contact with friends, family, and fans. The most exciting feature of the new release is the ability to IM your MySpace friends, something neither the mobile site nor the MySpace Apps ever previously offered. The site also offers full profile access as well as an easier photo upload process.

Social marketing while on the go just got a little easier. Thanks MySpace!

MySpace is a safer online environment for its users today as a result of canceling the accounts of thousands of convicted sex offenders. Not only have these deviants been banned from the site, but some are facing criminal charges for having accounts in the first place.

New laws passed in 25 states are making it easier for social networking giants Facebook and MySpace to purge their membership lists of convicted rapists, gropers and child molesters.

More than 3,500 offenders registered in New York have been kicked off the two popular Web sites in the months since the state implemented a law requiring sex crime convicts to register their e-mail addresses, as well as their dwellings… Read More.

Hi guys!

I apologize that we haven’t updated in a while. You’re about to see why! Things have been extremely busy here at Out(Loud) and below is some of our latest MySpace Design work. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Over the next few weeks, we will also be updating the blog with new MySpace Design tips and tricks, so stay tuned!

P.S. If you e-mail Out(Loud) in the next 2 weeks, you could receive 15% off your own design by mentioning the code HOLIDAY09. This discount is EXCLUSIVE to ur blog readers! Drop us a line at info[a]outloudmarketing.com.

The Dolly Rockers MySpace Design

The Toronto Argonauts MySpace Design

DH Styles MySpace Design

The B Film Extras MySpace Design

Chauncey Moore MySpace Design

Vivian Wan MySpace Design

I came across this article today and just loved the subject: Unreadable Text due to MySpace Design. We’ve definitely all come across it, have probably been frustrated by it… maybe even been guilty of it! The two main issues are “text on a busy photographic / graphical background” and “improper background / foreground contrast”; these are two things that make we Out(Loud)ers cringe! Enjoy this humorous and informative article on the issue!

One of the things I really like about MySpace is that it gives users the ability to design their own profile pages. By doing so, MySpace promotes basic HTML literacy to the masses and has likely motivated countless youth to learn a technology they otherwise would have neglected. Unfortunately, the majority of user created websites are complete design train wrecks… Read More.

Hope everyone in the Midwest and East is inside, warm and comfy, and drinking hot chocolate during the winter storms! We wanted to show you two new MySpace Designs we’ve launched that we’re pretty proud of. Please let us know what you think!

Saw to Square MySpace Design

Helena Jessie MySpace Design