I’ve lead workshops at conferences nationally about the use of social media and social networking for the adult industry. Most people (especially webmasters) understand SEO, but are still a little hazy on social media marketing. Through the seminars and workshops, I try to shed some light on SMM so that the time they spend on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc are not wasted.

I think a huge problem that the adult industry faces (other than the obvious tube site and piracy issue) is that it’s a product that is not necessarily socially acceptable. Talking about sex is not considered polite conversation. In fact, so often, we’re told to add a NSFW tag to links so that people who follow and read what we write know that they probably shouldn’t open that link while at their office. So many companies have filters and alerts built in to let the HR department know when someone’s visited an adult-content site while at work…so, fearing possible warning/firing/embarrassment, they just avoid clicking on that link altogether.

So any adult content company — whether it be toys, DVDs, webcam, or membership site — is going to be fighting an uphill battle when it comes to trying to reach potential consumers during what are considered “normal business hours”. Factor in the fact the the internet is an internationally-run, 24/7 operation, and the fact that so many internet users have home-based businesses or computers in their homes that they share with other family members, and the likelihood of them clicking on any adult-oriented link you provide them is close to nil.

Because of that, I know that a lot of social network users who are also adult-content providers narrow their playing field. They only try to follow people who are already within the industry (non-consumers but with networking potential) or people who have accounts who are also NSFW. The problem with most online users who have NSFW accounts is that they are set up that way because they are trolling for free hookups. In that case, only dating sites may prove profitable.

So why bother using social networking sites to drive traffic to your site, if your attempts are just going to be met with a Block, Unsubscribe, Ban, or Spam notification?

Because social media and social networking can be used to bring traffic and potential consumers to your site – but only if done properly.

Please comment. Part of the social aspect of social media marketing is the open invitation for comments, discussion, argument, and comparison. We can’t get better without sharing ideas – so welcome! Hope to hear from all of you soon.

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