Using Second Life for Your First Life Business
The 3-dimensional virtual world Second Life can build your business in innovative ways.
Aliza Sherman
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Using Second Life for Your First Life Business
Hi there, The Digital Marketer here, ready to help you put the power of the Internet and technology to work for your business.
I’d like to talk to you about life. Second Life, that is, and how to do business in a virtual world.
It is hard to read any business magazine or Web site these days without seeing some mention of the virtual world Second Life.
What is Second Life?
For the uninitiated, a virtual world is an online system or environment that looks and operates similar to a 3-dimensional graphical video game. In the case of Second Life, however, the world is not considered a game and people can use the virtual world to conduct business and even make money.
To start using Second Life, you have to download the software to your computer and create a digital representation of yourself — called an avatar — and move through 3-D spaces. You can build things and hold live events where other people can attend using their own avatars.
You can even offer services from image consulting to travel planning to French tutoring or anything else you can provide online. While you can only sell virtual products within Second Life, you can easily link Second Life users — known as Residents — to your Web site where they can purchase your real life products.
I know what you’re thinking. “I can’t even keep up with my first life and business. Why in the world would I want to have a Second Life?”
I’ll tell you in one word: Marketing.
Marketing in Second Life
If online marketing and communications are part of your company’s marketing strategy, then you should consider including Second Life as part of your marketing mix.
Through Second Life, you can reach a broad, global, savvy audience of 30- and 40-somethings, if that is your target market. Yes, believe it or not, the core audience on Second Life is NOT the younger crowd. The average Second Life resident is 33 years old, educated and tech-savvy.
Here are some of my quick and dirty tips for using Second Life for your business:
- 1. Sponsor an event. If you sponsor real life events, why not explore sponsoring one in Second Life? There are workshops, author readings, panel discussions, art gallery openings, and music concerts happening in Second Life every day.
- 2. Hold an event. If you hold real life events, you could hold the Second Life version and include more people who can’t attend your physical event. You can engage the services of a virtual events planner, one of the many services that are provided by people around the world within Second Life.
- 3. Provide customer service. If you have a virtual island in Second Life, you can provide company information, 3-D models of your products, show demo videos, and even hire staff from around the world to “man” your virtual office or store to cover different time zones. IBM does this on their virtual island as does the job placement agency Manpower.
- 4. You can enhance your public relations. What you do in Second Life has the potential to reach new audiences and customers by tapping into the active social networks and blogs that serve people who use Second Life.
As you can see, Second Life is really just another online platform where you can quickly and efficiently promote what your company is doing.
Bottom Line: If you are looking to reach 30- and 40-somethings on a global scale, Second Life can deliver your message and even your products. It can help you achieve business goals, and grab some media attention for your company. Even though Second Life is not a game, doing business in Second Life can be fun.
Contact Me
That’s all we have time for today. Visit the show’s website at digitalmarketer.quickanddirtytips.com for links to all of the sites mentioned in the show. If you’d like to ask a question or request a topic for The Digital Marketer, email me at digitalmarketer@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or leave a message by calling 206-339-6279.
If you would like more information about keynote speeches, workshops, or other appearances by me, Aliza Sherman, host of Small Biz Tech Girl, visit www.mediaegg.com for details.
The Digital Marketer’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Building Your Business With Web Tools is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at quickanddirtytips.com.
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Resources
Second Life – Second Life
Cybergrrl Oh: Living a 2nd Life – Cybergrrl
REAL BIZ in SL – Real Biz SL
Metanomics – Metanomics
Second Life Business Communicators – Fresh Takes SL Communicators
Second Life image courtesy of Google Images