IF you are a work-at-home-dad or run your own business or blog, you are well aware of the importance of marketing through multiple channels. One of the most powerful tools for marketers today is social networking.

The rise of social networks has been meteoric in the last few years, to the point of becoming more popular than porn online. Kids are doing it. Parents are doing it. Even seniors are doing it. While there are social networks for just about any group, the granddaddy of them all is Myspace, with well over 100 million registered users.

So how can you use Myspace to market your blog or business? Let's take a look at a few ways you can start increasing your visibility today for absolutely free.

First off, if you don't have an account, sign up and set up your profile. You are going to want to use your company or blog name as your profile name and upload your picture or logo and set it as your default picture. You're also going to want to describe your products or services in the About Me section so that when people visit your profile they will know exactly what you do. Be sure to add links to your website or blog so visitors can find you outside Myspace.

Now that your profile is set up, the first thing you should do is find some groups to join that are relevant to your business or blog or which might have users you would like to target. For example, for my Dadviser profile, I have joined groups such as single fathers, divorced parents, parenting and fathers' rights.

Once you add a few groups, you will next want to go through the groups and find friends to add. You can do this by clicking a profile within the group and clicking Add Me on their page. You can also find users by searching for people with certain hobbies, such as blogging or marketing.

Most people will have to add you, as well, before they will appear as one of your friends, so don't worry if it takes a few hours or days before your friends list grows to a suitable level. You should also restrict your adds to fewer than 50 per day so Myspace doesn't mistake you for a spammer.

Once you have a nice sized friends list, it's time to begin your marketing campaign. Myspace has three very powerful tools to help you, each of which is described below:

1. Bulletins- When you create a bulletin, not only can you include any information you want, every user in your friends list will receive your bulletin on their profile page. Information you can announce in your bulletins include new sales, top ten lists, blog updates, new employees or initiatives and upcoming events.

2. Forums- With so many users, Myspace has some of the largest forums on the internet. Join some of the forums relevant to your needs and participate. If you offer quality, useful information, you can become known as an expert in the forums, driving traffic to your profile and eventually, to your website or blog.

3. Events- If you are planning a real world event for your business or blog, creating an event notice on Myspace is a great way to get the word out to a very targeted audience - your company or blogs friends. When you create an event, each of your friends will receive an invite on their profile and can follow a link to more information.

In addition to the above tools, Myspace also allows you to create a blog on your profile and anyone can subscribe to updates. By offering valuable information, you can build up a solid reader base and further expand your marketing to this group. You can also upload your marketing videos to one of the largest video sites on the internet.

Myspace has grown exponentially over the last five years and has features for just about anything you can think of. Spend a little time browsing around and understanding how members use the site. The more you understand the network, the more creative you can get in your Myspace marketing (sending birthday greetings for example), and offer your products or services to one of the largest, most diverse and targeted communities you will ever find.

Note: This post is part of the Second "How To" Group Research Project over at eMomsathome.com. Check out the site for dozens of other subjects on making your business or blog better.