Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 15, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Over 500 milion PI in the entire SPiN network
Paul Schmid, member of the board of SPiN AG, explains the doubling of traffic: “Alongside http://www.spin.de, SPiN operates a number of co-branded social networks. One of these communities has been reported by IVW together with http://www.spin.de since September.” The total volume of all communities operated by SPiN AG even amounts to more than 510 million page impressions, says Paul Schmid.
Success factors: Proximity to the user and communication functions
spin.de offers the classic social-network functions such as profiles, blogs, forums and games. Schmid, however, sees the main reasons for success in two essential points: great proximity to users and extensive communication-
functions.The SPiN AG is a hands-on community operator: The developers of the software are in constant dialogue with their user base and are always present in the communities. In addition, online advertising is used very disciplinedly and thus with strong attention impact. Many pages are completely free of advertising. The result: Many new visitors come on the basis of personal recommendations from satisfied users.
Another success factor is the heavily used communication functions on spin.de. According to IVW, spin.de ranks first in the category ‘Communication’ ahead of all other social networks in Germany.
The only large community with a functioning subscription model
Thanks to years of experience and high user loyalty, spin.de has succeeded in what other social networks are still working on: a functioning subscription model. For “heavy user”, SPiN offers certain convenience functions that can only be had for a monthly membership fee. The number of paying users is growing steadily and has meanwhile moved into the high five-digit range.
