A study from Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions and MetrixLab revealed that 70% of Americans ages 15-34 are actively participating in social networking sites. Just as social networking sites have provided a new way for friends to gather and meet, marketers are also offered a new advertising channel. A definitive answer to generating revenue on these sites has yet to be answered, but may lie with the users themselves. The Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions and MetrixLab study also revealed that 64% of social networkers trust information from ‘friends’ and will visit sites after learning of them/ receiving ‘word of mouth’ advertising. If you visited a ‘friends’ page on a social network and saw an ad or reference to a product or service, chances are you would be more likely to click and explore that advertiser. The opportunity exists to advertise to individual users and/or groups that are highly targeted.

Nevertheless, advertising on social networking sites can also be tricky, and marketers need to take strategic and creative approaches. The audiences skew younger, and often these younger audiences are exceptionally adept at tuning out traditional advertising – therefore pushing ads no longer works. Marketers wanting to use social networks need to get creative. In addition to advertisements and sponsorships, marketers know that the buzz generated on social networks is much more of a powerful endorsement than any form of promotion. In fact, word of mouth is widely considered the most powerful form of marketing and the wave of the future for influencing sales. According to a December 2005 McKinsey report, approximately two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S. is influenced by shared opinions about a product, brand or service. The advantage of social networking for marketers is that it does not involve interrupting like an advertisement does.

Amanda Swenson
Manager, Affiliate Marketing
oneNetworkDirect