DECEMBER 22, 2009
Facebook is the go-to destination for marketers
2009 will end with major shifts in social network advertising spending. Facebook, at 350 million users worldwide, is the premier destination for marketers in the US and many worldwide markets. It will surpass its former rival, MySpace, in ad revenues in 2010, when marketers worldwide will spend $605 million on Facebook versus $385 million on MySpace.
“As more marketers incorporate social networks in their business, they will no longer look at them as siloed destinations. Instead, they will look to increase the impact of their social network presence by linking it to other marketing initiatives, both online and offline,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Social Network Ad Spending: 2010 Outlook.”
Earned media will be a key theme of social network marketing. Combining social with mobile as well as with local will also yield more advertising opportunities. eMarketer also expects social ad networks to increase in importance.
Overall, eMarketer predicts US online social network ad spending will reach more than $1.21 billion in 2009, an increase of 3.9% over last year. 2010 will see stronger growth of 7.1%.
With total US online ad spending falling this year, the increase in social network spending also means the sites will account for a greater share of the total, at 5.4%.
However, those figures only include paid advertising efforts, which represent just a fraction of all spending.
“When companies budget for social media marketing in 2010 and beyond, a substantial portion of their expenses will go toward creating and maintaining a fan page, managing promotions or public relations outreach within a social network, and measuring the impact of a social network presence on brand health and sales,” noted Ms. Williamson.
The full report, “Social Network Ad Spending: 2010 Outlook” also answers these key questions:
- How much money are marketers spending for paid advertising in social networks?
- What percentage of marketers use social network marketing?
- Why is the concept of earned media important?
- How will social networks affect local advertising?
- Where do social and search intersect?
- Will social ad networks deliver results?
