Social Media revenues on the up

Social Media has generated “incredible revenues” over the past few years and these can only get better, according to David Pugh-Jones, brand strategist at Microsoft Advertising.

Speaking at this morning’s Media Playground conference in London, Pugh-Jones said: “We’ve seen incredible revenues in social media, which can only get better in years to come.

“Advertisers are reaching the right audience so it’s not a waste of money,” he added.

John Cole, fellow panellist and managing director of Adknowledge, agreed: “The share of the pie is definitely going up and we are expecting online revenues to be up 4% this year. People are spending lots online but mainly in search, so we need to see more budget for brands and social media.

“It’s about diversifying the mix,” Karla Geci, marketing director of Bebo added.

The panel also noted that social media is becoming an important part of cross-media campaigns.

“Campaigns already include social elements,” said Sharon Braude, head of social media at MPG. “Advertisers need to stop categorising, as consumers will discuss television adverts on social networks and so on. Social media is a good way to build cross-media campaigns.”

However, Geci argued: “Advertisers can’t just use traditional campaigns on social media sites. The danger is that they’ll go with short-cuts, which won’t be as successful.”

Pugh-Jones added: “It’s about getting traditional ad campaigns to interact with social media sites.”

Geci agreed: “Advertisers need to pick up on what people like and go with it, mixing brands with social media.”