Social networks becoming increasingly attractive to US advertisers
Social networking sites accounted for more than 20% of all US display ads viewed online in June, new research has found.
MySpace and Facebook delivered more than 80% of ads among sites in the social networking category, according to the comScore research.
| Total Display Ad Impressions (MM) | Share of Display Ads | Ad Exposed Unique Visitors (000) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Internet: Total Audience | 326,899 | 100.0 | 188,589 |
| Social Networking | 68,927 | 21.1 | 129,620 |
| MySpace Sites | 30,004 | 9.2 | 64,472 |
| Facebook.com | 26,813 | 8.2 | 67,389 |
| Tagged.com | 1,940 | 0.6 | 7,422 |
| MocoSpace.com | 496 | 0.2 | 1,067 |
| Hi5.com | 461 | 0.1 | 3,459 |
| Bebo | 435 | 0.1 | 6,350 |
| Classmates.com Sites | 400 | 0.1 | 9,181 |
| BlackPlanet.com | 345 | 0.1 | 2,084 |
| GaiaOnline.com | 258 | 0.1 | 1,859 |
| DeviantArt.com | 204 | 0.1 | 3,681 |
Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president, said: “Over the past few years, social networking has become one of the most popular online activities, accounting for a significant portion of the time Internet users spend online and the pages they consume.
“Social networking sites now account for one out of every five ads people view online. Because the top social media sites can deliver high reach and frequency against target segments at a low cost, it appears that some advertisers are eager to use social networking sites as a new advertising delivery vehicle.”
eMarketer recently forecast that US marketers will increase their social network ad spending 13.2% in 2010, to $1.3 billion.
However, paid advertising on online social networks in the US is expected to fall 3% in 2009, as a result of the poor economy and various difficulties at MySpace.
In August, comScore published research showing that the UK has seen more people in the 15-24 year old age group visiting social networking sites than they were a year ago
It said that while the average 15-24 year old is spending less time overall on social networking sites, it appears to be due to youngsters spending less time around secondary sites.