US marketers are forecast to increase their social network ad spending 13.2% in 2010, to $1.3 billion.
According to new figures from eMarketer, 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.
Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst, said: “The expected rebound in spending will come as more companies focus on creating and implementing an overall social marketing strategy.
“And it is a clear indication that the experimental phase of social network marketing is finally drawing to an end.”
US spending at MySpace is expected to fall 15% in 2009, to $495 million, while US spending at Facebook is projected to rise 9%, to $230 million. Consequently, MySpace’s share of US spending is projected to fall to 43.4% in 2009, while Facebook and other social network venues will increase their share.
While the US accounts for the majority of ad spending on MySpace and Facebook, non-US spending is growing rapidly at Facebook. eMarketer estimates that marketers will spend a total of $520 million to advertise on MySpace worldwide in 2009, down 14% from 2008. Worldwide spending on Facebook, by contrast, is expected to grow 20%, to $300 million, in 2009.
Last week, comScore revealed that of the 1.1 billion people age 15 and older worldwide who accessed the internet from a home or work location in May 2009, 734.2 million visited at least one social networking site during the month (see 734m people visited social networks in May)
In April, Netpop Research revealed that social networking among US broadband users has grown an impressive 93% since 2006, and has increased the amount of time people spend communicating online 18%, to 32% of total online time (see Social networking increases among US broadband users).
