A new study from comScore has found that a fifth of all online advertising viewed in America has been viewed for the world’s biggest social networking sites.
That data was retrieved from comScore’s Ad Metrix system for June 2009 and covers internet usage at home, work and at major universities although it’s a strictly American survey. 80% of all the social networking ads were shared between two of the biggest names in the industry: Facebook and MySpace.
The major growth and importance of social networking sites in recent years was echoed by the senior vice president of comScore, Jeff Hackett:
“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. 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.”
Although the survey focused on American usage and we don’t have any figures for UK usage, we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a familiar figure. Over half of the online population is signed up to the Facebook, although some users obviously utilise the site more than others. It’s incredibly popular amongst Generation Y and has previously linked to trends in online shopping.
Those connected to Facebook check the site for an average of six hours a month and the internet is now seen as even more important than television for the entertainment needs of some families, both British and American. Mr. Hackett comments:
“Social media is becoming an increasingly attractive vehicle for major advertisers seeking to optimize campaign reach and frequency and smaller advertisers desiring to reach a highly targeted audience.”
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