The Facebooks and MySpaces may not be as appealing a destination for online advertising as they want businesses to believe.Much has been made of the potential for advertising on social networks. With their appeal to a younger audience that fulfills the demographic fantasies of many marketers, they have been promoted as the next big profitable ground for businesses to plow.
Google’s fourth quarter earnings took away some of the luster from social network advertising, as the company blamed lower than expected earnings from advertising on MySpace. Google paid $900 million for the privilege of delivering search and advertising to the site, but their Q4 2007 complaints sounded a little bit like buyer’s remorse.
We see opportunities to take advantage of social network advertising, like that offered by Facebook through its ad program in the right circumstances. As a business in a college town, where the likelihood of strong Facebook participation exists, it has to be considered for a marketing campaign for a business competing for the young 20-something consumer.
Without a heavy base of college-age consumers, or being a proprietor of items that appeal to a different audience, like homeowners or parents, contextual search ads still look like the place to be. Suggestions on making a site search engine friendly will help pick up visitors in regular search results. Consider efforts on doing so time well invested in growing the business. Source
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