One out of every five display ads Web users viewed in June 2009 came from social networking sites. MySpace and Facebook accounted for more than 80 percent of display ads among social network sites. AT&T ranked as the top display advertiser on social networking sites in June with more than 2 billion ad impressions. What's interesting about this is that AT&T is the sole carrier of the Apple iPhone, the world's most popular smartphone. Many experts believe the market for social network ad will get even bigger once the majority of the world begins browsing the Internet from mobile devices.
It seems there is something to advertising on social
network sites after all.
One out of every five display ads Web users viewed in
June 2009 came from social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, where more
than 400 million users congregate to share information about themselves and
play games online, according to new research from consultant comScore.
The study showed that social networking sites accounted
for 68.9 million display ad impressions out of 326.9 million total display ad
impressions, good for more than 21 percent of all display ads viewed online. Together,
MySpace and Facebook accounted for more than 80 percent of display ads among
social network sites.
At 250 million users, Facebook has nearly twice as many
users as MySpace user base of 130 million. However, MySpace led social network
ad sites with 30 million display ad impressions. Facebook followed with 26.8
million impressions.
Users spend so much time on MySpace and Facebook, as well
as sites such as Tagged.com, Bebo and Hi5, that these social networks present lush,
green fields for online ad opportunities at a low cost. That is why advertisers
are keen on using social networks as vehicle for delivering ads, comScore Senior
Vice President Jeff Hackett said in his report.
"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," added
Hackett.
"As social networking sites innovate on their existing ad
offerings, the category should continue to grow in ad volume." CPMs, or the
cost per thousand ad impressions, could also increase if the sites can demonstrate
a fat return on investment, he said.
Hackett found that AT&T ranked as the top display
advertiser on social networking sites in June with more than 2 billion ad
impressions. This accounted for 30 percent of the company's total number of
display ads delivered during the month.
What's interesting about this is that AT&T is the
sole carrier of the Apple iPhone, the world's most popular smartphone. Users
are increasingly adopting smartphones to browse the Internet, play games and
communicate with friends, family and colleagues.
The iPhone, along with the Palm Pre and gadgets from RIM
and devices based on Google's Android mobile operating system, are expected to
be the for the emerging mobile
advertising industry. Many experts believe the market for social network ad
will get even bigger once the majority of the world begins browsing the
Internet from mobile devices.
See comScore's charts in their entirety here.
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