Ad projections cut for social networks

With the economy taking a toll on even social-networking sites, eMarketer reduced its global forecast for advertising in the sector this year to $2.3 billion, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Social networks, on a worldwide basis, are expected to post advertising growth of 17 percent this year, compared with eMarketer's earlier projections of a 32 percent growth rate, the Journal noted.

The revised forecast follows a cut eMarketer made in December, when it reduced its U.S. projections for social-network advertising spending in 2009 to $1.3 billion.

That 2009 revision translated into a U.S. growth rate of 10.2 percent for social networks, compared with its earlier forecast of a 53 percent growth rate.

In some regards, the revised global forecast comes as no surprise, given that the United States accounts for a little more than half of the total advertising spending on social networks worldwide.

[WeCanDoBIZ]

I am not convinced ads as we recognise them today are the way forward. Place ads on a social network like Facebook and MySpace and they get ignored because people are socialising, not buying. Place them on a business focused network and they get in the way of people getting a job done.<br /><br />I am more convinced my sponsorhip I think. Less obstructive but more obvious. No reason why brands couldn't sponsor group pages on Facebook or LinkedIn.<br /><br />Ian Hendry<br />CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ<br />http://www.wecando.biz