Carpe Diem in Social Media Advertising

Tiffany Weimar - January 26, 2011

According to a recent article by eMarketer, “US marketers will spend $3.08 billion to advertise on social networking sites this year. Spending will be up 55% over the $1.99 billion advertisers devoted to social networks in 2010 and will rise by a further 27.7% next year to reach nearly $4 billion.”  Amazingly enough, spending in social media is $1 billion dollars greater than what was projected back in August 2010 (a mention that I made in a previous blog post).  What’s the disparity?  One word.  Facebook; the biggest player in the field.

Often times, businesses seek guidance in trying to formulate a “magic number” to set aside for online advertising.  While there isn’t an easy way to project this number, one thing to consider including in future budgets is paid advertising in social media networks.  According to the same study done by eMarketer, “Social network advertising is to account for 10.8% of the online market.” 

With the increasing number of people participating in these social channels, coupled with the amount of time spent throughout a day (either personally or for business), this data actually begins making a lot of sense.  People are spending more and more time on social media.  Paid advertising through these networks enables businesses to get in front of their viewers, hypothetically, all day long.  If you would like additional insights, check out this recent article from BusinessNewsDaily on 5 Ways Businesses Will Use Social Media in 2011. 

Understanding the benefit of the social media channels can greatly impact your ability to gain new customers and increase ROI in 2011. As a side note, always remember that it’s never too late.  If social media advertising isn’t within your budget for this year, begin with what you can afford. Creating social media accounts for business, if you haven’t already, is the first step in gaining a presence in the space.  Including social media accounts onto your website will help with your SEO rankings.  Lastly, always find a way to measure progress.  Quantitative data in social media channels through analytics, will allow you to understand which efforts are successful.  Use this data as a guide to making optimal business and marketing decisions for the future.