Advertisers will spend $280 on Social Networking Sites

Online social networking has become a cultural phenomenon over the past year, sparking thousands of media stories, blog postings and television exposes. The basic concept is simple enough: Online social networks enable people to create profiles, describe their interests, share their thoughts in blogs or postings, and connect with other people. But the variations on the theme are endless.

The good news is that social networking is an area where many marketers see great potential and are eager to test the waters. The bad news is that, in time, many social networking ventures will no doubt be shelved as grand experiments.

Led by MySpace, social networking is a cultural phenomenon that is still developing a stable revenue model. Even so, it is estimated that in 2006 marketers will spend $280 million on advertising and marketing on social network sites in the US, and an additional $70 million in international markets, mostly to create profile pages and sponsored promotions.

It Is Estimated That In 2006 Marketers Will Spend $280 Million on Advertising and Marketing on Social Network Sites in the US