Business Week has published today a very interesting article on the current trend several brands are following: advertising on social-networking sites. The idea is to look for new opportunities on in what's known as user-generated content. Apparently the possibilities are huge, but the risks are also quite evident and worrying. For example, is the quality of the content good enough to associate a brand name with? "It would be naive to think that advertisers aren't concerned about these issues, but it hasn't had an effect on revenue so far" says Michael Barrett, who was recently named chief revenue officer at Fox Interactive Media.
To me, social networking websites appear to be a very promising place to advertise on. Teenagers are there, even young adults are there, so no wonder if brands are so attracted by MySpace & co. However I believe they need to learn how to sell their advertising spaces. I don't want my brand's ad to appear close to a "click here & get your visa" ad (or similar) and this is happening rather often on MySpace (just to make an example).
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