For many people, social networks such as Facebook or Bebo are just good places to keep in touch with friends and share pictures of their night out or trip overseas, but the site owners, quite justifiably, consider them profit-making enterprises. But is there a problem with social networks collecting and sharing information about users for contextual ads?
If so, how should advertisers use the sites in a way that is acceptable to users? And is this type of advertising effective?
Bebo's head of sales for the UK & Ireland, Mark Charkin, says the fact that advertisers on the Bebo social network - most popular among boys and girls in the teen to young adult age range - are coming back to the site for repeat business shows it is highly effective.
Alex Miller, head of Jam, the social networking division of the online media planning agency i-level, agrees and says that users don't mind being targeted for specific advertising.
"Focus group research has shown that they don't mind because they get to use services for free and they understand that it's paid for by advertising. Consumers are savvy to advertisers' motives, but as long as the advertisers are up front that's OK."
This particularly applies to the 16- to 24-year-old age group, commonly dubbed the "digital natives", because they've grown up with the internet and don't view it as a new medium at all. The general consensus among digital marketers, however, is that brands wanting to make a good impression on online communities should give members something that improves their lives, or at least their experiences on the web.
Jam's Miller says: "The easiest thing to do is buy display advertising, but that is not always the best approach. It's important for advertisers to remember that social networking sites weren't designed for them to be there and they need to try to work out what works. We have a rule: if a campaign isn't useful or entertaining, we won't do it."
And while media owners don't exactly talk down big display advertising campaigns, they are largely in agreement with Miller's philosophy.
Anthony Lukom, managing director of MySpace UK, highlights one example of a brand that has harnessed the power of the online community in its advertising.
Mars Planets is a chocolate brand aimed at young people, and one that trades on an image of being fun and playful. MySpace is clearly a good place to find a lot of young adults, especially those who are interested in music. So along with MySpace, Mars has created a radio show, which appears weekly and runs for an hour. Upwards of 44,000 listen to the show each week.
But the "giving" aspect doesn't stop there. Radio 1 DJ and television personality Alex Zane presents the show and each week it is also co-hosted by a MySpace member - ensuring that the "conversation" between the brand and its target audience is ongoing.
"On MySpace we run traditional ad campaigns for a lot of advertisers, but it's a great opportunity for brands to get in touch with and interact with their target audience," says Lukom.
Bebo has also had success with campaigns that use banner advertising simply as a starting point. It ran a campaign earlier this year to promote the Paramount Pictures British teen film Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging. This involved the lead character from the film creating video blogs to appear on Bebo, which were in turn watched by the eponymous lead character from Sophia's Diary, a popular drama that is made by Bebo.
"Brands need to ask what value they are they adding to a person's life. It could be as simple as giving away a 'skin' [which is used to decorate a member's profile page], running a competition or offering an application that can be embedded in their profile," says Bebo's Charkin.
So the message is clear - brands wanting to engage rather than alienate their audiences need to bear in mind the communal origins of the internet rather than ride roughshod over them.
Weblinks
Mars Planets Radio: myspace.com/ myspacemarsplanetsradio
Sofia's Diary: bebo.com/sofiasdiary
i-level agency: i-level.com/ilevel/about- i-level/our-services/social-media
