Social Networks and Advertising Don’t Mix..

Advertising in social networks is something that I feel strange about…when I am connecting with friends whether off line or on line, I am not in the mode for receiving advertising, I am not in a mindset for marketing messages. Now I am not saying that social networking do not mix just in the old fashioned style of ads….

I think the power of social networking is as a communication channel for OTHERS to speak about YOU not for YOU to talk about YOU. I think social networks can be great for

• Creating commuities of brand advocates
• Showing your personality and allowing you to connect with potential or existing customers

But for me, these are conversational tools not selling tools – that is why I can not really see the strength of straightforward ads in social networking. So when I saw the decrease in planned spending that doesn’t surprise me when combined with the global down turn and squeeze on costs. EMarketer has produced this research

Now what I find interesting is that people may conclude that social networks are not worth investing in, yet I think the opposite is true….I just think the investment is time not advertising dollars!