Internet research firm eMarketer on Thursday reported that advertisers were flocking to Facebook and would spend more than US$1 billion at the world’s top online social network this year.
“Brand advertisers are making Facebook a core buy,” eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson said.
“Ad spending is building quickly and the mass audience is one that marketers cannot ignore any longer,” she said.
MEMBERSHIP
Facebook membership topped 500 million people last month and it is not unusual for users of the service to spend hours weekly, if not daily, at the Web site.
Research by eMarketer indicated that advertisers would spend US$1.28 billion worldwide trying to get pitches to Facebook members.
Facebook’s success in luring ads is due in part to a “self-serve” software tool that lets advertisers create their own virtual pitches and target them based on basic demographics such as age or gender.
The tool accounts for half of the ads placed at Facebook, eMarketer said.
Meanwhile, advertising revenue at News Corp-owned social networking service MySpace was expected to dip to US$297 million, down 14 percent from the US$347 million taken in worldwide last year, the market tracker said.
DELTA
In related news, Delta Air Lines Inc said on Thursday it had launched a new “Ticket Window” on Facebook that would allow passengers to book directly on the social media site.
It’s the first time an airline has allowed customers to reserve flights on Facebook, although nearly all major US airlines use Facebook and Twitter to promote sales.
Delta plans to expand the Ticket Window to other sites, including online banner ads from which customers could book directly.
The airline said the move, along with a redesign of its Web site, delta.com, earlier this week, was part of an overall effort to interact directly with its customers on the Web.
Big airlines like Delta, the world’s largest, have been slower than their discount counterparts in catching the wave of social media. JetBlue and Southwest were the first to use social media for communicating with customers, — dedicating staff to promoting their brands across cyberspace and dealing directly with individual complaints or compliments on Twitter.
Delta, which is based in Atlanta, said there were still more changes to come on its Web site to make it more user-friendly. It’s also working to improve the ease of use for its airport kiosks.
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