Social networks: presence is more important than advertising | Key4Communications |

Marketers consider that to be present in social networks is more important than advertising on them, according to a research by Microsoft Advertising and Advertiser Perceptions, for which marketing managers of six countries around the world were interviewed.

According to the study, it is necessary for social networks to consolidate in order to reduce followers’ rotation, as well as to better identify the target audience and to direct advertising campaigns to the right people, thanks to more accurate measuring instruments.

The survey also reflects that 74% of these experts consider very important to have a presence on Facebook, but only 57% thought the same about buying ad space on this social network. On Twitter, the importance of presence was valued at 47% of respondents, while 42% believe that ads are also important.

In addition, 72% recall the difficulty of measuring the return on investment in social media. Regarding the budget, 48% of the total is spent on attracting new members, and 20% is used in advertising in online media to keep the number of followers. Professionals believe that 52% of their followers are not part of the brand's target audience.

Investment in advertising continues to grow
However, it is noteworthy that according to another study, this one from eMarketer, advertising on social networks will exceed $5.5 billion in 2011 and could reach $10 billion in 2013 (about half, in the US).

Advertising in these networks takes 8.8% of total online advertising budget in the US and 6.9% worldwide, percentages that could reach 11.7% and to 9.4 %, respectively, within the next two years.

Most of the investment would be dedicated to Facebook, that this year could enter $3.8 billion dollars for this concept, a 104% more than in 2010. Next year, the figure could reach $5.78 million.