Social Networks: Relevance Trumps Size

Posted on April 30th, 2008 @ 10:19 am by Ms. Lansford.
Categories: Interactive, Public Relations.

In a world where bigger is often seen as better, marketers know that targeted impressions are much more valuable than sheer number of impressions.

For example, eMarketer recently predicted that by 2011, half of all adults in the U.S. and 84 percent of online teens will be using social networks. With more than $1.6 billion ad dollars going to social networking this year, marketers are often in uncharted territory when it comes to getting the most bang for their advertising dollars.

The safest and most obvious way to make sure you are reaching your target audience is through smaller, emerging social networks.

Niche sites like meandmybicycle.com and anglingmasters.com (former SOAR client) reach a very specific audience (cyclists and anglers), allowing for some very cool and unique campaigns.

Targeting niche sites that relate to your products and services are also seen by users as less obtrusive because your company is an authentic member of the community or conversation.

2 comments.

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Comment on April 30th, 2008.

meandmybicycle is built on Ning (ning.com) where you can build your own social network. It’s a neat idea.

Jack
Comment on May 5th, 2008.

There are now thousands of social networks that cater to a whole variety of subjects. These smaller, focused sites allow users to connect with like-minded people and give advertisers targeted demographics. Niche social networks are also good for marketers who have a product or service they want to promote that relates to a particular interest. A good place to find such sites is a search engine that caters specifically to social networks such as http://findasocialnetwork.com

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