Orkut, MySpace, Facebookthese mass social networking sites are pass! Look
at these statistics: According to a report released by Hitwise, a web
measurement firm, social networking traffic in the US is down 16% y-o-y. While
MySpace saw a decline of 5%, Facebook was worse off with a 32% decline. This
doesnt mean the online social networks are becoming any less popular. On the
contrary it seems people are becoming more stable in their choices and instead
of jumping from one social network to another, they are spending more time in
their favourite online communities. For instance, MySpace saw an increase of 73%
y-o-y on average time spent, says Hitwise. Another reason why traffic to the
mass sites is on the decline is the emerging popularity of the online micro
social networks. These are special interest online communities that are growing
in popularity and becoming promising centers of personal interaction, trade, and
commerce.
The good news is that the market predicts ad spending on the online social
media will increase manifold. According to an eMarketers report, the ad
spending on UK social networks will rise by 77% from $130 mn in 2007 to $225 mn
in 2008. And 2012 is expected to see a growth of 148% over 2008. In the US,
eMarketer projects the social network ad spending to go up to about $2.4 bn in
2011 from $1.4 bn in 2008.
And it appears that micro social networks would take a significant part of
this spend. The market segmentation cycle is arriving to the net also as a
medium. Marketers have the option to either advertise on micro social networks
set up by others, or they can have their own like Sunsilks gangofgirls.com and
Yahoos 360.yahoo.comcamouflaged as a mass networking site though its primary
aim is to promote other Yahoo products and services, and Nikes joga.com, a
football oriented social network service created with Google.
Shyam Malhotra |
India has a different concern. With an abysmal Internet penetration rate of
less than 15% as on March 31, 2008 (according to an Internet World Stats
report), the number of users accessing the social networks will be very low. And
according to a Nielsen report of a survey of 300 people in India who accessed
social networking sites at least once a month, about 66% felt that social
networking sites were no substitute for actual face-to-face meetings with
friends. These data indicate that online social networking may not have yet
fully arrived in India.
The answer may not lie in targeting mass social networks. Advertising on
micro social networks for a very specific audience is more likely to work.
Special interest smaller communities are more easier to identify, faster to grow
and easier to hold on to. There creation would require a few catalysts.
First would be the identification of potential micro communities where a
product or service works and fostering social sites dedicated to these. Second
would be the need for designing clearly directed messages which blend into the
online medium. The Indian advertising community is focused on print and
television. It is yet to become familiar with the nuances of online. One of
these is the multiple functions that are needed to coordinate marketing efforts
on social sites. The effort typically should involve the sales, advertising,
customer service, and public relations departments. Because on the Web all these
get closely linked. Who should take the lead?
These are early times, and hence, the initial hiccups. knowledge gaps will
get filled and the streamlining will happen. What is important is that for the
diversified, hetrogenous Indian market there is a powerful tool getting
developed. It would be great if it got used quickly and effectively.