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By Mel Duvall

In a further sign of the growing clout of social networking, a new study has found that more than 20 percent of Internet display ads in the U.S. are being directed at social media properties.

The study, conducted by comScore, shows that advertisers are increasingly seeing social media as a means of reaching a highly targeted audience. MySpace and Facebook grabbed the lion's share of advertising, accounting for more than 80 percent of display ads on social networking sites in July.

"Over the past few years, social networking has become one of the most popular online activities, accounting for a significant portion of the time Internet users spend online and the pages they consume," comScore senior vice president Jeff Hackett said in a statement. "Because the top social media sites can deliver high reach and frequency against target segments at a low cost, it appears that some advertisers are eager to use social networking sites as a new advertising delivery vehicle."

AT&T ranked as the top display advertiser on social networking sites in July, with more than 2 billion ad impressions. comScore estimates that represented about 30 percent of the company's Internet advertising. Experian Interactive, which delivered a series of ads for educational degree programs and credit scores, was second on the list with 1.3 billion ad impressions.

As social networking sites innovate in terms of the types of ads they can offer and the delivery format, said Hackett, they will continue to grow their share of the market. At the same time, he expects the revenues they can command—or CPMs, in industry terms&$8212;will also increase if the sites can prove return on investment.

"Social media is becoming an increasingly attractive vehicle for major advertisers seeking to optimize campaign reach and frequency and smaller advertisers desiring to reach a high targeted audience," he stated.

The 10 social networking sites that garnered the most display advertising in July were:

1. MySpace

2. Facebook

3. Tagged.com

4. MocoSpace.com

5. Hi5.com

6. Bebo

7. Classmates.com sites

8. BlackPlanet.com

9. GaiaOnline.com

10. DeviantArt.com

The top 10 advertisers on social media sites during July 2009:

1. AT&T

2. Experian Interactive

3. Ask Network

4. Sprint Nextel

5. Pangea Media

6. Microsoft

7. Apollo Group

8. Zynga.com

9. GameVance.com

10. Verizon Communications

Comments (1)

	1. 09-02-2009 13:15
	It seems odd that LinkedIn did not crack the top 10 list. LinkedIn has always been grouped in the same category as Facebook and MySpace. It may be that they don't offer the same avenues for display advertising that the other sites do - but given the trend, you have to think they're seriously looking at getting a bigger piece of the action. Registered

Mel Duvall

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