Social network advertising spend increasing

Global expenditure on advertising on social network sites is expected to rise by 17 per cent in 2009, it has been suggested.

Research from eMarketer estimates advertisers spent $2 billion (£1.4 billion) on social network advertising and the company thinks this will rise to $2.35 billion this year.

“Social network usage is growing substantially in many world regions, in several cases surpassing the usage levels seen in the US,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst.

In markets such as China, and Russia some social networks have formed growing revenue streams by selling virtual items to members, the analyst revealed.

These streams have also been developed through charges that members pay to play games or access premium services, according to Ms Williamson.

She added: “Socialising online is simply not going away.”

There are 12.1 million mobile social networking users in Western Europe and the category grew by 152 per cent from November 2007 to the same month in 2008, according to comScore.