According to a report from Borrel Associates, 20% of the advertising dollars spent on social networks such as Facebook and Myspace, comes from local businesses. Although not a huge number it does say a lot about the reach that these sites can have for a small business with limited ad budgets. We don’t have numbers for traditional broadcast and print media but it’s doubtful that national TV networks have that much local advertising. This report is a good first step in proving the difference between the new online marketing opportunities and the traditional channels.

Facebook and Myspace user profiles contain specific demographic info which can be used to fine tune advertisers messages. The only stat which may be questionable is the age of it’s members. Not many people give their real age – it’s a privacy thing. Otherwise, location, hobbies and interests should be reasonably accurate. A Facebook ad is low in cost considering the number of people it will reach and very targeted to a specific geographic region. That’s why the numbers of local businesses advertising on social networks is going up.

Dean

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Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

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Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists