Facebook traffic in the U.S. has been growing steadily and surpassed Google in the week ending March 13. What does this mean for the advertising world? Facebook’s strength lies in the social networking arena and because many of its users are already “connected,” it allows faster exposure or sharing of “data” for small businesses looking to invest in online marketing opportunities.
Facebook user’s data also give advertisers the ability to target their audience based on birth date, geographic location, age, hobbies and interests, education level, networks, as well as the people they socialize with. For example, the first advertisement I see when I log into my Facebook profile is an IT related ad for “file access management.”
Besides directly posting Facebook ads on the right hand side, many businesses, small and large, are already embracing Facebook’s low cost of creating “fan” pages to promote their brand, products, news and updates. Fan pages also allow companies to create a buzz about upcoming products and gauge the public’s reaction. It is also a great tool for ‘connecting’ with your consumers, gathering feedback and allowing fans to communicate with other fans.
Even though Facebook is sitting on top of fertile advertising ground, I doubt Facebook will take over Google’s ad empire anytime soon. However, Facebook’s growth has definitely created a dent in the fabric of ”ad”-space time continuum.