Last week, we highlighted a recent survey that pointed to a huge growth in the use of social networking sites online.
The UK Online Measurement company (UKOM) found that of the average 22 hours 15 minutes spent on the web each month, 22.7% of that time is spent on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. E-mail, second in the list of online activity, takes up a respectable 7.2% of user time.
The news is a great boost for Sports New Media, who hold a position of strength in both platforms. A facebook fan base of over 4.8 million and a newsletter database of over 1.3 million emphasises the point, and managing director Jae Chalfin is pleased to see the company benefit from their marketing strategy.
“Social Media was, in many ways, a natural progression for us,” remarks Chalfin.
“We have never been controlling or restrictive over content or data (where possible), and the world of social media is an expansion on this. We were prepared to embrace this online change before many of our competitors, and it’s why we’re already in a strong position and have managed to continue growing.”
The ability to build one of the largest global fan bases on facebook has come from sticking to these philosophies, and the project continues to go from strength-to-strength as social media activity increases.
The World Wide Web is undoubtedly evolving, and the aforementioned study at the top of this article noted that users spend 65% more time online than just three years ago. There is little to suggest that this trend will change, with almost everything available to online users.
“The development of F8 and the open social graph means facebook are in a position of real strength. They are starting to pose questions to Google, who definitely have something to be worried about at the moment,” notes Chalfin.
A clear sign of this power shift comes in the form of advertisers shifting their budgets from tradition online methods, notably Google keywords, to facebook.
Big businesses are starting to recognise the powerful potential of the social media phenomenon, and this couldn’t be more prevalent than in the world of betting.
Betfair, a betting exchange born on the internet and on the pulse of online activity, recently announced that advertising on facebook was as important as paid search. They plan to increase their volume of spend on the site, sighting a number of factors including the real-time effectiveness of the social media site.
Chalfin believes Betfair won’t be the last to make this transitional move from traditional to new forms of advertising, but points to the bookmakers’ online groundings as a reason for why they too have been successful on facebook.
“We’re still a very long way from facebook taking over from all traditional advertisement streams, but this bold move suggests that more companies are willing to make significant investment in the social media site.
“It’s no longer just potential, delivering continuous results for businesses in a way that we at Sports New Media have been suggesting for some time.
