At just over $1.4 billion, social network ad spending still represents a small percentage of total online ad spending, which eMarketer estimates will reach $24.9 billion in 2008.
But marketers do not have to wait for social networks to perfect their business models before using the medium.
Esther Dyson, member of the digerati and founder of EDventure, told eMarketer in an interview that marketers can learn some lessons from less-visible uses of social media.
“Helium is an example of a site that fosters good content and productive debate,” Ms. Dyson said. “It offers articles by freelancers that can be voted on by the community and used by publishers.”
Ms. Dyson said that marketers should also relax about the possibility of their brands appearing adjacent to consumer-created content. If they get trashed in blogs and Websites, they should listen to any criticism and respond.
“Suppose I’m selling Coke, and my ad appears next to a naked schoolgirl. Are people really not going to buy Coke? Allow yourself to make some mistakes. When you make them, apologize and fix them, and learn from them,” Ms. Dyson continued. “It’s not the worst thing in the world to have an ad that flops or a spokesperson who goes bad on you—if you listen to the feedback and fix it.”
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