Social apps 'gaining ground for marketing purposes'

04/08/2008

Applications on social networking websites such as Facebook are being increasingly used by businesses as part of their marketing campaigns.

This is according to a Times report, which suggests that more companies are coming up with apps such as games to promote particular goods and services.

The trend may be due to the relatively poor returns offered by more traditional marketing methods, Sonya Chawla of social app publishing company Slide said.

"If you look at click-through rates on traditional ads in social media environments, they're extremely low. Users just don't respond well to ads pushed into their [personal] environments," she commented.

Search engine optimisation and marketing strategies may also have a bearing on the success of social media advertising - according to JupiterResearch, it is advisable to use paid ads instead of depending on viral marketing to promote social networking marketing apps and pages.