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News.com reported that MySpace stated their advertising profits are on the rise and the future looks very bright for continued growth in that area on a site that has nearly a million members. “A report issued last week estimates that U.S. advertising in social networks like MySpace will leap to $1.8 billion in four years, up more than 500 percent from $280 million in 2006.”

According to a report from eMarketer, MySpace will command a large part of that revenue this year totaling around $180 million. They claim that most of this advertising money will go towards sponsorship pages and creating profiles for the marketers on the social networking site. MySpace also pulls in advertising revenue from selling banner ads and Yahoo sponsored search results.

How does marketing on MySpace differ from other standard websites that have been using marketing for years? MySpace has the blending factor. Most of their advertising is subtle and blends in with the entire theme of the site. Not all of the marketing stands out and is clear that it is a marketing message. This poses a problem for the future of marketing, especially with the young captivated audience that MySpace attracts. Traditional online marketing on other websites is more off set and clearly stands out as a marketing message. However, on MySpace, when companies or products like Nike, Burger King and Garfield have a “profile,” they are more subtle in their messaging.

Some people are worried because young kids using this site to “make friends” may be affected by the massive amounts of advertising they are bieng subjected to yet, are unaware of it. Reaching these kids at such a young age, marketers have the ability to set a lasting impression on consumers for a lifetime, however, is this a safe and fair way to go about gaining true customers? With the popularity of social networking sites growing, does viral marketing have a permanent home or is it just renting the space until it gets evicted?


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