The debate regarding the value of social media to marketing is ongoing. On the one side we have the evangelists who preach that you just have to get in there and not worry about details like ROI. On the other, we have traditional marketers who are becoming more vocal in their demands for some kind of measurability.
In the year of social media (2010) we also saw social gaming burst forth with huge numbers of people playing. eMarketer isn’t playing around when they predict that social gaming revenues will surpass $1 billion this year. When you notice that your local convenience store now carries FarmVille gift cards, you realize something is catching on.
According to Abacus Data, just over 60% of Canadian over 60 years old identify themselves as Facebook users. Usage increases gradually as age decreases: nearly 70% of 45-59 year olds, nearly 80% of 30-44 year olds, and 91% of millennials (those aged 18-29) have a Facebook account.
Social media and those companies feeding off it or building it have exploded in the past two years. Most would agree that 2010 was the year of social with brands and agencies scrambling to first understand it and then integrate it into their marketing strategies. However, what are companies such as Facebook and Twitter really worth?