The rise of social media ads

According to Social Times, social media ads, such as Facebook Ads, are on the rise. The blog writes:

Ad spending on social networks in US will reach $3.08 billion mark by the end of 2011, according to revised estimates by eMarketer. This years estimated spending would be 55% ($1.99 billion) higher than what advertisers spent on social networking sites in 2010.

The rising popularity of social networking ads on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in addition to the services Google Adwords provides, makes online ads something worth considering. But the increased popularity equals increased competition.

Does the increased competition in social networking ads make the online ad tool useless? What tools do you use to make your ads stand out?

Newspapers are not dying: Washington Post finds new way to gain revenue

The Washington Post has opened its own Facebook marketing management service called SocialCode. The service offers to manage fan pages, Facebook ads, and more.

A few things to think about:

• Newspapers are not dying. News is changing mediums, but there will always be a need for reliable information, and papers like the Post are finding new ways to make money. So, while you may not want to focus all your efforts on pitching press releases to newspapers, don't write them off entirely. You can pitch to a particular writer, just like you would pitch to a specific blogger.
• There are more and more of these companies showing up. If you don't have the resources to manage your own Facebook strategies, perhaps you should consider using one.
• If enough businesses are offering these management services, there's obviously something worth using on Facebook. Why don't you give it a try?

Do you use Facebook to market your business or product? How do you take advantage of management services or of Facebook in general?

Read more about the new service on Inside Facebook.