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INDUSTRY NEWS


2 May 2008

Firms 'cannot afford to ignore social networks'


With the increased consumer traffic being generated by social networks, retailers must develop a social networking strategy if they are to remain competitive in the future, it has been advised.

According to analyst Gartner, social networks have previously focused on younger demographic groups, but they are beginning to expand to cover a wider base of consumers, something that companies cannot afford to ignore.

Hung LeHong, research vice president at Gartner, explained: "Until recently, retailers considered social networks relevant only for the youth market, meaning that many have largely ignored them.

"However, as social networks expand to embrace ever-wider demographic groups, retailers need to ensure that they have a position on them."

Mr LeHong went on to suggest that these positions could include creating a marketing presence on existing social networks, such as Facebook or MySpace, or creating their own to gain specific customer feedback.

According to a new report from research group Forrester, enterprise spending on web 2.0 technologies, including social networks, blogs, wikis and mashups, will increase by 43 per cent year on year to reach $4.6 billion (£2.3 billion) by 2013.

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

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