The internet has brought a totally new definition to the term “social networking”.   In past years advertisers saw the success in advertising (Werbepräsente) through social networks. In the early days Teflon advertised their products through Teflon parties held in the homes of housewives all over the country. The housewife hosting the Teflon party would invite her friends and neighbors. This worked well for Teflon for many years and also helped develop social relationships based on common interests. Avon followed a similar approach. In this way, companies use a friend, or a trusted person, to sell their products. It is said that success of advertising through social networks comes primarily on the basis of this trust.  Today it is online advertising on social networks.
    
Just what is it?  Social networking has been defined as, “the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small communities. Although social networking is possible in person, especially in schools or in the workplace, it is most popular online. This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users and develop friendships and business relationships, too.”  In some way or the other advertising involves social networking to some extent.  Advertising intrinsically is communicated to you personally either through conventional advertisement outlets like billboards, television commercials, newspaper advertisements or even through acquaintances in your own social circles.

Advertising (t-shirt druck) social networking websites like Facebook, or Geocities function like an online community of internet users with social groups being created by sharing common interests or hobbies. These sites are where people make friends and find romance, but social networking sites can also play a key role in helping your companies achieve its marketing goals. Often, smart, innovative advertising here can reap the best results for your company.
Think of the immense opportunities the internet poses for advertising. Someone has coined the term “viral” marketing which is apt as one advertisement can keep hopping from one social group to another, from one continent to another.  Since the internet crosses all global, cultural, political barriers, any advertiser can penetrate his product from any where in the world to anyone in the world. Advertising through these social networks goes a long, long way.  

Facebook, (2007) defines their social ads: “Social actions are powerful because they act as trusted referrals and reinforce the fact that people influence people,” said Zuckerberg. “It’s no longer just about messages that are broadcasted out by companies, but increasingly about information that is shared between friends. So we set out to use these social actions to build a new kind of ad system.”
And so we have spots where members can advertise their likes and dislikes or comments on a particular product for everyone in their social circle to view and read. Advertising social networks can target its ads to members’ of social networks by individual interests and profile data rather than the text on a given web page. In future, advertising in social networks can be more specifically targeted based on demographic and psychographic data that are culled from members’ profiles. One of the advantages of advertising social networking is the many online forums where users can ask other users for comments on particular products before they buy them.  Companies would do well to make better use of advertising social networking.

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