Putting a value on communication

Emily Riley | August 15, 2007, 02:14 PM

The OPA released a study that reports internet users are spending more time online viewing content than before, from a third to almost half. Some of the shift is a result of consumers looking for standard news and weather content online. It is unclear from the write-up however, what percentage of the increase is due to social networking sites. OPA president Pam Horan comments that,

“New online features and communities are also leading consumers to spend a larger share of their online time with content. Consumers spend considerable time with social-networking sites, which serve not only as places of content but are also increasingly important communications vehicles.”

The line between content and communication is blurring, and it will continue. But why is activity on social sites currently being called content? The primary reason for using social sites is communication, not content. Hopefully that will change as more behaviors go mainstream on social sites such as use of video and widgets. Either way, the blurring of the two activities is a little scary for advertisers, who typically pay more for content ads than those on the communication sections of the web, like on email. Conversion rates typically aren’t as high when consumers are focused on communication. I’m hearing that conversion rates on social networks are closer to levels on email properties than content sites. While we wait for more high quality content consumption to occur on social sites, much better behavioral targeting is a must.