Targeting social networkers with widgets

With the majority of U.S tweens and teens using social networks, marketers are looking for a way in. However, communicating with the social networking crowd is a long way from intrusive banner ads and videos.

"It's about a lifestyle, it's about connecting with people and it's about expressing yourself," said Joanna Sheilds, president of Bebo, speaking recently on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

One particular route to the social networking market is the use of widgets, small applications that can be embedded in web content, adding to the user’s experience without, more often than not, being blatantly commercial.

Widgets have yet to be monetized and, if they were to be, whether their reach and appeal to social networkers would continue remains to be seen. In the meantime they have proven effective in driving traffic from social networking profiles.

comScore recognized the popularity, and reach, of widgets and recently introduced the Widget Metrix.

Tags: social networking, teens, tweens, widgets