Hitwise: MySpace takes 3/4 of the social networking pie

It may be the granddaddy of all social networks, but MySpace isn't losing any steam. According to a recent Hitwise report, MySpace still leads the social atmosphere, attracting more than 70% of social networkers in April.

by Kristina Knight

During the month, MySpace accounted for 73.8% of social network visits followed by Facebook (14.8% of visits) and MyYearbook (1.3% of visits). Bebo (1.9% of visits) and BlackPlanet (.98% of social visits) rounded out the top five for US consumers.

The rankings are similar for returning visitors with MySpace, Facebook and MyYearbook still leading in market share for US visitors.

"Social networking websites continue to attract loyal visitors who return regularly to communicate with their friends, particularly for MySpace and Facebook, the market leaders," said Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise. "The growing number of applications and amount of content available for social networks are driving higher average visit times for the category, providing marketers with additional opportunities to reach these active users."

Consumers continue to spend large amounts of time with their favorite social networks. MySpace visitors spend, on average 29 minutes on-site. Facebook users spend just over 20 minutes on-site and MyYearbook users spend 32 minutes on site. Bebo users spend 30 minutes on-site while BlackPlanet users spend about 24 minutes on-site.

What this indicates is that advertisers who want to reach social networkers should advertise on the popular social networking sites. With consumers spending more and more time with their favorite social sites, advertisements targeted to those users where the "live" are likely to be viewed as more relevant than ads placed outside the social space.