Social spending is up

Despite 18 percent and 15 percent increases in display and search ad spending in the first three quarters, experts suggest that spending may go down in 2011's fourth quarter, reports AdvertisingAge Magazine. Financial services, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics are among the top categories poised to be affected.

There are several reasons behind this trend. First, because of the predicted economic uncertainty the United States will face over the following few months, many execs are unwilling to up their spending over the holidays. Another key reason is that the money may simply be going elsewhere.

"More of a concern is what is happening broadly at the portals. Are some of these dollars going to Facebook and YouTube? The answer seems to be yes," Macquarie Capital analyst Ben Schachter told the news source.

For the first three quarters there has been a 33 percent increase in spending on social media ads year over year. Another contributing factor is the stigma associated with behavioral targeting, the primary method used by online advertising platforms like Google, Yahoo and similar sites. Many consumers feel that this type of cookie tracking is invasive. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agrees, and is working to place more restrictions on online behavioral tracking.

Facebook, which now boasts over 800 million users, is a prime candidate for companies looking to up their ad spend in other categories beyond digital.

Facebook microTargeting, by Semcasting, is the perfect way for marketers to increase their outreach in time for the holidays. This platform is able to identify the most qualified audience for a particular advertisement using high quality demographic and geographic data. Even more importantly, it can ensure that the ads are placed at the right time - the time a particular type of user is likely to be on Facebook. Best of all, facebook microTargeting doesn't rely on invasive cookie tracking, making it a consumer-preferred advertising approach.