Jul 2, 2007 6:00 AM, PROMO Xtra

Some 71% of teens and tweens visit social networking sites each week, a new study has found.

Social networking is a key component in teens’ and tweens’ lifestyles. Some 81% of nine to 17 year olds who go online said they have visited a social networking Web site within the last three months, according to the study and white paper, released by Alloy Media + Marketing.

The study also found that 96% of teens and tweens said they have used social networking technology including IM/chat, text messaging and e-mail. As the use of social networking sites grows, so too does the sophistication and intensity of users’ engagement and activities across the space, Samantha Skey, executive vice president, strategic marketing, Alloy Media + Marketing, said in a statement.

How can brands capitalize on the medium? By offering free stuff.

“Kids want more freebies, more connection and more production utilities, and brands have the opportunity to jump in and facilitate,” Skey said

Many teens and tweens use social networks for a variety of reasons, including listening to and sharing music and videos, blogging, member surfing, site building and content creation.

And when it comes to marketers, nearly half (47%) of young adults ages nine to 17 said they participated in one or more advertiser branded activities in the last month. More than 90% of the group said they want to hear about one or more types of entertainment products in social networking sites, where 45% said they wanted details about special interest categories, including technology, sports and automotive, the study found.

“Social networking sites not only offer an amenable forum for brands to share information with their “friends”, it offers them tremendous opportunity for that message to be shared with the users’ wide network of like minded peers,” Skey said.

Marketers targeting young social networking users should considering the following:

• Be Sensitive. Respect user’s feelings of ownership and emotional attachment to their profile pages.
• Be Useful. Help kids reach their online goals.
• Be Fun. Appeal to users need to be entertained.
• Be Interested. Treat young people as partners.
• Be Innovative: Raise the bar.

“Marketers have tremendous opportunity to solidify authentic connections to these modern content drivers if they heed to the demands of young consumers and provide them with the value and the utility they’ve come to expect,” Skey said. “Send the right message and you can attract the right group of loyal ‘friends’ and brand advocates.”

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