I read the IAB Platform Status Report “User Generated Content, Social Media, and Advertising” (April 2008) yesterday, with Bemba in the back of my head. These are the quotes that interested me. You can read the full report here (pdf).

Today’s model is collaborative, collective, customized and shared. It’s a world in which the consumer is the creator, consumer and distributor of content. Today there are over a billion content creators and hundreds of millions of distributors. The proliferation of quality, affordable technology and the popularity of social networks and UGC sites have forever changed the media landscape.

By 2011, UGC sites are projected to attract 101 million users in the U.S. and earn $4.3 billion in ad revenue - EMarketer, “User Generated Content: Will Web 2.0 Pay its Way?” June 2007. Still, obstacles remain that prevent advertisers from taking advantage of this dynamic new medium.

A 2007 study found that 38.4% of Internet users believe that expressing personal opinions is the key element in separating blogs from other online media - Vizu Answers/Advertising Age “Blog Readership Report.” March 2007.

Like blogs and review sites, social networks allow users to place comments, photos, videos and Web links on each others’ pages, thereby sharing information and interests with dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people—depending on the size of one’s network—with a single click.

Where social networks allow users to share all manner of content and media with one another, sites like YouTube and Flickr allow them to share a specific kind of content. For example, YouTube is a site where users can upload and view videos of almost any kind. Flickr serves the same purpose for photos.

Widgets, portable applications that allow both users and sites to have a hand in the content, have recently become a popular form of brand or news distribution. The publisher is able to control the content and the user is afforded the luxury of placing that content on his or her page, be it a blog or social networking profile. Publishers have started to recognize the value of this new type of content syndication.

UGC and social networking as a major force on the Internet represents the greatest opportunity and challenge to marketers since the advent of the Internet itself. In the larger eco-system, social networking and UGC sites have provided high-value advertising inventory and audience segments needed to capture more of the market share and targeted audience reach that advertisers demand.

Although many advertisers and publishers are still experimenting with ways to reach consumers on UGC sites, many techniques have become common practice. There are two ways for brands to leverage the UGC/Social Networking platform: by placing commercial messaging in and around the content or by becoming a part of the content itself.

Another version of a custom community is a dedicated channel. This is when an advertiser creates their own community on a content-sharing site like YouTube. Consumers can visit these sites and engage in all manner of branded activity, same as a custom community.

Perhaps the most common method of advertising on social networking sites is creating a profile page. An advertiser simply creates a page for its product, much as an individual would for himself. This page can be used to provide all sorts of materials and information, from demonstration videos to graphics that other users can use to decorate their own pages. This also allows other members to include your page in their “friend” network, or tag themselves as a “fan.”

One surefire way to get noticed on a UGC site is a branding wrapper or “skin.” These wrappers transform a social network’s landing page into a 360-degree branding experience, complete with wallpaper, photos, video, music, and links. This method guarantees that each of the millions of users who log onto a social networking site on a particular day will be greeted by your advertisement. And because it does not impose obstacles or extra steps to reaching one’s profile page, it is considered a non-intrusive social networking advertising platform.

UGC/social networking offers brand-building opportunities far beyond what’s available through traditional advertising, but taking advantage of those opportunities means first grasping some basics.

A major obstacle to doing anything new is fear of the unknown. Many advertisers simply aren’t clear on how to go about UGC advertising, or are unsure of which solution will best fit their objectives. But advertisers who approach publishers with a desire to get started will find no shortage of eager, accommodating partners

The User-Generated Content & Social Media Committee is dedicated to helping develop and expand the user-generated content and social networking space as viable and effective advertising platforms. They have been instrumental in shaping this report and will continue to help educate the marketplace on the strength of this interactive channel.