Social network advertising is an intelligent rather than invasive marketing strategy, one industry expert has said this week.

The Social Media Portal (SMP), which is a resource that maps global social media, added that advertising on such sites will "enrich the user experience".

Rachel Hawkes, co-founder and editor of SMP, said: "Advertising on social networks and using the technology brings new opportunities for brands as they have more creative and interactive means to reach audiences."

She added: "Connective behavioural and profiling technologies can be used to identify audiences, which can also be encouraged to pass on the advertising virally or be ambassadors for it."

Because consumers are "fickle", Rachel advises that in order to be effective the advert needs to be "highly targeted and relevant".

Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2007 revealed that the worth of online advertising soared from £835 million in 2004 to £2 billion in 2006.

Furthermore, the report found that social networking sites Bebo, MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are in all the top ten of sites where internet browsers spend their time.

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