• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 23, 2008

Some social fireworks ignited between Magna Global director of industry analysis Brian Wiese and, SocialMedia Networks co-founder and CEO Seth Goldstein about the value and role of social media in the advertising mix.

After moderator Jim Nail, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony, pointed out that there are now 110 million users on Facebook, Wieser sought to temper the social media hype, noting, “Let's keep in mind hat we can find 110 million people in other places. It's not a given that just because consumers are somewhere that they necessarily want paid advertising thrown at them.”

“He's wrong,” Goldstein asserted, noting, “There are 110 million people on Facebook so of course the brands are going to go there. It's really hard to hit 110 million people on any TV show.”

“When was the last time Facebook ran a roadblock,” Wieser rejoined.

“When was the last time you used Facebook,” Goldstein countered.

But even Goldstein acknowledged that the economics surrounding social media advertising still are not all that encouraging, noting that the average clickthrough rate for a skyscraper ad on Facebook currently is about 0.02%, and the average CPM is “about 4 to 5 cent.”

It is just those kinds of economics, Wieser said, that would keep social media from becoming a major medium as far as advertising budgets are concerned.

“I'm not arguing that there's not a business here. I'm just saying there's not much of one, because it doesn't cost that much to do it,” Wieser explained. “In the context of the rest of the media and the marketing plan. It's something that needs to get attention, but it's not the most important thing.”