• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 9, 2008

Panel host, Silverpop's Loren McDonald, is raising the issue of how marketers can use social networking sites to build their email databases.

And Karla Venell, manager of database and email marketing at General Mills, said the company uses its Facebook page in part to prompt people to sign up to receive an email newsletter.

For example, a Betty Crocker fan page on Facebook serves to promote the brand, but also has a call to action that allows visitors to click through and opt to receive a newsletter. (General Mills offers seven email newsletters with recipe tips and the like).

Venell said General Mills uses a MySpace page with similar goals -- as both a marketing tool and platform to build an email customer base.