Marketers using social media 'to give consumers a taste'

Direct response ad units are set to appear on Facebook, which will allow advertisers to send products to consumers.

Social media sites will be used by marketers to send out samples to consumers using new direct response ad units.

The adverts, set to appear on Facebook, will allow advertisers to offer samples and coupons, that can be sent to the user if they type in their address, reported Dianna Dilworth, a digital reporter for DMNews.

David Berkowitz, senior director of emerging media and innovation at 360i, claimed it would allow people to get actual products into people's hands.

He told Ms Dilworth: "When you are trying to give someone a taste for what you are offering, it is much more powerful."

Ms Dilworth claimed that one brand to sign up for the new adverts, Chich-fil-A, will offer to send the consumer a free chicken biscuit if they click on the advert and fill in their details.

This week, an industry analyst commented that social networking sites take up a "significant" portion of the time people spend on the internet and so have become an attractive prospect to advertisers.

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