Yesterday at the Social Ad Summit, many of the industry’s best and brightest convened at the Tribeca rooftop to explore the different models of monetizing social networks. While the industry is approximately a year old, billions and billions of ad impressions are being served on a monthly basis across the likes of Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Orkut and Friendster.

Companies such as MTV and J.P. Morgan are realizing the value of social media as well as various consumer brands. This new medium will continue to grow but may be hamstrung if it does not figure out how to help advertisers understand how to harness these vast and capricious, yet highly targetable, audiences.

One industry executive suggested the need to develop a standard, other than the de facto “impression” model, in order to differentiate the real value of social networks. Otherwise, social media will be relegated to pricing schemes of traditional Web ad models, such as that of Google and other Internet properties.

In speaking with Hussein Fazal, CEO of AdParlor (a Springboard client), he believes the industry is continually attracting attention and budgets from mainstream brands, but the larger opportunities may not come until, “new and innovative pricing models and applications can take advantage of this social networking phenomenon.”

Fazal cited banners and “app-vertisements” among the more popular approaches but sees greater opportunities in leveraging influencers within social networks as a conduit to deliver brand messages.

“Social networks have the inherent capability to create or influence purchase decisions early on, utilizing the relationships within your Facebook or MySpace circle of friends, for example,” added Fazal. “Unlike Google, which relies on an event to search for something like a car or computer to research a purchase decision, social media is further up the chain of influence. This is very powerful for an advertiser.”

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