We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – as far as advertising is concerned, 78 percent of people trust peer recommendations, with a mere 14 percent trusting traditional company ads. This is key to the social network’s marketing model and its respective success. Think about it – what is the number one way you share news and other content with friends? You may read a great online review regarding a particular business or service, but you very well may forget about it by the time you see a friend who may appreciate the insight. However, with Facebook and other social sites, you can instantly share this information with your entire personal network with the click of a button.

The top method for sharing online content with friends are through social networks, as 92 percent of social media users use their accounts to spread the word about local businesses. And this isn’t a new concept – remember the famous “Life cereal” commercial where the litmus test for the quality of a new cereal was Mikey, who “hated everything”? The ad campaign became one of the longest-running television advertisements of all time, proving the power of social sharing. The proof is in the pudding, with Twitter playing an integral role in the Egyptian revolution and breaking news concerning the Royal Wedding, to a report by HubSpot’s 2011 State of Inbound Marketing report that found that 44 percent of companies in North America see Facebook as critical or important, up from 24 percent in 2009. The report also showed that people who voluntarily click the “like” button are apt to recommend the brand to friends and may also be more willing to purchase the brand. As the number one social media site continues to expand, this news comes as no surprise.

We recently reported on the profound impact of social networking sites like Facebook on society and advertising budgets the world over in a social media blog. As industry leaders like Mike Zuckerberg continue to reap the benefits of creating a social recommendation avenue for individuals from the U.S. to Egypt, marketers are cashing in on one of the best advertising innovations since TV transformed from black and white to full-color.

As Facebook continues its expansion efforts in China this year, the world watches on, waiting to see what unique innovations the company will come up with to further take advantage of its social sharing model for advertising. Stay tuned!