“Booze pages” on Facebook that have as many as 10m “likes” have been blamed for promoting excessive drinking through giveaways and posts that suggest things like drinking early in the morning.

Alcohol companies have certainly spotted the potential of social media to market their wares to a younger audience. The growth of social media, especially among under 25s, and its integration with gadgets such as mobile phones, digital camera and video applications has created unprecedented opportunities for marketing alcohol products.

And user-generated content now means that rather than just marketing products to consumers, consumers themselves have become unofficial marketeers.

via Alcohol giants pour into social media’s digital drinking spaces.