Over 250 million people play social games like Farmville on Facebook every month. That’s according to a recent study done by Parks Associates. In 2010, the social gaming market revenue exceeded $1 billion and is set to increase by five times from 2010 to 2015.

Gaming on social networks is dominating the category of online games. Gamers are spending 20 percent less on gaming overall since they started playing social network games. This can explain why social network revenues are climbing while traditional console games sales are falling.

Facebook is by far the most popular destination for social gamers. Social gaming companies such Zynga, Playdom, and Popcap Games are rapidly expanding and growing as more and more users go on Facebook to play. In fact, games by Zynga come in at the number one spot on the Facebook Developer Leaderboard with over 230 million monthly active users. Zynga’s most popular game, Farmville has a larger weekly audience than Dancing With The Stars.

Who are all these users? Well the average social gamer is a 43-year-old woman, so probably your mom. Women tend to play more social games because they are simple to learn and do not require heavy technology and are social in nature. Women have 55 percent more posts on their walls than men, and have 4 times the amount of friends as their own children. Women can connect with friends while playing and even purchase gifts to help friends out on their farm (Farmville).

How are advertisers getting into the social game sphere? Last year, Cascadian Farm blueberries were featured as a crop on Zynga’s Farmville. In more than 500 million cases players chose to purchase these branded blueberries over other crops available to them. According to Zynga, unaided brand awareness increased by 550 percent! It’s all about allowing users to engage with your brand, having your brand be part of the experience and rewarding players for interacting with your brand.