All the Social Media Advertising Stats You Need to Know. Social media advertising usage statistics Social media advertising budgets have doubled worldwide over the past 2 years—going from $16 billion U.S. in 2014 to $31 billion in 2016 But despite this growing investment in social advertising, 46 percent of B2B marketers say they’re unsure whether their channels have generated any revenue for their business. Social media spending in the U.S. alone is expected increase to $17.34 billion in 2019 That’s no small number. Social media is being used everywhere, and social media advertising is growing globally. With Instagram ads, brands will be able to connect with consumers where they are—on mobile—and make an impression right now on young users whose incomes and spending will only increase year after year. Learn more about Facebook ads in our beginner’s guide to advertising on Facebook. And who are these advertisers? While Facebook is becoming the video advertising tool for every business, YouTube is still maintaining—and as we saw above, actually increasing—powerful relationships with the biggest brands in the world. That number is impressive, especially given that last year it was a third less. Ads options are available for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
It feels like every month a social network unveils a new social media advertising tool. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have long planted their flags in this territory, while Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat are quickly gaining ground. This explosion in advertising options has left a lot of brands trying hard to play catch-up.
If you’re still not sure why you should put money behind your social media campaigns, we’ve gathered a long list of social media advertising stats that should help motivate you.
And then when you’re ready, read our Complete Guide to Social Media Advertising to get started on your own paid ad campaigns.
Social media advertising usage statistics
Social media advertising budgets have doubled worldwide over the past 2 years—going from $16 billion U.S. in 2014 to $31 billion in 2016
But despite this growing investment in social advertising, 46 percent of B2B marketers say they’re unsure whether their channels have generated any revenue for their business.
Social media spending in the U.S. alone is expected increase to $17.34 billion in 2019
That’s no small number. Marketers have recognized that social media advertising is a tool that they’re going to need to understand and use if they’re going to succeed at reaching coveted social media users moving forward.
This statistic shows that they’re making a commitment to doing just that.
Social media advertising isn’t only a North American phenomenon either…
In 2017, analysts predicted a 26.3% global increase on spending for social media ads
Of course North Americans are heavy users of social media, but so are people in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa… you get my point. Social media is being used everywhere, and social media advertising is growing globally. Regardless of your market, you can find ways to make social advertising work for you. This far reach is probably the reason that…
Social media ad spending is likely to exceed $35 billion in 2017, representing 16 percent of all digital ad spending globally
The actual number is $35.98 billion if you want to get technical. That represents an increase of almost $13 billion in just two years. Not only that, it means that social media will have maintained consistent growth (of about $6 billion every year) for nearly half a decade. Often these trends rise rapidly for a year or two and plateau. If social media advertising spend continues on this curve, there’s no telling how the industry and tools will evolve.
But that kind of spending must reflect just how expensive the ads themselves are, right? Well, actually…
Over 50 percent of B2B marketers rank social media as a ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ low cost ad option
A survey asked 200 B2B marketers to rate the cost of demand generation channels based on the cost per lead. Just over 50 percent of the respondents ranked social media as “very low cost” or “somewhat low cost.”
This compares to 42.5 percent for search ads, and 41.7 percent for display ads. The truth is, social media ads are generally quite affordable. Many networks offer you the opportunity to test your content organically before promoting it, so you know you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to connect with your target audience. Plus, there are countless other ways to keep the cost of your social advertising low.
Social media advertising stats by network
Twitter advertising revenue totaled $545 million in Q3 of 2016, an increase of 60% year-over-year
Twitter’s earnings report laid it out clearly on the table: more people are turning to Twitter ads than ever before.
Twitter was one of the first networks to recognize and capitalize on the potential of social media advertising. In the years since they launched their first ad options, adoption has grown rapidly and steadily. With 60 percent growth year-over-year, there’s little doubt that Twitter ads have proven their worth as an effective option for businesses.
That may have a little something to do with Twitter’s great focus on mobile…
Mobile advertising revenue accounted for 86% of total Twitter advertising revenue
The future of technology lives in your pocket. People use smartphones so much today that every business is scrambling to optimize for mobile. Twitter has always been ahead of the game in terms of their mobile app development, and the same is true of their mobile advertising opportunities. It’s quite clear from this stat that mobile is where advertisers want to be, and that Twitter has managed to get them there.
So how do these revenue numbers translate into usage? Well…
By June of 2014, nearly 80% of U.S. marketers were using promoted Tweets
Yes the stat is old, but that’s the point. By June of 2014, nearly 80 percent of U.S. marketers were using promoted Tweets. That figure shows the rapid adoption of Twitter ads, but it’s also safe to assume that the number will have increased since then, especially as Twitter expanded its advertising platform.
When more than 80 percent of marketers are using a specific tool, you have to believe that they’re garnering some…
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