Global social media ad spend to approach £200bn in 2024

Social media has cemented its spot as the largest media channel worldwide by advertising investment, according to WARC Media’s ‘Global Advertising Trends’ report.

Having overtaken paid search last year, social media is forecast to total $247.3bn (£198.1bn) in 2024, up 14.3% year-on-year. Meta alone is on track to surpass linear TV in global ad revenue by 2025. 

In the UK, social media ad spend grew 15.6% year-on-year in 2023 and is forecast to reach £8.8bn in 2025, per the latest AA/WARC expenditure report. Much of this growth is attributed to rising spend on social video formats, up 20% on last year, according to IAB UK.

Users have also significantly increased their social media usage. According to GWI data, time spent on social platforms has increased by 50% since 2014, from an average daily consumption of 95 minutes to 152 minutes in 2024.

Meta’s renaissance

Alex Brownsell, head of content at WARC Media, said much of the success of social media has been driven by Meta’s “remarkable renaissance”.

Meta will earn $155.6bn (£124.64bn) in ad revenue this year, representing a 63.0% share of global social spend. Both Facebook and Instagram grew by more than 20% year-on-year in Q1 2024.

The growth is fuelled by a wave of investment from Chinese exporters as well as the popularity of its AI tools. Meta’s Advantage+, which automates aspects of creative and media planning, are reportedly becoming increasingly popular with advertisers.

Meanwhile, Meta has also reportedly increased its ad load in Q4 2023 to 19.1%, with most Reels sessions now having seven or more ads.

“With this dominance comes challenges, such as rising advertising loads in social environments, and the impact of AI on media planning,” Brownsell warned.

Other platforms

Brownsell said social media’s “stronghold on budgets” is also present in TikTok and a return to double-digit ad revenue growth at Snapchat and Pinterest.

WARC Media forecasts TikTok will earn $23.1bn (£18.49bn) this year as growth slows against the potential threat of a ban in the US.

Despite introducing new search and shopping ad formats, TikTok’s 18.3% year-on-year revenue growth marks a significant slow down from the 87.8% growth rate it enjoyed last year.

Pinterest’s ad revenue is forecast to increase 17.3% year-on-year in 2024, while Snapchat’s is forecast to grow 13.7%.

WARC attributes the strong growth of both platforms to a “refocus and leaning into their respective strengths”.

On the other hand, Twitter/X continues to decline following a disastrous 2023. The platform is predicted to decline by 6.4% globally in 2024.

However, compared to a 46.4% decrease in 2023, it marks somewhat of a stabilisation for the Elon Musk-owned platform.