Digital marketing has been a growing priority for most industries due to the massive shift from traditional means of promoting brands to web-based methods that use social media as their main platform. Big names like Converse, Virgin America, and Lexus even dedicate up to 90% of their total marketing budget on digital efforts, so it won t be a surprise if spending for social media advertising continuously rises over the recent years.

An eMarketer report confirms this, showing how much businesses have been spending on ads they distribute to social networks in the last two years, as well as how much they will be spending in the two years to come.

The biggest spenders

North American businesses spend the biggest on social media marketing and advertising this year–a trend that has been consistent since 2013 and that observers see to continue until 2017. eMarketer reported that in 2015, North America spends $10.10 billion on ads bound for social networks. This is followed by Asia-Pacific ($7.40 B), Western Europe ($4.74 B), Latin America ($0.68 B), Central & Eastern Europe ($0.61 B), and Middle East & Africa ($0.16 B).

The American continent also allots the highest percent of their digital marketing budget on social media advertising. For 2015, North America uses 15.9% of that budget on social ads, while Western Europe spends 13.5%, Asia-Pacific allocates 12.9%, Latin America 10.0%, Central & Eastern Europe 9.4%, and Middle East & Africa 6.8%.

Worldwide, the 2015 social network advertising budget is at $23.68 billion, while the total percent it eats from companies digital marketing fund averages at 13.9%

The highest growth rate

America may lead in terms of spending, but others have been trying to catch up, as shown by how much their spending have increased in the recent years. Middle Eastern & African businesses grew their expenses by 52.4% this year, followed by Asia-Pacific s 42.7%, and North America s 31.0%.

A notable trend, however, is that these rates are lower compared to the 2013 and 2014 figures, and they are foreseen to lessen further in the next two years. The same trend is observed in Central & Eastern European businesses, but the rest of the world (Western Europe, Latin America) showed differing levels of ebbs and flows from 2013 and 2017.
Comparing the rates, 2014 saw the biggest spending increase at 56.2%. The world average was only 51.1% in 2013 and 33.5% this year.