Social media becomes the world’s largest advertising channel

Warc said its data showed that both Facebook and Instagram grew by more than 20% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, with Meta is forecast to earn $155.6bn in advertising revenue this year, representing a 63% share of global social spend.

According to Warc Media, Meta is set to overtake global linear TV in advertising spend terms in 2025.

Warc said that the popularity of artificial intelligence tools and investment from Chinese exporters in the European and US markets were partly behind the rise in advertising spend on social media.

Pinterest is set to enjoy a 17.3% year-on-year increase in advertising revenue in 2024, according to Warc, while Snapchat is forecast to grow 13.7%.

However, advertising revenue at X, formerly known as Twitter, was predicted to decline by 6.4% globally and 5.1% in the US this year, however, an improved performance from the 46.4% decrease in advertising revenue the platform saw in 2023.

Meta reportedly increased its advertising load in the last quarter of 2023 to 19.1%, Warc said, with most Reels sessions now having seven or more adverts.

The forecasts come as data from GWI suggested that time spent on social media platforms has increased by 50% since 2014, rising to daily consumption of 152 minutes from 95 minutes a decade ago.

Alex Brownsell, head of content at Warc Media, said: “Much of social media’s success has been driven by Meta’s remarkable renaissance. However, social’s stronghold on budgets can also be seen in TikTok’s rise, and a return to double digit ad revenue growth at Snapchat and Pinterest.

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