Social Media Ad Spend: 89% On Facebook, 39% On Twitter & 18% On Google+

Strata reports on where advertising agencies plan on spending their money within the social media space.

The breakdown probably comes as no surprise, with 89% of agencies saying they are planning on spending ad dollars with Facebook, while only 39% plan on using Twitter, and 18% plan on using Google+. YouTube beat out Google+ with 36% saying they plan on spending ad dollars there and 21% said they would use LinkedIn.

Here are other highlights from the study:

• 42% say their 2012 political ad spend will be more than 2010.
• 46% say that during the political season they will advertise in alternative mediums to avoid competition by politicians (41% will compete with politicians for space).
• 49% said they project the 1st half of 2012 to be better than the last half of 2011 (46% also see business increasing compared to the same time last year).
• 4% say that it will be 3-5 years before there is a greater spend in Digital than Traditional media (that’s a 50% increase over 3Q 2011); but 38% still feel that shift will not ever happen.
• Android is the second most popular mobile advertising choice at 71%; iPad remains third (46%).
• For mobile advertising the top option is Display (46%) followed by SMS (25%, but up 61% since 4Q 2010).
• 44% are somewhat interested in self-service inventory of Digital assets.
• Only 4% said they are more focused on Print than they were a year ago.

“The key word for advertisers in 2012 is growth,” said John Shelton, CEO/President of STRATA. “Agencies started to reap the benefits of balance sheets turned in their favor during the fourth quarter 2011, brokering a bright early 2012. The STRATA Survey shows that many advertisers are confident that their business and the economy will return to a strong period by midyear. That sentiment, coupled with strong numbers from the political race, provides an overall positive barometer for advertising in 2012.”