Facebook, when it comes to earning from advertising in social media, is the unquestioned leader. eMarketer estimates that the company's revenues account for over 2/3 of all global social media ad revenues.

Debra Aho Williamson, analyst at eMarketer.com, said Facebook is clearly aware of its success. She also added that, when it comes to branding, video ads are becoming increasingly attractive to marketers. After all, their goal is to reach the broadest possible audience, and Facebook's ads have proven exceptionally effective.

EUR 10.1 million ad revenue

eMarketer also estimates that Facebook will earn EUR 10.1 million (USD 11.7 million) in net ad revenue this year. Last year, this figure was EUR 7.8 million (USD 9.1 million). Now, the majority of revenue (as much as EUR 5.5 million) will come from outside the US.

Messenger with one billion users

Facebook's ad revenue reaches EUR 10.1 million

Meanwhile, the company announced last week that 1 billion people use Messenger. Analysts at eMarketer.com estimate that approximately 105.2 million people in the US used the Messenger app at least once a month in 2016. "Messenger is also gaining popularity among marketers who want to experiment with bots," said Williamson. "But this is still the early stage of such activity in the Messenger app, and it's unclear yet how important a marketing tool the messenger will become."

Summary

Facebook controls over two thirds of global social media ad revenue, according to eMarketer. This year, the company is expected to record EUR 10.1 million (USD 11.7 million) in net ad revenue, compared to EUR 7.8 million (USD 9.1 million) the previous year, with EUR 5.5 million (USD 6.4 million) coming from outside the US.

Analyst Debra Aho Williamson notes that video ads are gaining increasing importance, valued by marketers for their effectiveness in reaching broad audiences. At the same time, Messenger's role is growing: the app has one billion users, and 105.2 million monthly users in the US. Marketers are testing bots there, although – as Williamson admits – this is still the beginning of such activity.