Social network ad revenue continues to grow

New York—Worldwide social network ad revenue is set to grow by 48.5% this year, outstripping the 40.7% growth in 2011, according to a new report from eMarketer.

The consultancy estimates that advertisers will spend $7.72 billion on social network advertising this year, including paid advertising on social sites, social games and apps. While the pace of growth inevitably will slow, social ad sales globally will hit $11.9 billion by 2014, eMarketer said.

Nearly half of all social ad spending is in the U.S. This year, U.S. advertisers will spend $3.6 billion on social network ads, up from $2.5 billion last year, and will hit $5.6 billion by 2014.