Business and Marketing

When it comes to social, money talks

Social media ad revenues will grow to $15 billion by 2018, a 24% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) increase from 2013's $5.1 billion, according to local media and advertising consulting company BIA/Kelsey.

At $8.4 billion, 2014 will represent the greatest year-over-year growth in social media ad revenues; growth driven largely by mobile and native advertising, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Social display ad revenues will grow from $3.3 billion in 2013 to $5.6 billion in 2018, a CAGR of 11.3%. Social native advertising revenues will increase by $7.6 billion between 2013 and 2018, due in large part to Facebook News Feed ads and Twitter's Promoted Tweets.

BIA/Kelsey predicts that social native advertising will eclipse social display ads by 2015. Social ad revenues on mobile will surpass their desktop counterparts by 2018. BIA/Kelsey expects locally targeted social advertising to grow at 31.6% CAGR from $1.3 billion in 2013 to $5.2 billion in 2018.

“We were initially skeptical about the social-mobile market's ability to capture optimal wallet share because of mobile's limitations, such as smaller screen size, limited ad inventory and static creative,” Jed Williams, BIA/Kelsey's VP of consulting, said in a release. “Over the past year, however, Facebook, Twitter and other networks have generated dramatic revenue growth. We expect this growth to continue throughout the forecast period.”

Business Breaking News: Networking As an Entrepreneur: 3 Steps to Make a Connection

As most professionals and job seekers know, networking plays a huge role in helping you achieve your career goals. But strong industry connections can be beneficial to entrepreneurs, too: According to a recent survey by Dell and small business community Manta, one in five small business owners made networking their top priority when they first launched their startups.

"The phrase 'knowledge is power' is not a cliché," said John Swanciger, Manta's CEO. "New and aspiring business owners need to network to gather as much information about prospects, competitors and the industries they are targeting in order to make the strategic decisions that will set them up for success."

"Business is about people," added Anna Urban, co-founder and creative director of Aviva Hair Revitalizer. "It starts with an idea, and gets off the ground with networking. Whether you're looking for customers, help or information, it's all much easier to achieve when you start connecting."

Commodity Online News: MCX Crude Oil looks positive buying on dips advised