Social media ad spend in Canada 2020-2023

In 2023, social media advertising spending in Canada stood at 4.28 billion Canadian dollars. That year, the spending grew by 21 percent, from a value of 3.54 billion recorded a year earlier. 

The status of global social media advertising

Social media advertising has continued its upward trend in recent years. In 2023, global social media advertising spending amounted to 212 billion U.S. dollars. According to the latest projections, this figure was estimated to increase to 346 billion dollars by 2029. The United States was the leading country by social media ad expenditure, with 72.3 billion dollars in 2023. China ranked second with nearly 71.4 billion dollars. 

The importance of social media for brands

In 2023, the number of global social media users amounted to  4.9 billion. According to the latest estimates, this figure was projected to increase to over six billion by 2029. Consequently, social media has become a prominent channel for advertising and marketing. Therefore, the optimization of social media usage is significant for brands. As of January 2024, increased exposure was the most commonly cited benefit of using social media for marketing purposes worldwide. Increased traffic and lead generation followed with 73 percent and 65 percent, respectively.