Marketers favor Facebook for their social media ad spending

Facebook will be the top recipient of social media advertising spending this year, according to a survey from the Creative Group.

The Menlo Park, Calif., outfit surveyed 500 advertising and marketing executives in the first quarter on how social media ad dollars will be spent.

More than half said they expected companies to increase their advertising or marketing investment in Facebook. Other social networks such as Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube hovered around 40%.

Marketers were also asked if they would decrease their spend on social media this year. A small percentage -- 4% -- said they would dial back advertising and marketing spending on Facebook while 5% said they would spend less on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube.

“Companies recognize the powerful role social media can play in brand building, and they are willing to invest in initiatives that can help them increase customer engagement,” Donna Farrugia, executive director of The Creative Group, said in a written statement. “As platforms like Facebook continue to evolve, it’s especially important for businesses to keep pace.”

The market value of Facebook could top $100 billion in the biggest ever initial public offering for an Internet company. Facebook, which made nearly all of its $3.7 billion in revenue last year from online ads, is going to have to turn more big brands into paying customers to earn that valuation, analysts say.

Brands are buying more ads on Facebook to reach the site’s 845 million users, but such spending still makes up a tiny fraction of their total ad budgets.

RELATED:Facebook prepares to ramp up ads

Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg has a talent for making friends

Facebook pledges to help advertisers by making ads more prominent