Key stat: Social media tops the priority list for 84% of US digital media professionals, outpacing influencer marketing (61%) by 23 percentage points, according to an October survey from Integral Ad Science and YouGov.

Beyond the chart:

• The dollars are following the priorities. Social media ad spending is expected to grow 15.6% this year and reach $124.88 billion, according to EMARKETER's December 2025 forecast.
• Meanwhile, B2B marketers are doubling down. Sixty percent plan to increase investments in both social media advertising and AI tools, according to November 2024 data from Madison Logic and The Harris Poll.

Use this chart: Show this to leadership when justifying social-first budget allocations. Use it to benchmark your team's channel mix against industry priorities. If you're underweight on social relative to search or gaming, you're aligned with the field.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• US Social Network Ad Spending Forecast Report H2 2025 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• B2B Social Media 2025 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the December 2025 Integral Ad Science and YouGov "The 2026 Industry Pulse Report." 290 US digital media professionals who use programmatic advertising, including 98 advertisers, 78 agencies, 58 publishers and platforms, and 56 ad tech professionals, were surveyed during October 2025.