eMarketer: Research shows that social advertising spending per user is still the highest in North America

North American advertisers spend more than twice as much per social user as European advertisers

Global social network advertising spending is growing, and in each region, per-user spending is increasing as new users continue to flock to social platforms. In terms of spending, North America far exceeds other regions, and according to eMarketer's forecast, this will continue into the future.

eMarketer predicts that in North America, advertisers will spend $32.82 per user on social networks this year, up from $26 in 2013. That's twice as much as Western Europe, the second-largest social network ad market. Other markets have seen a sharp decline in ad spending per user, with Asia Pacific, ranked third, spending just $3.60.

The data includes paid advertising spending on social sites, but excludes non-advertising marketing spending, such as social content creation or brand page maintenance.

Overall, social media spending is growing rapidly in the Middle East and Africa markets, even like a relatively mature market like North America, with eMarketer predicting double-digit growth over the next two years.