Marketers Love Facebook, But Don't Want to Advertise There [STUDY]

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Of the 658 self-identified marketers, agency executives, media executives and marketing consultants in AdAge's survey, nearly 86% indicated that Facebook is part of their marketing mix. However, only 55% said they advertise on Facebook, and 86% said they would produce Facebook content without buying any ads on the platform.

Those findings reflect the sentiments of many marketers and researchers we've spoken to, who have found that advertising on Facebook can accelerate the growth of their respective fan bases, but is not essential for doing so. General Motors, for example, is reportedly spending as much as $40 million on generating content for Facebook annually, none of which, going forward, the automaker plans to spend on advertising on the platform.

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General Motors is the exception, however, and not the rule. Collectively, Facebook's ad revenues are expected to grow substantially over the coming years, surpassing $5 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer's estimates. Some of that growth may come from mobile: Early data about Facebook's new mobile ad products suggest that they are generating 2.5 times as much revenue per impression than their desktop counterparts.