Social media on course to overtake outdoor.

Story by Inside Radio

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blackplanet, Instragram, and all the other social media sites will net $4.6 billion in advertising revenue this year. BIA/Kelsey forecasts that figure will climb to $9.2 billion in 2016. That would make social media bigger than outdoor advertising.

The firm says about a third of the spending will be by local advertisers. It estimates the social media local segment will grow from $1.1 billion in 2012 to $3 billion over the next four years.

BIA/Kelsey analyst Jed Williams says 2012 can be looked at as the “coming of age” year for social media. He thinks the continued growth of sponsored stories on Facebook, promoted tweets on Twitter and greater advertiser spending on mobile will be the primary drivers of social advertising growth in the coming years.

BIA/Kelsey is holding its social media conference next week in Los Angeles.