Social media and video advertising has increased over eight fold over the last four years, it has been revealed.

The latest IAB advertising expenditure report revealed that internet advertising increased 14.4 per cent in 2011 with an increase of £4,784m.

Search engine marketing increased to £2,767m, which has now reached a 58 per cent share of online advertising spend. Advertising on mobile phones has also seen a dramatic increase, up 157 per cent in 2011, up to £203m.

Tim Elkington, Director of Research and Strategy at the IAB, said: “Online and mobile advertising have experienced staggering growth since this study began in 1997. The 2011 results are full of breakthroughs for digital; with online display passing the £1billion barrier for the first time, proving that advertisers increasingly recognise the central role that online plays in their marketing campaigns.”

The results, revealed by PwC, showed that video advertising now accounts for ten per cent of all online ads – spending doubled from 2010 to £109m in 2011.

2011 saw banner ads gain mass popularity too, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter saw increases of 75 per cent.

Anna Bartz, Strategy Manager at PwC, said: “This year’s results reflect the continued appeal of digital media – on desktop, mobile or tablet – to advertisers for both brand advertising and direct response. All formats grew, with strongest increases in video and social media, and in search. Internet Adspend’s 14.4% growth is exceptional when compared to an estimated advertising growth of less than 2% across all media in 2011.”