• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 10, 2015

Driven by growth in social media and video, original content creation continues to demand a greater share of marketing budgets. For many brands, letting their Instagram and Twitter feeds grow stale is simply not an option. 

As such, estimated budgets for producing content have grown steadily from 12.6% two years ago to 23.3%, today -- and are on track to surpass 33% by 2017 -- according to new research from The Content Council.

“With new social media channels, the rise of video and an ever-evolving digital landscape, we’re excited to see the world of content adapting and growing,” Andy Seibert, managing partner at Imprint and chairman of The Content Council, explains in the new report.

Still, slowing the migration of ad dollars, the perceived measurability of content marketing remains a sticking point for many brands. Indeed, only 52% of marketers surveyed by the Content Council expressed confidence current measurability standards, compared to 65% of survey respondents in the media industry.

However, content creators say the biggest challenge is producing good work. Nearly 64% of respondents said engaging consumers with their content remains the biggest problem.

Where are brands spending their budgets?

The percentage of content marketing budgets being outsourced has increased from 23.1% two years ago to 29.1%, today -- and it should reach 33.7% by 2017, The Content Council predicts.

This year, global ad spending on social networks will slow to 29% -- down from a growth rate of 41% last year -- according to recent research from Strategy Analytics. On the bright side, advertisers are still expected to pump nearly $20 billion into social networks this year.

Stateside, advertisers are expected to spend $39.84 per social media user -- up 27% year-over-year -- Strategy Analytics estimates.