Less than a year after Colombians choose the next president of the Republic, the campaign is already being played in land that has gained strength in recent years and are social networks, a space in which it seeks to influence in the opinion of those who are going to the polls and present the campaign strategies.
Proof of this is a study by the Toro Digital agency that revealed which are the candidates that most Money have invested in advertising on finishing platforms, that is, on Facebook and Instagram.
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The analysis, held between August 1 and September 1, 2025, included 43 applicants who have already expressed their intention to happen to Gustavo Petro as of August 7, 2026 and was based on the advertising investment figures reported by Meta, which reflect the amounts that each campaign has destined to position itself in the digital ecosystem.
The pointers on the pattern
According to the ranking, the candidate that has most invested in digital guideline is Juan Carlos Pinzón, who has spent $ 62.4 million in this period. It is followed by Vicky Dávila, with $ 50.7 million, and thirdly appears the former Minister of Finance Mauricio Cárdenas, with $ 36.5 million.
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These three figures concentrate most of the expense and make a significant difference Faced with the rest of the competitors, since their amounts exceed several times to those of the candidates located in the lower part of the top 10, which shows that there is a clear gap in the digital investment capacity.
In the following positions there are several names of the national policy that have decided to strengthen their digital presence, although with much more contained figures, as is the case of the former goal governor, Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, who reports $ 13.2 million; or Senator Paola Holguín, with $ 13.2 million.
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The list also appears former vice president Germán Vargas Lleras, with $ 11.6 million; the former controller Felipe Córdoba, $ 11.4 million; and Senator Miguel Uribe Londoño, $ 11.6 million. With this it is clear that it is an intermediate block that maintains similar amounts, all in the range of $ 11 million to $ 13 million, remaining as more balanced and less aggressive investment strategies than those of pointers.
The lagging of the top 10
The list is closed by two figures that have made more discreet bets in this field. This is the case of the former director of Dane, Juan Daniel Oviedo, with $ 8.6 million, and former Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, with $ 6.4 million. Although their figures are low in front of those of the pointers, they allow them to stay visible in the digital conversation and within the top ten places of the ranks.
Present elections
The Digital Toro study also analyzed the growth of the followers of the candidates In these platforms, which allows to contrast the expense with the results in visibility and found that on Facebook, the ones that have added the most followers in recent days are Carolina Corcho, Abelardo de la Espriella and Santiago Botero.
On Instagram, on the other hand, the fastest growing have been Abelardo de la Espriella, Vicky Dávila and Mauricio Gómez, marking a rhythm that avizora that although the pattern is a determining factor for positioning, there is not always a direct relationship between investment and the increase in digital communities, since other content strategies also play a central role.
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With all this, the panorama that reveals this report is clear and indicates that the 2026 presidential contest will be played strongly in the digital field, since campaigns not only bet on rallies, regional tours or presence in traditional media, They have turned social networks into a central scenario to capture the attention of voters.
Likewise, the digital guideline has established itself as a mirror of the financial capacity of the candidates and the sophistication of their campaigns already measured the elections, this item will be increasingly relevant and will continue to offer a transparent window to understand how the presidential aspirations in Colombia are configured.
Daniel Hernández Naranjo
Portfolio journalist
