2023 State of Marketing Report
2023 State of Marketing Report
2023 State of Marketing Report
Marketing
Marketing Trends in 2023, from AI to Z
KIPP BODNAR
Chief Marketing Officer, HubSpot
#1 90% 56%
highest ROI of any marketing channel of marketers using short-form of marketers plan to
are blogs, social media shopping video will increase or maintain increase their investment
tools, and influencer marketing. their investment this year. in TikTok this year.
SECTION 05 25
Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends
By leveraging automation, they have more time to focus on the impactful, creative work that
AI can’t replace. Learn more about how marketing teams can make use of this tech with this
guide to Using Generative AI to Scale Your Content Operations.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 7
Economic Concerns and Marketing Budgets
Today, global inflation and economic instability have led to shifting company budgets.
Economic concerns are impacting how marketers plan to attract and retain customers. If a recession were to happen this
year, 24% of marketers expect to have to reduce their marketing budget, 20% expect to have to adjust their marketing
goals, 20% believe they’d have to reduce their scope, and 19% report they’d have to pivot their tactics completely.
I expect my
• Podcasts • Long-form video marketing budget
to increase in 2023
• Virtual events • Organic social 47%
• SMS marketing
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 8
Data Privacy Concerns
As consumers have become increasingly aware — and impassioned — about online
data privacy, government regulations have started creating new restrictions on data
use. Major changes like Europe’s GDPR rules have influenced other countries all over the
world to take action. As a result, it’s expected that the third-party cookie will be phased
out completely, replacing it with “privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual
tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers," says Google.
86%
of marketers told us that data privacy changes have impacted
their overall marketing strategy over the past year.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 9
The question remains: How can marketers continue creating
personalized ads that work and reach the right people
while still respecting the privacy of their communities?
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 10
Video Continues to Dominate and Drive Business
From Instagram Reels to YouTube Shorts and the ever-growing power of TikTok,
short-form video has continued its meteoric rise.
Short-form video allows companies to show off a more casual, entertaining side
of their business, their team, and their mission at work. And people simply love
watching. That’s why video has the highest ROI of any media format by far,
followed by images, blog posts, and podcasts or other audio content.
Images 50%
12% Images
9% Blog posts
8% Infographics
Infographics 28%
7% Case studies
28%
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 11
As far as content creation goes, video is not only the most powerful, but
it’s also the most popular media format — for the fourth year running.
Here's what marketers are doing: It’s not slowing down, either: Use of video will grow significantly in
2023, with 24% of marketers planning to invest more in video than
are creating and And because of its popularity and unbeatable ROI, even the most
sharing video content. hesitant marketing teams are giving video a shot this year. Video
will grow the most among first-time users in 2023, with one in three
marketers planning to try to leverage video over the next year.
47% Images (29%), blog posts (26%), interviews (25%), and podcasts
(24%) will also see high first-time use among marketers in 2023.
are sharing images.
We’ll get into more details about social media
video marketing in Section 6.
33%
are posting blogs
and articles.
30%
are sharing infographics.
28%
are investing in podcasts
or other audio content.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 01 The Biggest Changes for Marketing in 2023 12
SECTION 02
SEO (search engine optimization, visual search optimization) Selling products directly in social media apps
(e.g. Instagram Shops)
6%
25%
Creating content that reflects your brand's values (e.g. social responsibility)
Virtual events, webinars, and conferences
4%
23%
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 02 Emerging Marketing Trends and Plans for 2023 13
Short-form Video “In late 2022, YouTube surpassed Netflix as the top
Changing consumer behaviors have made video streaming platform in the US — and as of early 2023,
marketing absolutely essential for brands. With the there are about 2B Instagram users and 1B TikTok users
highest ROI of any marketing activity, we’re not globally. User engagement with video content is core
surprised to see that short-form video will see the most to these platforms, making it crucial for businesses to
growth of any trend in 2023. One in five (21%) marketers invest in video marketing to engage, attract, and convert
plan to leverage short-form video for the first time this potential customers.
year, the highest of any trend. To see a substantial return on video investments, define
the purpose of your content and the business objectives.
Is it to raise market awareness? Educate? Turn viewers
90% into buyers? A sound strategy also dramatically reduces
overall production costs and improves ROI.”
of marketers using short-form
video will increase or maintain
KYLE DENHOFF
their investment this year.
Director of New Media, HubSpot
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 02 Emerging Marketing Trends and Plans for 2023 14
Values-based Content
Gone are the days when companies simply But how should a company show off its values? Well, 30% of
made a product or provided a service marketers are currently creating content that reflects their
and moved through the world without brand’s values, like creating and sharing blog posts, getting executive
much thought to current events and interviews in the press, creating podcasts about the company and its
social challenges. Consumers, especially values, or sharing regularly on social media.
Millennials and Gen Z, want to buy from
companies that display values and a
purpose that resonate with them — and
marketing teams have caught on.
43%
is the likelihood of effective HubSpot on LinkedIn
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 02 Emerging Marketing Trends and Plans for 2023 15
Social Media DMs for Customer Service and Sales
Customer service has become an increasingly important,
and increasingly public, aspect of running any successful
company. For nearly a decade, consumers have been evading
traditional customer service channels and going straight to
a company’s social media page in order to get help with a
persistent problem. More than one in five Gen Zers and nearly
25% of Millennials report having directly contacted a brand on
social media for customer service.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 02 Emerging Marketing Trends and Plans for 2023 16
Mobile Messaging SEO
Contacting customers and prospects via SMS, Twenty-nine percent of marketers use a search-optimized
Facebook messenger, and WhatsApp is also website and blog to attract and convert leads. SEO work is
growing in popularity. With more and more a long game, so some marketing teams looking for quicker
customers shopping from their phone, delivering wins sometimes overlook how powerful it can be. But once
ads, promotions, and discounts via text or a company sets up a blog and optimizes its webpages for
messenger increases the chance that you’re search, it lays a foundation to significantly increase web
delivering the right message at the right time. traffic and inbound leads.
In fact, automated marketing campaign workflows
Though it’s time-consuming, SEO work requires a relatively
with SMS can increase conversions by 21%.
low financial investment, especially when compared to
strategies like paid ads, events, and out-of-home ads. The
low upfront costs and high success rate makes it one of the
highest ROI channels used by marketers. And once it’s up
and running, the sky's the limit.
88%
of those who already do SEO
work plan to increase or maintain
their investment this year.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 02 Emerging Marketing Trends and Plans for 2023 17
SECTION 03
Web traffic
32%
Social engagement
30%
Conversion rate
29%
Lead generation
27%
Take a look below for advice on the best way for content
and brand owners to manage marketing and promotional
budgets while navigating this challenging period.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 04 Content Marketing Trends from Rock Content 20
Don’t Go Dark —
1 If You Can Keep Spending.
A general marketing principle dictates that market share Based on the trend report, in fact, at least 55% of
(SOM) tends to strongly correlate with share of voice (SOV marketers say the potential for recession has affected
— the percentage of promotional expenditure spent by the their marketing activities this year:
brand). Specifically where a brand SOV is higher than SOM,
the brand market share tends to grow, and the opposite is
valid. If SOV falls below the brand’s SOM, then market share 25%
is likely to fall over the year following. The principle is valid in
both B2C and B2B. 20% of all marketers already had to
change their marketing goals due
In times of recession, just keeping promotional spend flat to the potential for recession.
will put your brand in a dominant position. As an example,
if all the companies in your category cut their promotional
spend in half, suddenly your budget that was 10% of the
total share of voice now doubles to 20% as a result.
20%
Therefore, cutting the marketing budget during a recession 20% of all marketers had to pivot from
their established plan due to the
is a risky strategy. It may provide some short-term relief, potential for recession.
but the subsequent loss of market share that follows will
be extremely difficult to regain when the crisis is over and
during the recovery. And, as expected, 51% of marketers confirm that if an
Yet, it’s increasingly clear that for many brands this advice is economic downturn or recession were to occur in 2023,
academic and quite unrealistic. Maintaining spending is not it would affect their marketing activities. In fact, 24%
an option if your sector has been hit hard. Brands hardest of all marketers expect they will have to reduce their
hit by the economic situation will focus on saving jobs and marketing budget if a recession occurs in 2023.
business continuity rather than marketing investments.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 04 Content Marketing Trends from Rock Content 21
Organic Content Experiences Brand Awareness,
2 Are on the Rise.
3 Not Just Lead Gen.
During every crisis, organic content consumption As we have mentioned, brand associations created
tends to grow. Despite the decline of media costs, now are likely to bring the greatest sales benefit
media spend has fallen sharply across all channels as during the recovery period. Brands that can still invest
many categories turn off ad spend. should resist the pressure to switch promotional
spend from brand awareness to activation.
In fact, based on the State of Marketing Trends data,
if an economic downturn were to occur, marketers This is even more valid for B2B. Because the sales funnel in
must expect to see budget cuts in paid social media B2B purchasing is generally longer than in B2C, arguments in
content, print ads, physical events, email marketing, favor of supporting long-term growth through brand building
and physical ads. and top of the funnel content are likely to be even stronger.
Events are declining too, and so are meetings and In addition, for those B2B businesses whose customers
large gatherings. Organic content, video content, and prospects are unable to buy due to budget cuts,
social media content, interactive content, webinars, pursuing short-term lead gen activities makes little sense.
and digital events are typically on the rise. Brands For these brands, it is suggested to invest in long-term
are turning to digital content, always looking at relationship-building.
where their audience keeps conversations and
Les Binet, G
roup Head of Effectiveness at adam&eveDDB, is
consumes content.
not wrong when he writes that “Brand promotion is not about
Just because consumers are not purchasing right profiting in recession, it is about capitalizing on recovery.”
now, it doesn’t mean they’re not researching.
Finally, brands forced to cut marketing investment should still
Releasing interesting or useful content that targets
focus on brand visibility by maximizing content marketing and
upper funnel consumers will increase brand
SEO tactics, and they should prioritize customer and prospect
awareness and trust. Winning hearts and minds now
relationships via owned digital properties (eg., blogs) and social
will put you in a good position once recovery has
platforms. PR and co-marketing partnerships could represent
begun and users are ready to purchase again.
another way to run marketing activities at no extra cost.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 04 Content Marketing Trends from Rock Content 22
Prioritize Emotions Over On-Demand Creative Talent Can
4 Logic, But Be Distinctive.
5 Help Scale Your Content Ops.
If you’re not already, prioritize featuring humanity, humor, Finally, a few words about layoffs and budget cuts and
warmth, and generosity in messages and promotion. the implications of properly staffing your content team.
Demonstrating humanity and generosity through behavior
As the recent multiple layoff waves have clearly
is advised, too: Brands should ask themselves the question,
demonstrated, freelancers are often more appealing to
‘How can we help?’.
employers during a recession. Companies are realizing
Lead with empathy, humor, and emotion. The most there is a competitive advantage to have a robust
successful content out of previous recessions leveraged strategy for using independent talent.
emotion over logic; emotional creative strategies help
Content marketers should take advantage of those
to evoke warmth and humanity and have been the most
content marketing-focused marketplaces, like
effective in times of recessions.
WriterAccess for example, that offer creative talent
Yet, be distinctive. When you communicate like on-demand and the possibility for the content teams to
everyone else – without any differentiation, with exactly easily scale their content creation effort.
the same message as those around you – you can
disappear completely.
GIUSEPPE CALTABIANO
VP of Marketing,
Rock Content
7%
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 26
What’s been challenging?
Even though it’s a relatively easy type of content strategy
to stand up, social media marketing isn’t always a straight What are the biggest challenges
path to growing sales and reaching new audiences. social media marketers face (top 7)?
Especially with organic social media, companies are at the Creating engaging content
mercy of each platform’s algorithm, so two similar posts 22%
may perform very differently on different days. Gaining and keeping followers
22%
Surveyed marketers reported that their biggest social
Reaching your target audience
media challenges are consistently creating engaging
21%
content, gaining and keeping followers, reaching their
Finding ideas for new content
target audience, finding ideas for new content, generating
leads, keeping up with trends, and measuring ROI. 21%
Creating content that generates leads
20%
Keeping up with new trends
To learn more about the nuances
19%
between each social platform and
Measuring ROI
how to overcome some of the
challenges of social media marketing, 19%
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 27
TikTok is Trending, But For How Long?
The biggest trend in marketing right now is undoubtedly
short-form video. And though Instagram Reels are trying
to replicate its success, TikTok is the reigning leader in
short-form video (for now). With its highly-accurate
algorithm and laser-sharp targeting, it keeps viewers
watching and watching — making it an excellent advertising
platform for companies everywhere. It’s tied with YouTube
and Instagram for the second-highest ROI, behind Facebook.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 28
The debate: repurpose social content or tailor by platform?
Especially when companies are just getting started with social media, However, when comparing marketers
many marketing teams post the same image, video, or text across every who say their marketing strategy was
social app. But this approach has its drawbacks: Each platform requires effective in 2022 with those who say it
different image sizes and word counts — plus, audiences vary across was ineffective, effective marketers are
platforms. Posting a letter from a CEO might do very well on LinkedIn, 27% more likely to tailor content to
but it would likely flop on Instagram. the platform they’re sharing it on.
35%
of marketers tailor their content for each social platform — but those
who are most effective create custom content for every channel.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 29
Which new social media
features are marketers using?
In line with the trends we’re seeing about short-form video,
social media companies are doing everything they can
to replicate the success of TikTok. As a result, marketing
teams are frequently trying these new features out.
31%
of marketers are using YouTube
Shorts and Instagram Reels
In line with the trends we’re seeing about short-form video, social
media companies are doing everything they can to replicate the
success of TikTok. As a result, marketing teams are frequently
trying these new features out.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 30
Influencer Marketing Trends
Influencer marketing has been an increasingly
89%
important marketing strategy for many businesses of marketers who already use influencer
— and it’s picking up steam thanks to the growth marketing plan to keep up or increase
we’ve seen in TikTok and other short-form video their investment in 2023.
content. In 2022, the influencer marketing
ballooned to a $16.4 billion industry.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 31
Interestingly enough, companies saw the This year, 21% of companies plan to work with nano-influencers, while
most success with macro- and micro- 53% plan to work with micro-influencers. 65% plan to work with macro
influencers. Likely due to the exorbitant influencers, and 42% want to try their luck with mega-influencers.
costs required to work with mega-
For the companies that work with both smaller creators (with under
influencers, ROI was easier to achieve
100K subscribers or followers) and those with a bigger following, 44%
with influencers with more modest
said they appreciated the more reasonable cost of doing business
audience sizes.
together. They also called out that it’s easier to make long-term
partnerships with smaller creators, and that they give companies
What kind of influencer was the access to more niche, tighter-knit communities.
most successful for your company?
Thirty-five percent reported that smaller creators are more trusted by
Nano their audiences, which makes sense — a luxury pillow brand might have
11%
Mega more success working with an interior design influencer than with a
18%
celebrity whose brand has nothing to do with sleep or decor.
Micro
33%
Macro
38% Tip for working with influencers or creators
Creators say that they reach their audiences primarily
through social media, blogging, and email newsletters.
Think of the most valuable content that influencers can
share with your target audience for the best results.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 05 Social Media Marketing Trends and Influencer Trends 32
SECTION 06
8%
NFTs
7%
Case studies
7%
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 06 Video Marketing Trends from Wistia 33
Video Marketing Budget Planning for 2023
When it comes to spending, brands revealed that they upped their
investment in video in 2022. Compared to 2021, more businesses
allocated at least 10% of their overall marketing budget to video.
25%
Podcasts or other audio content
24%
What are brands planning for 2023? Even with economists predicting a likely recession ahead, only 3% of
companies plan to reduce their video budget. One in seven companies plan to make a heavier investment
in video, upping their video spend by more than 10%.
But economic uncertainty is having a clear impact — 20% of businesses are making no changes to their
video spend, and at the start of 2023, 42% feel unsure of their moves.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 06 Video Marketing Trends from Wistia 34
The Types of Videos Businesses are Creating
Out of the 15 million videos uploaded to Wistia in 2022, most of the videos created —
4.7 million — were short-form videos under 60 seconds. Short-form videos and videos
between five and 30 minutes remain the most popular to create year-over-year.
Short-form videos also consistently receive the highest average engagement.
In 2021, there was a significant rise in the production of long-form content, or videos that lasted over 30 minutes.
In 2022, businesses continued investing in long-form videos, like webinars and live events, making it the fastest-
growing video segment. Videos above 30 minutes saw over 11,000% growth over the past decade compared to
36% growth for videos under 30 minutes.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 06 Video Marketing Trends from Wistia 35
New Wistia benchmarks: Long-form video
Sixteen percent of viewers will stick with you to consume more than an hour of your company's video.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 06 Video Marketing Trends from Wistia 36
Strengthen Your Video
Marketing Strategy in 2023
Budgets aside, 69% of businesses said they were most likely or Ready for a video
very likely to make more videos this year than in 2022. But only
about half (43%) of the companies we surveyed feel as though
marketing platform
they have a video strategy. What about your business? that can integrate with
This year, we see an opportunity for more businesses to start
A/B testing their video content, as it is one of our favorite ways
your tech stack?
to impact video performance and see what’s resonating with
Made for marketers, Wistia has
our audience!
everything you need to create, host,
Companies should also make sure to use video conversion tools market, and measure the impact of
to turn viewers into prospects. We found that businesses are your videos — all in one place.
using fewer lead capture forms in their videos, but conversion
rates are on the rise. Customers are willing to give you their
contact info for great video content. Get started
If you want to make the most out of your videos this year,
we encourage you to repurpose new and existing content
into engaging snippets that you can use across your other
marketing channels like social media and your blog.
Prioritize Accessibility
1 — Always.
The World Health Organization estimates there are around
2.2 billion people with visual impairments.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 07 Email Marketing Trends from Litmus 38
While 77% of brands say that making their emails more accessible is a
priority, only 8% say they follow best practices for email accessibility in
all of their campaigns. If you struggle to put best practices into action,
here are some tips:
• Avoid jargon.
• Left justify your copy if it’s more than two lines long.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 07 Email Marketing Trends from Litmus 39
Use Hyper-Personalization
2 to Engage Subscribers. Hyper-personalization ideas by email goal
2. Tie personalization ideas to email goals. Create polls to promote products and
Personalization is fun, but it takes work. Carefully learn preferences
choose personalization tactics to support your
goals, so your effort moves your program Increase engagement
forward.
Create a dynamic birthday email with personalized
3. Test before you send. You should test every birthday month graphics
email you send, but it’s crucial when you add new
Send real-time updates in a dynamic email
creative elements. Brands that use an extensive
testing checklist report an ROI of 40:1. Include timers noting when dynamic content updates
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 07 Email Marketing Trends from Litmus 40
Use AI for Email Marketing Conduct Sentiment Polls
3 Planning and Development.
4 with Your Audience.
AI is a hot topic, and we expect curiosity will A sentiment poll is an interactive element that asks
draw more people to use it in 2023. Here’s how subscribers to share how they feel about an email with a
email teams can use AI to supplement their work: simple smiling, neutral, or frowning face. We recommend
using them if you’re trying a new format or want more
• Brainstorm subject lines and email copy.
engagement data beyond opens and clicks.
• Generate graphic mock-ups to include in
creative briefs.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 07 Email Marketing Trends from Litmus 41
Make Every Email
Send Count
Design trends evolve, but email marketing
is a constant that every brand can rely on Email personalization
— as long as your emails work.
State of Marketing Trends 2023 SECTION 08 Leaders Weigh in on Future Marketing Predictions 43
Video drives business, and it’s not To compete with AI,
stopping anytime soon. marketers will build
“Marketers have seen the profound effect that video can have on interactive experiences.
their businesses since the pandemic began. Live video particularly “As an SEO, I’m thinking about how to make
blew up in 2022, and signs point to that continuing in the year the content on our website better than what
ahead. You can also expect to see companies creating more AI can offer our readers. Why should someone
product videos, educational videos, and investing more heavily in go to HubSpot.com and read a blog post or
video for social media.” use a free tool versus chatting with a chatbot?
My prediction is to maintain relevance to
FRANK EMANUELE
their audiences, SEOs and marketers will
Social Media Manager, Wistia
need to find new points of differentiation for
their website — whether that’s a unique take,
interactive experience, custom graphics, or all
Effective marketers will lean into of the above.”
automation and AI to drive innovation.
AJA FROST
“It’s no surprise that effective marketers are 46% more likely to Director of English Growth,
use automation in their roles. Marketers need to know how to HubSpot
reduce inefficiencies so we can spend more time doing what we
love: creating engaging content that helps our audiences grow.
Marketers who embrace AI will find powerful ways to streamline
tedious tasks and save their finite resources — such as creativity
and innovation — to become better marketers.”
CAROLINE FORSEY
Senior Content Strategist, HubSpot