The need to know: marketing trends from HubSpot from AI to Z

2023 is poised to be a year of immense transformation for marketers. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become integral to the marketing technology stack. That’s why in 2023, marketers will exert maximum effort to connect with their desired audiences as the demand for innovative and dynamic innovations has reached unprecedented levels. 

From HubSpot, this year, some huge updates were new AI tools, including Content Assistant and ChatSpot. But, considering that new updates are on the horizon, we are analyzing the latest report from HubSpot, The State of Marketing, to understand the updates, trends, and plans for the current and subsequent period. 

The biggest changes for marketing in 2023

• Ai and Automation 

42% of marketers report an increase in the number of campaigns they work on each quarter between 2020 and 2021, with no sign of relief: their workload will rise again in 2023.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have been powering marketers' preferred tools and processes for quite some time, but AI has been central to many industry talks this year. As people's workloads have increased exponentially, time-saving tools such as ChatGPT and HubSpot's automatic email flows have become indispensable.

Automation and AI save them significant time and effort. Automation frees them up to concentrate on more meaningful, creative tasks that AI can't perform.

👉 Discover how content AI tools from Hubspot can take your marketing efforts to new heights from our latest podcast: Exploring HubSpot's AI Tools: Content Assistant and ChatSpot.

• Economic Concerns and Marketing Budgets

The state of the economy is altering marketers' strategies for attracting and retaining customers. If a recession were to hit this year, 24% of marketers say they would have to cut their budget, 20% say they would have to change their goals, 20% say they would have to lower their scope, and 19% say they would have to shift their strategies entirely. 

This is where most marketers expect to make significant adjustments to their budgets:

• Paid social media content
• Email marketing
• Print ads
• Physical ads 

These are the strategies that marketers are going to continue during an economic downturn economy:

• Content - blog, and SEO
• Podcasts
• Virtual events 
• SMS marketing
• Direct mail
• Long-form video
• Organic Social

92% of marketers expect their budget to stay the same or increase in 2023. 

• Data Privacy Concerns

Significant changes, such as Europe's GDPR, have prompted governments in other parts of the world to take action. Because of this, Google predicts that "privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers" would eventually replace the third-party cookie.

With 85% of marketers admitting that they rely wholly or somewhat on third-party cookies, it's clear that this is a significant issue that must be addressed by marketing departments worldwide. Only 8% claim that none of their marketing efforts depend on cookies set by a third party. 

Here is how advertisers plan to target particular audiences in the absence of third-party cookies:

• 29% are exploring using social media for targeted ads
• 28% are collecting first-party data from their customers
• 27% are exploring Google Topics API
• 19% are exploring universal identifiers
• 19% are exploring contextual advertising
  
  

• Marketing and sales are still being pushed forward by video

Also, it's going strong for a while: Twenty-four percent of marketers aim to increase spending on video more than any other media format in 2023, showing that the medium's importance will only increase.

Even the most hesitant marketing departments are testing out the video this year due to its rising popularity and unmatched return on investment. In 2023,  videos will see the biggest growth among new users, and one-third of advertisers will try to use video in the next year.

In addition, many marketers will utilize these tools for the first time in 2023: images (29%), blog posts (26%), interviews (25%), and podcasts (24%). 

New Strategies in Marketing for 2023

Customers and decision-makers expect brands to innovate and constantly improve the quality of their interactions with the company.

So, what will 2023 see in terms of marketing trends? 

Source: HubSpot, The State of Marketing 2023

2023 Marketing Benchmarks

In order to put your marketing efforts in perspective, compare your results to those of similar businesses worldwide.

• In 2022, there was a decline of almost 6% in global web traffic compared to 2021.
• The average open rate for emails dropped by over 12%.
• Even so, marketing departments were able to collect leads and impact contract closures: Nearly 11% more people purchased using your website, and inbound leads grew by 6.66 percent.
  

• Essential Marketing KPIs and Metrics

Source: HubSpot, The State of Marketing 2023

Content Marketing Trends

• 25% of marketers have already been forced to adjust their strategies in light of the possibility of a recession.
• Due to the case of recession, 20% of all marketers had to make a drastic change to their original strategy.

Not surprisingly, if a recession or economic decrease were to occur in 2023, 51% of marketers said their marketing efforts would be impacted. Specifically, 24% of all marketers believe a recession in 2023 will force them to lower their marketing expenses.

Email Marketing Trends 

The return on investment for email marketing is incredible, with an average of $36 for every $1 put into the channel. But you have to develop to send out emails that people remember. Almost half of your readers (41%) will give your email a few seconds of their time before moving on. 

These four developments in email marketing can help you achieve your goals for the year:

1. Prioritize Accessibility
2. Use Hyper-Personalization to Engage Subscribers
3. Use AI for Email Marketing Planning and Development
4. Conduct Sentiment Polls with Your Audience

Conclusion 

This year, marketers will emphasize shorter videos. They'll talk about the principles that guide their businesses. They will employ AI and automation wherever possible to make overwhelming workloads bearable. According to HubSpot, only a few main aspects will be significant in marketing during this period. If you want to read the full report, analyze it here.

And if you want to keep up with the latest B2B marketing and HubSpot update, contact our specialist to put your company on top of the industry.