Data from 1400+ Global Marketers

If you happen to’re something like me, you most likely want you had limitless time and assets to get by way of your busy work, provide you with game-changing concepts, and finally give your audiences unforgettable model experiences. 

Whereas AI’s shortly grow to be a marketer’s final assistant in lots of of those quests, it is also prompted our panorama (and competitors) to evolve even sooner.

Utilizing knowledge from our survey of 1460 B2B and B2C entrepreneurs throughout the globe, we’ll dig into the highest advertising developments of 2024, how AI will maintain shifting our business, and how one can win over audiences in a brand new period of selling.

 

Key Findings:

1. AI’s shortly changing into the last word advertising assistant, however nonetheless faces adoption limitations like job safety considerations, model fame, and lack of information round use it.
2. Social media apps may drive greater ROI than ever in 2024 as they evolve into frictionless e-commerce platforms. 
3. Video-centric apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube will see probably the most progress in 2024, although Fb’s nonetheless probably the most used and ties with Instagram for highest ROI. s.
4. Brief-form video provides the best content material ROI and can earn extra funding than all different codecs. 
5. Entrepreneurs will flip to social media focusing on, first-party knowledge, and AI instruments to succeed in viewers after Chrome’s third-party cookie phaseout.

The High Advertising Pattern of 2024

1. AI’s changing into the last word content material advertising assistant. 

We will’t talk about advertising developments with out AI, and the influence is so enormous it takes the primary and second spots on our record.

An important takeaway is that AI is shortly changing into the last word advertising assistant, with 64% of entrepreneurs already utilizing it, and 38% of those that don’t but planning to begin in 2024. 

AI is barely rising in significance. In reality, Sean Downey, Google’s President, Americas and World Companions, believes will probably be the one largest pattern in 2024. 

He instructed HubSpot on this post, “It ought to come as no shock that in 2024, the most important advertising developments will heart across the potentialities of AI. In the present day, entrepreneurs are confronted with urgent challenges to navigate evolving shopper expectations and consumption habits in at present’s media panorama, which is fragmented and shifting dramatically — all whereas delivering enterprise outcomes extra effectively.”

He provides, “The AI alternative is coming at a time of transformation for everybody, together with entrepreneurs. In reality, along with connecting manufacturers and merchandise to individuals, greater than ever earlier than, entrepreneurs must be progress drivers for his or her corporations.”

Issues get fascinating after we have a look at how entrepreneurs see AI getting used – 60% say it would act as an assistant that helps them throughout their job duties, whereas 20% see AI primarily taking on menial duties. 

However there’s no debating that AI will make an enormous splash on the planet of selling in 2024. 

85% of entrepreneurs say generative AI has modified the way in which they are going to create content material in 2024 and  63% say that in 2024, most content material can be created no less than partly with the assistance of generative AI. 

Entrepreneurs who use generative AI are seeing nice outcomes, saying it helps them make considerably extra, greater high quality content material that performs higher. 

As Briana Rogers, Head of Product Advertising at Miro, tells me, “Entrepreneurs must learn to combine AI into their work.”

She explains, “The house is transferring so shortly and we have to experiment with the whole lot … from the extra well-established use instances — like leveraging machine studying to enhance advert shopping for, or creating predictive buyer worth fashions — to newer areas, like figuring out patterns in consumer analysis and knowledge, helping in artistic improvement, and constructing full buyer campaigns which can be powered by AI.” 

81% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI say it’s efficient at helping them of their function, saying. Particularly, it helps them:

• enhance the standard of the content material they create (85%)
• create content material extra effectively (84%)
• make considerably extra content material (82%)
• create extra customized content material (77%). 

On high of all that, 56% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI for content material creation say this content material performs higher than content material created with out it.

Additionally, our survey exhibits entrepreneurs who use AI/automation instruments are 95% extra prone to say their advertising technique was very efficient this yr in comparison with those that don’t.

However, an enormous disclaimer is that AI should not exchange your complete content material workforce. You are shopper will not need this, and neither will platforms like Google. 

In reality, a latest report from certainly one of our colleagues, Curtis del Principe, highlighted the punishment handed down to one agency after they farmed hundreds of posts with AI in what we’re calling an “web optimization Heist.”

So, if you cannot create ALL of your content material with AI utterly, how will you nonetheless leverage it to the very best benefit in your content material plan? 

How Entrepreneurs Use AI for Content material Creation

The entrepreneurs we surveyed instructed us the highest use instances for generative AI are knowledge evaluation, analysis, and content material creation (however, do not cease studying right here).

On the subject of creating content material, entrepreneurs aren’t changing writers or creatives with AI. As an alternative, they primarily use AI for 

• Brainstorming new concepts or angles, 
• Re-purposing or adapting pre-created content material for a distinct viewers, format or channel
• Writing fundamental copy or outlines
• And creating photos or fundamental movies.

By way of the sorts of content material entrepreneurs use generative AI to supply, social media posts, emails, weblog posts, photos, and product descriptions.

Whereas that every one sounds nice, there are a number of considerations to concentrate on with AI we should always speak about.

The place AI Nonetheless Faces Boundaries

The AI revolution is a large change, so it’s no shock that near half of entrepreneurs are involved about AI changing their jobs. 23% even suppose entrepreneurs ought to keep away from utilizing generative AI altogether.

However primarily based on how entrepreneurs are literally utilizing AI, it isn’t changing their jobs, however performing as an assistant. 

Amongst entrepreneurs who use generative AI to write down copy, simply 6% use it to write down the whole piece of content material for them. 45% use it for concepts/inspiration, 31% use it for a top level view, and 18% use it for a primary draft.

Moreover, 95% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI to write down copy make edits to the textual content, with 44% making vital edits. 

One other problem is integrating AI all through entrepreneurs’ workflow, with 46% feeling overwhelmed on the prospect.

The excellent news is companies are going out of their method to assist, with 40% of entrepreneurs saying their firm has employed a brand new worker particularly to assist their workforce leverage AI.

Nonetheless, with AI being so new, simply 21% of entrepreneurs have built-in it all through their each day workflow. 32% of entrepreneurs use AI for particular duties and 10% are nonetheless within the experimentation part. After all, 36% don’t use AI in any respect – however 38% of entrepreneurs who don’t say they are going to begin utilizing AI in 2024.

One ultimate concern shared by 60% of entrepreneurs is that AI can hurt their model’s fame because of bias, plagiarism, or misalignment with model values. 

That is positively a difficulty, however in the event you’re utilizing AI as an assistant, you’ll be enhancing and watching over the output each step of the way in which. 

AI instruments are additionally conscious of those issues and a few have already rolled out capabilities to supply and fact-check the knowledge it spits out. 

For instance, Google’s Bard will mean you can double-check the output with current info on the internet to let you recognize if it may be confirmed by different sources, whereas additionally offering hyperlinks to related sources.

Fortunately, as corporations rent AI implementation specialists, entrepreneurs grow to be extra snug utilizing AI as an assistant, and AI instruments grow to be extra correct and reliable, we predict the considerations above can be overcome shortly.

High Advertising Channels

2. Social media is the highest-ROI advertising channel because it continues to evolve with ecommerce.

Social media is indisputably the #1 advertising channel. Not solely does it supply the best ROI, nevertheless it’s utilized by 43% of entrepreneurs. 

The explanation social media is so efficient is that it’s grow to be a number one product discovery and buying channel as purchasing takes heart stage throughout platforms. 

Entrepreneurs can arrange digital shops to provide buyers an all-in-one frictionless purchasing expertise, from discovery by way of influencer suggestions to in-app purchases and customer support through DMs.

Earlier this summer time, our Consumer Trend Survey discovered that 64% of Gen Z, 59% of Millennials, and 47% of Gen X found a product on social media up to now 3 months. On high of that, social media is probably the most most popular product discovery channel for Gen Z and Millennials, with Gen X and Boomers warming as much as it shortly. 

What’s extra, 17% of social media customers purchased a product in-app up to now three months. In that point, one in 4 purchased one thing primarily based on an influencer’s suggestion, and 19% despatched a DM for customer support. 

Moreover, each time we run and rerun our Client Tendencies survey, these numbers improve considerably. So, it’s no shock entrepreneurs are shortly embracing social promoting. 

Our social selling survey even discovered that 87% of entrepreneurs who promote on social say it’s efficient, and 59% say they’re making extra gross sales in 2023 than they did final yr.

At present, 27% of entrepreneurs use social promoting instruments, 23% leverage influencer advertising, and 22% use social media DMs for customer support. Entrepreneurs plan to speculate closely in these channels for 2024.

Now that we’ve gone over the advantages of social promoting, let’s check out the best platforms for entrepreneurs in 2024. 

High Content material Tendencies & Codecs

3. Video-first apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are rising quickest — however do not ignore Fb.

If you happen to’ve been on social media recently, you recognize it is all about video, and entrepreneurs report that video-centric social media platforms are the best and supply the very best ROI.

Instagram and Fb are tied for the best ROI platforms, adopted by YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X.

Fb’s nonetheless the preferred platform utilized by markers (57%), adopted by Instagram (55%), YouTube (52%), TikTok (44%), X (39%), and LinkedIn (37%). 

Whereas there’s little question Fb remains to be dominant, video-centric platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram will see extra funding in 2024. 

56% of entrepreneurs utilizing TikTok will improve their funding subsequent yr, the best of any platform. YouTube and Instagram will even see a major increase in funding. 

By way of first-time use, 27% of entrepreneurs who don’t use YouTube plan to leverage it in 2024, adopted by TikTok (25%), Fb (24%), and Instagram (23%). 

However the true social media showdown of our time is between X and Threads. Our survey exhibits entrepreneurs are sticking with the latest model of Twitter, with 68% anticipating to see larger success with X over Threads in 2024. 

Proper now, simply 11% of entrepreneurs use Threads, and solely 13% of those that don’t use it plan to attempt Threads for the primary time in 2024.

At this level, you would possibly ask your self, “However are shoppers I market to utilizing these channels?” Take a look at these deep dives for extra: 

4. Brief-form video provides the best ROI and can see probably the most progress of any advertising content material format in 2024.

Since TikTok reinvigorated the virality of Millennials’ favourite app, Vine, our weblog workforce’s been predicting a short-form video renaissance.

In the present day, there’s hardly any contest – short-form video is now the #1 content material advertising format, providing the best ROI. Brief-form video can also be the preferred, utilized by 44% of entrepreneurs.

Whereas short-form video has reigned for a number of years now, it would proceed to see probably the most progress of any format in 2024, with entrepreneurs planning to speculate extra in it than every other format. 

26% of entrepreneurs plan to speculate extra in it than every other format in 2024, the best of any format by far. Moreover, 57% of entrepreneurs who leverage short-form video will improve their funding in 2024, the best improve of any format. And to high all of it off, 30% of entrepreneurs who don’t use short-form video will begin in 2024.

5. Entrepreneurs will maintain investing in micro-influencers — who can have interaction tight-knit and dependable communities.

Not solely is influencer advertising tremendous efficient and going to continue to grow in 2024, influencers have gotten much more impactful on buy choices.

86% of influencer entrepreneurs say influencer advertising was efficient for his or her firm in 2023. And our shopper developments survey exhibits that 1 in 4 social media customers purchased a product primarily based on an influencer’s suggestion up to now three months – that’s up 33% from after we ran the identical survey a yr earlier than.  

Influencer advertising will even see vital progress in 2024, with 50% of the entrepreneurs who use it planning to extend their funding, and 20% of those that don’t leverage it but planning to attempt it for the primary time subsequent yr. 

However the fascinating factor is, entrepreneurs are discovering extra success working with micro-influencers who’ve between 10,000 and 100,000 followers than celebrities (aka, macro or mega influencers) with enormous followings. 

About half of entrepreneurs labored with influencers or creators in 2023, and 64% of them labored with micro-influencers, making them the preferred kind of influencer. 

They’re additionally the influencer measurement entrepreneurs noticed probably the most success with this yr, based on 47% of influencer entrepreneurs. 

The largest causes for which can be that working with small influencers is cheaper, makes it simpler to determine long-term partnerships, and provides entry to tight-knit, engaged, and dependable communities.

 

This goes to point out that followers aren’t the whole lot anymore – our 2023 Social Media Trends Report (which we’ll rerun in 2024!) discovered that in terms of how influencer entrepreneurs resolve which creators to accomplice with, they are saying the standard of their content material is extra necessary than what number of followers they’ve.

High Advertising Challenges Forward

6. Entrepreneurs flip to social media focusing on and first-party knowledge in response to Chrome’s third-party cookie phaseout.

Elevated knowledge privateness rules have been a hurdle for entrepreneurs over the previous few years, from iOS modifications to GDRP and Google’s plans to part out third-party cookies. 

With 84% of shoppers in our shopper pattern survey saying knowledge privateness is a human proper, public opinion is certainly shifting in the direction of extra safeguards round private knowledge.

On the marketer facet, 84% say knowledge privateness modifications affected their technique in 2023, with Google’s deliberate phaseout of third-party cookies being probably the most impactful.

The problem is entrepreneurs aren’t fairly prepared for this shift – 81% say their advertising actions depend on third-party cookies to some extent and round one in 5 entrepreneurs say they aren’t ready to lose entry to them.

Moreover, 76% of entrepreneurs say Google phasing out third-party cookies will make advertising tougher. 

So what are entrepreneurs doing about it? 47% say their firm is exploring options to third-party cookies, with social media focusing on and first-party knowledge being the preferred options.

25% of entrepreneurs are exploring focused social media adverts, adopted by amassing first-party knowledge (25%), Google Subjects API (21%), contextual promoting (15%), and common identifiers (14%).

We’ll speak about the advantages of first-party knowledge subsequent, however to be taught extra about these options, take a look at our blog post taking a deeper dive into every answer.

Personalised Advertising with First-Celebration Information & AI

Regardless of steps in the direction of personalization and loads of speak about specializing in the shopper expertise, we all know there’s loads of room for enchancment. 

Our survey exhibits solely 35% of entrepreneurs say clients get a really customized expertise with their model and simply 65% of shoppers say the content material they see from manufacturers feels relatable. 

On high of that, most entrepreneurs lack crucial information about their viewers, with solely 65% saying they’ve high-quality knowledge on their goal demographic.

Once we requested entrepreneurs what they learn about their audience, lower than half know the place they devour content material, their demographic info, their pursuits and hobbies, merchandise they’re thinking about, and insights on their purchasing habits.

Why is that this so necessary? Getting this knowledge helps you create a very customized expertise, which 96% of entrepreneurs say will increase the chance of patrons changing into repeat clients, and 94% say personalization will increase gross sales. 

To high all of it off, entrepreneurs whose manufacturers give clients a customized expertise are 215% extra prone to say their advertising technique this yr was very efficient in comparison with entrepreneurs at manufacturers that don’t supply a customized expertise.

As we talked about within the earlier pattern, knowledge privateness rules make personalization slightly tougher by lowering your entry to knowledge.

However that additionally presents a brand new alternative with first-party knowledge, which is knowledge collected straight out of your clients. Not solely is it greater high quality, nevertheless it’s additionally distinctive to your clients and your online business, offering higher insights and solely getting extra highly effective with the addition of AI.

Whereas we’ve all been utilizing generative AI instruments that leverage public info, the true magic occurs while you mix AI with your personal enterprise knowledge, permitting entrepreneurs to supply a extremely related, customized expertise.

77% of entrepreneurs who use gen. AI say it helps them create extra customized content material, personalize the expertise clients get with their firm (72%), enhance the general buyer expertise (71%), and perceive their clients higher (71%).

Whereas the facility of AI and first-party knowledge remains to be but to be seen, all indicators level to this intersection being the important thing to a very scalable customized expertise. 

And in terms of profiting from your knowledge, one key piece to the puzzle is having a single supply of reality, so let’s go over among the causes having centralized and accessible knowledge is make or break in 2024.  

7. Entrepreneurs nonetheless battle with disconnected knowledge, instruments, and firm siloes.

In final yr’s State of Advertising report, data-driven resolution making was each a high tactic and a high problem entrepreneurs have been addressing.

And, whereas AI and different flashy developments would possibly persuade you in any other case, knowledge is extra necessary than ever in 2024. Nonetheless, advertising knowledge, groups, and instruments are disconnected. 

This makes sharing and getting crucial knowledge difficult, prevents organizations from getting a holistic view of their knowledge, and reduces knowledge high quality. We name this phenomenon a crisis of disconnection.

Round 1 in 4 entrepreneurs say it’s tough to share knowledge with different groups and get knowledge they want from different groups at their firm.

On high of that, 23% of entrepreneurs say the way in which advertising knowledge is saved at their firm is inaccessible and simply 26% say their advertising knowledge is totally built-in with the instruments they use. Moreover, solely 59% of entrepreneurs say the instruments they use are interconnected. 

Our survey additionally discovered that entrepreneurs with related instruments, knowledge, and groups carried out considerably higher in 2023. 

The Answer: A Single-Supply of Reality

Whereas 93% of entrepreneurs with a single supply of reality for knowledge say it’s helpful to their group, solely 65% of entrepreneurs truly inform us they’ve one. 

A single supply of reality straight addresses the highest challenges entrepreneurs see with gross sales and advertising alignment –  an absence of efficient communication between groups, gross sales and advertising groups utilizing completely different instruments, and issue sharing knowledge between groups are all key drawbacks. 

So what truly occurs when gross sales and advertising groups aren’t aligned? Entrepreneurs say their budgets are wasted, gross sales and leads are misplaced, and clients find yourself getting a poor expertise. And entrepreneurs who’re aligned with their gross sales workforce are 26% extra prone to say their advertising technique this yr was very efficient in comparison with those that aren’t aligned. 

One extremely efficient method to implement a single supply of reality is getting a CRM like HubSpot, which integrates knowledge with instruments and boosts alignment throughout groups. 

86% of entrepreneurs utilizing a CRM say it’s efficient at enhancing alignment between the groups and entrepreneurs with a single supply of reality are 56% extra prone to be strongly aligned with their gross sales workforce than these with out one. 

Moreover, 76% of entrepreneurs with a CRM say it is very important the success of their total advertising technique, and 57% say their CRM grew to become extra necessary in 2023.

Entrepreneurs who use a CRM are 128% extra prone to say their advertising technique this yr was very efficient in comparison with entrepreneurs who don’t use a CRM. And on high of that, 93% of entrepreneurs utilizing HubSpot CRM say their advertising technique was efficient this yr.

Lastly, AI can also be very efficient at enhancing connection, with entrepreneurs who use it saying it helps their group share knowledge extra successfully (74%) and collaborate extra successfully (73%).

What’s Subsequent in Advertising

On the subject of all of the issues shifting in at present’s panorama, the record above is simply the tip of the iceberg.

For an in depth record of the highest techniques, alternatives, challenges, channels, and content material entrepreneurs will leverage in 2024, keep tuned for our State of Advertising Report — which launches subsequent week and can be linked to this web page quickly. 

Till then, see simply how a lot issues within the advertising panorama have modified by poking by way of our 2023 State of Advertising Report beneath, or take a look at our latest State of AI Report here.