The State

of Marketing
Data-driven growth tactics and emerging trends to
guide marketers into an AI-first business landscape.
2 025

Presented by
 The State of Marketing 2025 2

Looking ahead
FOREWORD INTRODUCTION STRATEGY + TEAM TRENDS
AI-powered marketing To capture audiences, marketing The marketing tides are shifting to
is leading to easier, needs to be intelligent, visual, and meet changing expectations for
breezier growth brand-led value-driven content

03 07 12
CONTENT TRENDS AI TRENDS CLOSING
Audiences want to connect with Are you there, chatbot? Smarter, better, faster, and more
brands that are present where It’s me, overwhelmed human content campaigns
they are marketer ahead

24 34 42
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 3

FOREWORD

AI-powered marketing
is leading to easier,
breezier growth
With AI tools fully integrated into professional workflows,
marketers are changing up their strategies.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 4

On the brink of a major shift in

marketing, it’s time to go all in on AI
Anyone else get a new best friend at work this year? Is yours also named Claude? Or Gemini?
Or ChatGPT? It’s been a transformative year thanks to the widespread adoption of AI tools for 82%
everyday tasks — personal and professional.

At HubSpot, it’s been a year of experimentation, innovation, creativity, and exciting new launches of overall marketers felt their marketing
that have changed the way we all do marketing. We built a custom AI agent in Slack that really blew strategies were effective in 2024.
our minds, ran a clever brand awareness campaign during the New York Marathon, and launched
Breeze, HubSpot’s own AI copilot for marketing, sales, and customer service.

And our recent research revealed that AI tools and unified tech stacks are a major differentiator 87%
in helping marketers connect with their audiences. The marketing teams with connected CRMs like
HubSpot are more confident in taking on their biggest challenges, like data privacy concerns, rising of marketers using HubSpot felt their
customer expectations, and the demand for authentic, personalized content. marketing strategies were effective in 2024.
To jumpstart your 2025 marketing strategy, we’ve put together this data-backed trends report with
insights from 1,200 marketers and industry leaders. We’ll catch you on the podcast for ongoing
updates throughout the year. Thanks for reading! 52%
Kipp Bodnar
“ CMO, HubSpot
of marketers who don’t have a CRM felt their
marketing strategies were effective in 2024.
The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 5

Marketers need to think — ‘A year from now, will I feel

like I’ve learned enough, tested enough, and evolved
our strategies enough to keep up with the shifting
landscape?’ The next decade will look a whole lot crazier
than the past decade. If the answer is no, get into the
mindset of embracing new tech, and don’t be afraid to
move fast. Or, risk getting left behind.
Kipp Bodnar
“ CMO, HubSpot
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 6

Supercharge your
marketing with AI
Marketing Hub and Content Hub are a complete, AI-powered
solution that unites the power of content marketing with world-class
lead generation and marketing automation tools.

99% 143%
increase in inbound increase in web traffic
leads at six months. after 12 months.

Make marketing a Breeze

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 7

INTRODUCTION

To capture audiences,
marketing needs to
be intelligent, visual,
and brand-led
Marketers are using AI for data analysis and content
repurposing, giving them time to engage audiences more
personally with rich content.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 8

The AI marketing landscape is opening up

space for creative, brand-led content
During the past year, marketers have embraced AI tools, which has opened up new data privacy
and quality concerns. And despite a more robotic future powered by generative AI, brands are
leaning into content that shows their brand values, and personality-led content made by creators. Marketing is going to change in
In a recent HubSpot survey of 1,200 marketing leaders across North America, Europe, Asia, and 2025. Instead of scaling traffic,
Australia, we explored what marketing teams are focusing on in 2025, what’s blocking them from
growth, and what’s driving impact.
we need to scale attention. It’s
different. Marketers need to
The Next Phase of Marketing
learn a new skill set. A lot of the
Direct Attribution
science of marketing will get
We’ve been here automated by AI, leaving more
time for the craft.
Scaling Scaling
Kieran Flanagan
Traffic Attention
“ SVP of Marketing, HubSpot

We’re moving here

Indirect Attribution
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 9

Top five B2B marketing strategies for 2025

STRATEGY

1 2 3 4 5

Using AI to turn text into Using AI-powered reporting Automating marketing Creating content that Personality-led content,
multi-modal campaigns tools to evaluate the ROI of strategy and execution reflects your brand’s values creators, and authentic
B2B marketers can create campaign with AI B2B brands are investing in engagement
video demos, product Marketers can use AI data Generative AI tools like more social responsibility Authenticity remains a top
walkthroughs, presentations, analysis tools and built- Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT, content and sharing more priority in the B2B space, and
and podcasts with the help of in conversational AI to and AI agents can help B2B boldly about their mission, brands plan to achieve this by
generative AI. understand which activities marketers plan their social vision, and core values. sharing individual voices from
and channels are driving calendars, create case studies, creators and employees, and
revenue. and make content briefs. infusing personality into
their content.

RESOURCES

• HubSpot’s Free Text to • HubSpot Marketing • Breeze Content Agent • HubSpot’s AI Brand • HubSpot Creators
Video AI Generator Analytics & Dashboards • Breeze Social Media Agent Voice Tool • Influencer Marketing
• Content Remix by HubSpot • HubSpot Breeze Copilot • Using Generative AI • How To Build Brand Strategy: How to Build a

• How to Use AI for to Scale Your Content Authenticity That Wins Plan Creators & Customers

Data Analysis Operations Over Customers Will Love [+ Templates]

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 10

Top five B2C marketing strategies for 2025

STRATEGY

1 2 3 4 5

User-generated content Creating content that reflects Leveraging AI to turn text Using social media DMs Using AI-powered
Since authenticity is a your brand’s values into multi-modal campaigns (direct messages) for reporting tools to evaluate
priority, B2C brands are Consumers are looking for Similarly to B2B brands, B2C customer service the ROI of campaigns
interested in sourcing brands that share their values brands want to use AI to For B2C marketers, there’s an Like B2B marketers, B2C
and sharing more user- and commitment to social transform content for different overlap between social media marketers want to take the
generated content (UGC). responsibility. B2C brands formats and channels, like marketing and customer service. heavy lifting of data analysis
want to show what makes video, audio, and social. Brands want to streamline off their plate and use AI tools
them different. social service to improve the to analyze the ROI of marketing
customer experience. and advertising campaigns.

RESOURCES

• How to Unlock the Power • Core Company Values • HubSpot’s Free AI Video • How Brands Use Social • How Marketers Save Time
of UGC: The Ultimate That Will Shape Your Ad Creator Media for Customer Service and Make Data-Backed
Guide Culture • AI Social Media Post • Collaborative Social Media Decisions with AI Reporting

• The Beginner’s Guide to Generator Management Tools [+ Expert Insights]

Brand Pillars • 6 Ways to Measure Your • Scale Social Channels and

Service Team’s Social Media Analyze Performance with a

Messaging Success Social Media AI Agent

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 11

Biggest challenges marketers have in understanding their target audiences

1 2 3

CHALLENGE CHALLENGE CHALLENGE

Consumers are less trusting Poor data quality Increased data privacy regulations
with their personal data that reduce access to personal data

SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION

Companies need to be more transparent The more companies rely on AI, the First-party data is becoming more
with how they use consumer data, and more important their data quality and valuable to brands as third-party cookies
prioritize cybersecurity for all tools and management becomes. Marketing teams are phased out. As privacy regulations
systems that have access to customer will need to invest in data quality and become more strict, owned data will be
data. AI can help, and tools like HubSpot cleaning workflows. necessary for personalized content.
support HIPAA compliance and sensitive
data management.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 12

STRATEGY + TEAM TRENDS

The marketing tides

are shifting to meet
changing expectations
for value-driven content
The attention economy is driving marketers to rethink
their content strategy, goals, and top channels.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 13

As marketers seek attention,

they’re leaning towards
authentic content
Decision makers today are largely digital natives who gravitate towards authentic, video-rich
content. Along with a shift towards more personalized marketing to meet current expectations,
AI is impacting roles and responsibilities for marketers. And underpinning every marketing
effort in 2025 will be a need for data-driven strategy and a plan to attack data privacy.

THE TRENDS

1 2 3 4 5

Marketers are ramping up Businesses are increasing Data-driven marketing Marketing teams are Personalized marketing
their focus on Millennial investments in brand-led strategy is no longer a building a content-rich, boosts sales.
and Gen Z audiences. marketing, and nice-to-have, but data social-driven future.
authenticity resonates. privacy is a concern.

For more insights like these, subscribe to Masters in Marketing

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 14

Both B2B and B2C

TREND #1
Which age groups are you trying

marketers are ramping up

to reach with your marketing?
B2B B2C

their focus on Millennial 73% 74%

and Gen Z audiences

Each generation has its own quirks and a shared lens through which they view
personal and professional decisions. Gen Zers and Millennials grew up online, making
them easy to target, but also making them the hardest audience to reach for both
43%
B2B and B2C brands, according to our recent survey. 40%
39%
Over 70% of marketers plan to target Millennials in 2025, making them the largest
33%
audience of decision-makers, and interest in targeting Gen Zers is up year over year.
Interest in marketing to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers is down more than 30% year
over year.
19%
15%

Gen Z Millennials Gen X Baby Boomers

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 15

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Jaguar revamped their brand in 2024 in an effort to reach Gen Z and According to Deloitte, 64% of Gen Zers and 63% of Millennials are willing to pay more
Millennial buyers, and to lean into their new electric vehicle (EV) models. for environmentally sustainable products. And one in four Gen Zers and Millennials have
They know that today’s car shoppers care about the environment and reduced their relationship with a business due to unsustainable practices. This generation is
sustainable brand practices, and connect strongly with brands that influenced by brand values and a commitment to the environment.
aren’t afraid to ‘break the mold.’ When considering where Gen Zers and Millennials most often engage online, consumption
Audiences so far have had mixed reviews to the bold strategy and ad habits are different for each group. Gen Zers spend time on social media — specifically,
spot, but Jaguar has certainly re-entered themselves into the zeitgeist. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube — and trust influencers for recommendations. Millennials
use YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram for news, product recommendations, lifestyle
advice, and education. They also regularly listen to podcasts and are often members of
subscription-based services.

Image via Jaguar / Marketing Dive

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 16

Businesses are
TREND #2

increasing investments in
brand-led marketing, and
authenticity resonates
It can be challenging for marketers to get leadership buy-in for brand-led campaigns,
but in 2025, it’s a key priority. When asked about the biggest changes to the marketing
industry in the past year, the top two responses were related to brand experiences and
brand-led content, even more than using data or leveraging AI. And, 13% of marketers
plan to invest in brand awareness for the first time in 2025.

Marketers are also leaning into sharing content that reflects their brand values, like
social responsibility content. 65% of marketers reported that addressing social issues
in marketing campaigns in 2024 was effective for their brand.

1 in 4
92% marketers are currently
exploring creating
of marketers plan to maintain or increase content that reflects
investments in brand awareness in 2025. their brand’s values.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 17

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HubSpot invested in out of home campaigns during the New Measuring brand awareness is a challenge, but AI is making it easier
York Marathon as part of a larger brand awareness campaign to keep a pulse on audience sentiment and guide brand strategy.
spanning TV spots, digital ads, and billboards and other
unique placements. Estimate your NPS score by asking a conversational AI tool
1 like ChatGPT or Claude to analyze your online presence.
The brand team paid particular attention to the copy for the
ads, blending cleverness, creativity, and a bit of cheekiness to
appeal to HubSpot’s increasingly younger target audience. Try this prompt:
‘Please help me determine my brand awareness and positioning. You have access to a large amount of
consumer sentiment and intelligence. Help me determine information about my company [URL]. We are
a [company description]. We sell to [target audience]. Please estimate our aided awareness among our
target companies, key reasons people choose us over competitors, and a net promoter score range.’

Analyze large amounts of text-based reviews and customer support

2 tickets to understand customer sentiment and brand positioning.

Try this prompt:

‘Analyze this dataset of customer feedback and provide: 1) key sentiment trends and patterns, 2) customer
pain points and priorities, 3) a competitive analysis, and 4) recommended positioning opportunities.
Please quantify findings where possible and provide specific examples/quotes supporting key insights.’

Watch ‘How This GPT-4 Prompt Is Breaking a $257 Billion Industry’

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 18

Data-driven
TREND #3
What are the biggest ways the marketing industry has changed in

marketing strategy
the past year? [Top 5]

Focusing on the customer and their experience with your brand became more important

is no longer a nice- 44%

to-have, but data Creating content that reflects your brand’s values (e.g. social responsibility)
become more important

privacy is a concern 35%

Using data to inform your marketing efforts became more important

When asked about the biggest changes to marketing in the past
year, two of the top five were related to data. Marketers are in the 35%
process of becoming more data-driven in every capacity. The most
pressing challenges during this transition are consumer resistance Using data to demonstrate the ROI and business value of
to sharing personal data, poor data quality, and increased data your marketing efforts became more important

privacy regulations like the phasing out of third-party cookies.

31%
The top reported advantages of using data to inform marketing
strategy are: 1) reaching target audiences more effectively (35%), Providing customer service through social media
2) increasing the ROI of marketing efforts (34%), and 3) planning DMs and/or messaging apps become more important
media mixes more effectively (32%).
29%
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 19

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The HubSpot Creators Program, part of HubSpot Media, is a data-driven Adopt a data-driven decision making process for your marketing team.
team that regularly runs experiments to guide their strategy. Kyle Denhoff,
1. Define the objective.
Senior Director of Marketing at HubSpot, saw the program grow and
2. Collect and prepare data from relevant sources like internal databases,
evolve, eventually becoming a major part of HubSpot’s marketing mix by
surveys, customer feedback, market research, or your product.
outperforming traditional strategies.
3. Analyze your data using one-off reports and real-time dashboards.
4. Interpret your findings against your goals and objectives.

Creators become one of our top growth 5. Evaluate options for decision-making like a cost-benefit analysis or decision tree.
6. Make your decision.
drivers in less than three years. Some 7. Monitor the results, learn, and iterate.
long-term creator partnerships cut our
cost per lead by 30-40% compared to ads
Leaf Node
on Meta and Google. We’ve now got over
Decision Node
100 creator partners and they’re driving
Leaf Node
about 50% of our media network reach Root Node
and demand. Leaf Node
Kyle Denhoff Decision Node
“ Senior Director of Marketing, HubSpot Leaf Node
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 20

Marketing
TREND #4
Which of the following marketing roles do you

teams are building

expect to be the top priority to recruit in 2025? [Top 5]

a content-rich, 16% 16%

social-driven future
15%
14%
13%
Consumers want to know the brands they interact with and keep
up with them across social media and their preferred content
channels, like email. The more facetime brands can get with their
audiences, the more trust they build.

Marketing leaders are prioritizing hiring for social media, creative,

and content roles in 2025, as well as marketing data analysts, who
can support internal and customer-facing analysis projects. And,
they’re looking for support from AI to bridge the gap between
current headcount and workload expectations.

This evolution highlights a pivotal trend: the era of passive, one-

size-fits-all marketing is over. Successful brands in 2025 will be the Social Media Content Creator Social Media Creative Marketing Data
Coordinator Strategist Director Analyst
ones that actively listen, adapt, and engage with their audiences
in real time.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 21

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

In 2024, HubSpot’s social media team grew, we hired a Social Audience Repurposing content for new channels and formats expands its reach and helps
Development Lead for The Hustle, and we added new content creators to engage audiences with different preferences. Here’s how to adapt your content with
the HubSpot Creators program. HubSpot’s Content Remix tool.

1. Make sure you’ve enabled access to generative AI tools and features in HubSpot.

My prediction for the top used term 2. Create a remix — start with one type of content like a video, webpage, audio file,
or image.
in content in 2025 is ‘multimedia’. We 3. Add in your content file.
launched our first multimedia campaign 4. Check the content type you want to generate, like video clips, ads, audio files,

for The Hustle, The Future of Newsletters, blog posts, images, or landing pages.
5. Choose how many pieces of content you want to generate for each type, then
in 2024, sharing insights with our customize the fields for each content type.
creators in both a downloadable guide 6. Preview your content, and review the content attributes for each type of content.

and podcast format. We’re excited 7. Make adjustments, finalize, and share.

to experiment with new formats and

channels, and collaborate with our
creators to see what’s resonating with
audiences on social.
Andréa Hudson
“ Head of Audience Development Studio, HubSpot
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 22

Personalized
TREND #5

marketing experiences
boost sales
The number one way that marketing leaders say the industry has changed
over the past year is that ‘focusing on the customer and their experience
with your brand became more important.’ And in our survey, 96% of
marketers reported that personalized experiences have increased sales.

How does offering customers a personalized

experience impact your company’s sales?

Does not
Increases sales impact sales
significantly 4%
44%
Increases
sales slightly
8%

Increases sales
moderately
44%
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 23

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HubSpot’s demand generation team used AI to transform their email nurturing by Here’s how to use AI for personalization across marketing channels.
analyzing user behavior and website data to deliver hyper-personalized content
recommendations. The team used GPT-4 to understand user intent and match it with Email
relevant courses, resulting in 82% higher conversion rates, 30% better open rates, and Use AI to gather customer details, then enter that information into
50% improved click-through rates. an LLM (large language model) before sending marketing emails.

Thought leadership
Set up social listening streams, aided by AI, to find thought leadership
Never in the history of marketing have opportunities like journalist requests in your company’s space. Then,
we been able to do something like this. use AI or automation to reply faster than your competitors.

Our conversion rate increased by 82%. Chatbots

That’s where the magic is — being able to Set up a chatbot on your website that can create more personal
experiences for customers or prospects when they visit your website
accurately guess what the job to be done is, or reach out for help.
and then surface content to really help that
Landing pages
person do that job to be done. Building out landing pages for tens or hundreds of personas can be
a blocker, but with AI, you can generate more personalized content
Emmy Jonassen
“ VP of Marketing, Demand Generation, HubSpot
marketing campaigns like niche landing pages at scale.

Localization and translation

‘The AI Strategy That Increased Our Email Personalize content by region and language by transforming
Watch the video content from your headquarters into localized content for additional
Conversion Rate By 82%’
audiences or emerging sales regions.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 24

CONTENT TRENDS

Audiences want to
connect with brands that
are present where they are
Consumers spend a lot of time online reading, listening, and watching,
and they’ve built trust with creators they connect with.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 25

We’ve entered the era of THE TRENDS

1
visual brand storytelling Visual storytelling is overtaking

and the creator economy text-heavy content formats.

is thriving 2
In 2025, we expect to see a premium on visual content with compelling storytelling, Podcasts and audio content are
even more authenticity, and an increase in niche influencer partnerships. growing for B2B and B2C brands.
For B2B brands, the top marketing channels resulting in ROI in 2024 were
1) website, blog, and SEO, 2) paid social media content, and 3) social media
shopping tools. For B2C brands, the channels with the best ROI were 1) email 3
marketing, 2) paid social media content, and 3) content marketing.
The top social channels for 2025 are
For both B2B and B2C brands, the top performing content format in 2024 was
YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
short-form video, and the top channel that brands plan to use for the first time in
2025 is AI chatbots.

Marketers are finding success with

influencer marketing — specifically
those with niche audiences.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 26

Visual storytelling is overtaking

TREND #1

text-heavy content formats

The most popular content formats for business-facing and consumer-facing brands is short-form video, followed closely by
images. Attention may seem limited, but when consumers are engaged, they’re watching interviews, listening to podcasts,
and tuning into live streamed videos from brands and creators they find valuable and entertaining.

The content formats that marketers say deliver the highest ROI are short-form video (21%), images (19%), and live streamed
videos (16%), and marketers plan to invest more in these channels in 2025.

Which of the following media formats does your company leverage as part of its content strategy? [Top 7] B2B B2C

29% 30% 30% 30%

23% 24%
22% 21% 21%
19% 20%
17% 18% 18%

Live streaming User-generated Long-form video Blog posts Interviews Images Short-form video
video content
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 27

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HubSpot has invested more in short-form and long-form video across Here’s how to drive linear growth on YouTube.
YouTube this past year. Marketing Against the Grain, our video podcast,
has 45K subscribers, and The Hustle channel has nearly 100K. Each 1. Identify the product use case that aligns with your video.

channel shares a mix of short-form and long-form video content, and 2. Tap into existing search demand using topic clusters and keywords
viewership is rising quickly. to align with what your audience is searching for.

“In just a few months, the team grew The Hustle YouTube channel to 3. Focus on what your audience needs, and what brings value.
over 400,000 views per month, created hundreds of sponsored videos, 4. Approach the topic with a unique point of view and creative direction.
and built six long-term creator partnerships with YouTubers,” shared 5. Hook viewers with compelling titles and thumbnails.
Kyle Denhoff. 6. Choose on-camera talent that’s relatable, credible, and engaging.
7. Include relevant in-video CTAs.
8. Add clear, persuasive CTAs in the description copy.
9. Provide an offer that gets viewers to take the next step with your brand.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 28

Podcasts and audio

TREND #2

content are growing for

B2B and B2C brands
Podcasts have become an influential format for people across all ages and stages
in life. They’re a unique mix of education, inspiration, and casual listening, where
subscribers get to know the hosts, and look forward to new episodes week after
week. Around 100 million Americans listen to podcasts weekly, and as of 2024,
podcast listening is at an all-time high. The average adult, across all generations,
listens to around eight hours of podcasts each week.

And Edison’s research showed that not only are podcasts popular, they’re
influential. 46% of weekly podcast listeners have purchased a product or service
after hearing about it on a podcast.

of marketers plan to maintain

or increase their investments in
91% podcasts and audio content in 2025.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 29

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Wistia’s cofounder, Chris Savage, hosts Talking Too Loud, Curate a podcast editorial strategy that matches your brand and
a podcast that’s part of the HubSpot Podcast Network. ‘doesn’t sound like a corporate snoozefest.’
With guests like the founder and CEO of Zapier, Wade
Foster, HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, and Help Scout’s VP 1. Choose guests who align with your brand values.

of Brand, Kristen Bryant Smith, they’re connecting with 2. Teach people something in every episode.
their audience of marketing leaders and bringing value 3. Tell stories worth listening to.
through curated conversations. 4. Encourage hosts and guests to share their personality and
create an environment that facilitates honest conversations.

See what happens when you nail your editorial strategy

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 30

The top social channels for 2025

TREND #3

are YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok

In 2025, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube will remain strong for both B2B and B2C brands. B2B marketers plan to invest
more in LinkedIn, and B2C marketers in TikTok, reflecting how shoppers research new products and services personally and
professionally. Emerging channels include Reddit, Discord, and Threads, used by around 10% of marketing teams.

Marketers will have to find ways to overcome their biggest challenges to reach their social goals in 2024. For both
business-facing and consumer-facing marketing teams, the top challenge is keeping up with trends. B2B marketers are
also having trouble reaching their target audience, and B2C marketers want to gain and keep followers.

Which social media channel do you plan to invest the most in 2025? [Top 5] B2B B2C

18% 19%
18%
14% 15%

10% 11% 11%

8% 7%

TikTok YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook

 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 31

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Casio is a widely known electronics brand, known To keep up with social media trends, regularly check in with trustworthy social leaders and new industry
for their iconic watches. To connect with their research. Choose a format that you’ll stick with and put together a process to implement your learnings
audience and increase brand awareness online, so they don’t get lost in the sauce (AKA forgotten about until it’s too late and the trend has passed).
they’ve invested in social media across Instagram,
TikTok, and YouTube.
Podcasts People to follow
They’ve struck a chord, especially on TikTok,
adapting their content to meet trends like outfit Bari Tippett
of the day (OOTD) posts featuring a Casio watch, Head of Social,
sweetgreen
get ready with me (GRWM) content, memes, brand
collabs, and influencer partnerships. The Casio
The Hustle Marketing Online The Goal
Italy TikTok channel now gets an average of 200K+ Daily Show Against Marketing Digger Rachel Karten
views per post, any passing the 1M mark. the Grain Made Easy Podcast Social Media Consultant,
Milk Karten
Casio also started a podcast, ‘Casio Stories,’ to
highlight emerging artists in the space, many of
whom use their products. The podcast is available Lindsey Gamble
Newsletters
Influencer and Creator
on YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming platforms
Consultant
to help them reach and retain new audiences.

Kyle Denhoff
Senior Director of
Link in Bio ICYMI The Lindsey Masters in
Marketing, HubSpot
Gamble Marketing
Newsletter
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 32

Marketers are finding

TREND #4
Which size influencer or content creator

success with influencer

did you see the most success with in 2024?
B2B B2C

marketing — specifically
Nano (1,000-9,999 followers/subscribers)

23%

those with niche audiences 22%

Micro (10,000-99,999 followers/subscribers)

In 2024, 24% of marketers reported using influencer marketing, and both B2B and
43%
B2C brands found the most success with micro influencers with 10K – 100K followers.
Working with smaller creators and influencers has allowed brands to build trust with 44%
new audiences, gain access to niche, tight-knit communities, and stretch their influencer
marketing budget further. Macro (100,000-999,999 followers/subscribers)

Marketers report seeing the highest ROI from influencers on 1) Facebook (28%), 2) 25%
Instagram (22%), and 3) YouTube (12%), and brands most commonly spend 50-74% of
25%
their marketing budget on influencers or content creators.

But, will the brand-influencer partnership trend continue, or evolve? 86% of surveyed Mega (1M+ followers/subcribers)
leaders believe it’s likely that AI-generated influencers or social media avatars will
6%
replace influencers by the end of 2025.
7%
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 33

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HubSpot’s creator partnership program grew Sourcing influencers and creators that align
significantly over the course of 2024. One with your brand takes time, energy, and
creator partner is Sarah Chen-Spellings, a organization. AI tools can help to speed up
leader in venture capital and the host of the the process and surface the best options for
Billion Dollar Moves podcast. creators that align with your target audience.

Sarah has an engaged audience of 20K+

1. Use generative AI to learn about influencers
LinkedIn followers, and 3K+ newsletter
or creators and craft personalized outreach
subscribers, and she’s an active participant in
messages — grab a prompt here.
the investor space.
2. Manage your influencer outreach efforts and
“The HubSpot Creators program is about
document your progress.
building authentic, lasting partnerships. We
empower creators with support and resources 3. Set goals and clearly communicate your
to grow while aligning with a trusted brand. By expectations for your partnership.
focusing on relationships over transactions, 4. Prioritize authentic, relevant opportunities
we create shared success that sets us apart,”
for the influencer or partner to share about
shared Alanah Joseph, Head of Creator
your brand.
Partnerships, HubSpot.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 34

AI TRENDS

Are you there, chatbot?

It’s me, overwhelmed
marketer
AI tools have impacted marketing roles and can take on a lot
of the heavy lifting, but there’s a learning curve.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 35

It’s time for marketers to invest

in AI education and training
Over the past year, marketers have dipped their toes into the AI pool, getting comfortable with
conversational AI tools, generative AI for content creation, and using AI for research. During the
year ahead, they plan to take the plunge and incorporate AI into their marketing strategy in a more
meaningful way.

Along with the increased demand for marketers to use AI, there’s some apprehension — 54% of marketers
feel overwhelmed by the prospect of implementing AI tools into their processes and workflows.

But marketers know that AI is the future. 92% of respondents report that AI has impacted their role
already, and more than a third say ‘very significantly’.

THE TRENDS

1 2 3

AI tools are helping marketers There’s still a learning AI has changed how people
keep up with increasing content curve for AI in marketing search, and how brands need to
needs and conduct research. to be addressed. think about their online presence.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 36

AI tools are helping

TREND #1

marketers keep up with

increasing content needs
and conduct research
The top AI use cases for marketing are content creation, like using generative AI to write
copy or create images, using AI to conduct research or analyze data, chatting with AI
to brainstorm content ideas, and asking AI for help with learning how to do things like
putting together an Excel function or debugging code.

In 2025, marketers plan to use AI to turn text-based content into multimedia campaigns,
and to create AI agents to automate marketing workflows from strategy to execution.

1 in 4 1 in 5
marketers plan to leverage using marketers plan to explore using AI agents
AI to turn text into multi-modal to automate marketing initiatives from
campaigns. end-to-end strategy to execution.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 37

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Sandler, a trusted leader in sales, leadership, and management training systems, has Here’s a workflow from Modern Millie, a HubSpot Creator and YouTuber,
adopted AI tools across their marketing and sales teams to help scale personalization on how to generate 200 targeted social media posts in ten minutes using
and prospect engagement efforts. They’ve written the playbook on sales training, and ChatGPT and Canva.
now they’re bringing AI into their own sales and marketing processes.
1. Map out your target audience’s pain points, goals, and preferences
“HubSpot’s AI has been a game-changer for our marketing and sales teams, helping
using existing customer data.
both groups create personalization at scale with outbound messaging, actionable
2. Generate a list of X tips and X quotes related to your industry and
insights, and increasing new prospect engagement with our brand by 25%,” shared
geared towards your target persona using ChatGPT or another
Emily Davidson, Enterprise Marketing Director at Sandler.
conversational AI tool.
3. Export the quotes and tips into a CSV file.
4. Select a blank social media doc in Canva, choose a template,
and customize the styling to your brand.
5. Upload your CSV of quotes into the bulk upload feature in Canva,
then tweak.
6. Choose a video template, then bulk upload your tips into the video,
and edit.
7. Export and share.

Watch the tutorial on creating social content with ChatGPT and Canva
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 38

There’s still a
TREND #2

learning curve for AI in

marketing to be addressed
Only a little over two years after ChatGPT launched, marketers are expected to be using and
optimizing AI in their marketing workflows. Their roles and responsibilities have changed
and they’ve had to quickly adapt to learning about data quality, prompt engineering, data
privacy, and how to edit AI generated content. Along with the great power of AI tools comes
a newfound responsibility to maintain data security, integrity, and creativity in a world of
automation and artificial intelligence.

Marketers are reporting that they feel overwhelmed by the idea of incorporating AI into their
marketing strategies and workflows, and many aren’t prepared to measure the impact of AI
on their marketing efforts.

47% 47%
of marketers have a clear of marketers have a clear understanding
understanding of how to use AI in of how to measure the impact of AI in
their marketing strategy. their marketing strategy.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 39

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The team at Phocas Software uses HubSpot Breeze to open Kieran and Kipp have been experimenting
up new opportunities for personalization and segmentation with AI for marketing since the early days, and
through data enrichment. Josh Ames, HubSpot and GTM leader they’re sharing their learnings on the podcast.
at Phocas Software, shared that the biggest wins their team Here’s a deep dive episode of Marketing
saw from using Breeze were the data quality, direct access to Against the Grain with Kieran and Kipp that
enriched data, improved segmentation, and accessible pricing. walks through the practical use cases for AI
in marketing, the tools to try, and examples of
bringing AI into marketing workflows.

HubSpot’s data enrichment

feature quickly improved our AI allows you to go from
data quality, leading to more A/B testing to A to Z testing,
effective campaigns and better and quickly find out which
alignment. 92% of companies in ads or posts are the most
our CRM had at least one new likely to perform the best
enrichment property populated with your audience.
by the new feature. Kieran Flanagan

Josh Ames “ SVP of Marketing, HubSpot

“ HubSpot and GTM Manager, Phocas Software

Watch ‘AI Marketing Masterclass’
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 40

AI has changed how people

TREND #3

search, and how brands need to

think about their online presence
Nearly half of marketers have noticed that consumer
use of AI for search has already impacted their How has consumers using AI to get answers
search traffic — positively. And while consumers to their questions impacted your web traffic?
across generations haven’t fully switched over to Increased Decreased Stayed the same
AI-assisted search, 31% of Gen Zers report that they
most often use AI platforms or chatbots to find
B2B B2C
information online. More than one in three consumers
hopes that AI will be more helpful for online research 5% 3%

in the future.

For brands, showing up where consumers are and in 48% 47% 52% 45%
the format they prefer to engage with is top of mind.
19% of marketers plan to build an SEO strategy for
generative AI in search in 2025,
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 41

SEE THE TREND IN ACTION GET THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

After manually running queries in ChatGPT to understand how HubSpot was AI Search Grader allows brands to see how they appear in
showing up in LLM searches, Aja Frost, Senior Director of Global Growth at AI search results, and find actionable ways to improve their
HubSpot, began working on a project to aggregate this data and streamline results. And now, there are more audit tools and regulations
the research process. Now, she’s using AI Search Grader from HubSpot related to how brands are using AI.
to understand whether current and prospective customers were finding
HubSpot while researching CRMs, marketing automation, email marketing,
and other related topics.

AI Search Grader is the first free tool for

marketers to understand and improve
their brand visibility in Large Language
Models (LLMs) like GPT-4. With this
tool, marketers can understand brand
sentiment and share of voice, while
identifying areas for improvement
based on how people actually search.
Aja Frost
“ Senior Director of Global Growth, HubSpot
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing Return to table of contents 42

CLOSING

Smarter, better, faster,

and more human content
campaigns ahead
Marketers are at a turning point for automation, AI, and creativity.
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 43

Creating authentic
As marketers, we have an
connections and brand
unprecedented opportunity
experiences, intelligently
to be smarter, more efficient,
The marketing landscape in 2025 stands at the unique crossroads of artificial
intelligence and human creativity. As AI tools help take on some of the heavy lifting
of data analysis, content optimization, and workflow automation, marketers are
and more human in how we
able to focus on creating authentic connections and valuable brand experiences.
The data from this report showcases a clear snapshot of the rapid progress — 92% connect with our audiences.
The tools are here, and the
of marketers say that AI has impacted their roles, and 96% are seeing increased
sales from personalized experiences. Technology is helping to facilitate human
connection.

The road ahead isn’t about choosing between AI and authenticity, but about how possibilities for creativity
we use them most effectively. Whether you’re a B2B brand focusing on value-driven
content, or a B2C company sharing user-generated stories, successful marketing
in 2025 will stem from being present where your audiences are, speaking to their
are endless.
experiences, and using technology to scale those connections.
Kieran Flanagan
“ SVP of Marketing, HubSpot
 The State of Marketing 2025 Foreword Introduction Strategy + Team Trends Content Trends AI Trends Closing 44

Methodology
HubSpot conducted a survey in October 2024 with a total of 1,200
marketers across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia across
industries to gain these data points.

Industries represented
Masters in Marketing
is the HubSpot Media
Advertising or marketing Financial services and insurance
Agriculture, food, and beverage Government
Business or consumer services Healthcare or public health
Chemicals and metals
Communication services
Information Technology
Manufacturing and materials newsletter for marketers
by marketers
Construction Media and entertainment
Consumer product manufacturing Non-profit
Defense or aeronautics Retail
Education eCommerce Lock in to exclusive interviews with the people behind the
Electronics Transportation and logistics scenes at the NBA, Liquid Death, Oatly, Zapier and more
Emergency services Travel and hospitality
who are crafting the future of marketing. Gain access
Energy, utilities, and waste Waste management or water systems
management insights, experiences, merch and conversations only
available to subscribers.

Subscribe

Report created in collaboration with Datalily.

www.datalily.com • [email protected]