As a solopreneur, marketing my own business gets pushed to the back burner more times than I care to admit. There are just too many other tasks that require immediate attention. It’s why I’m a big fan of AI marketing bots.

Automating certain marketing tasks means I have more time for other tasks, like creating connections with other business owners who need my services.

Recently, I chatted with other marketers to find out which AI marketing tools they use at work. And because I love sharing what I’ve learned, I’ve made a list of the nine most popular AI marketing bots.

Before we get into it, let’s define what an AI marketing bot is and dig into why they’re becoming more mainstream.

Table of Contents

• What is an AI marketing bot?
• Why are AI marketing bots so popular in 2024?
• 9 Best AI Marketing Bots You Need to Try

What is an AI marketing bot?

An AI marketing bot is software that uses artificial intelligence, like machine learning and natural language processing, to generate responses based on user prompts. These AI bots use specific datasets, like your company’s or industry data, to generate the best, most accurate responses.

AI bots designed for marketers can help automate certain tasks, such as content ideation and outlining, image generation, and video editing, or help you better personalize the user experience.

Why are AI marketing bots so popular in 2024?

AI is everywhere — and it’s changing the way many marketers think about their jobs. To understand why AI marketing bots are so popular, I went straight to the source: marketing experts.

I asked Tom Jauncey, CEO of Nautilus Marketing, why he thinks AI marketing bots are so popular in 2024. He argues that the core reason these tools have gained such momentum is their efficiency and effectiveness.

“These tools help analyze not only enormous amounts of data but also help to simplify many routine tasks. It includes the creation of personalized content and holding conversations with customers 24/7,” he said. “Above all, it is extremely budget-friendly, especially when compared with human marketers.”

The key benefit is to help a business streamline its efforts toward marketing — which can increase ROI by many folds.

Jauncey’s belief that AI marketing bots increase efficiency aligns with other marketers’ beliefs about these tools, too.

86% of marketing professionals say AI helps them save over an hour each day in their normal workflow. And when it comes to personalization, 88% of marketers say AI helps create a better customer experience.

Saood Belal Syed, a digital marketer, thinks AI can help automate certain marketing-related tasks. Syed told me, “It definitely has a long way to go before it can replace humans (if it ever does), but using AI can help speed up the ideation process and get those creative juices flowing!”

How many tools does the average marketer use?

50% of marketers have already adopted AI into their workflows. ChatGPT may be the most popular AI application, but it’s broad for marketing tasks. Ever heard the phrase, “Jack of all trades, but master of none?” That’s ChatGPT for marketing.

Instead, AI marketing bots are a bit narrower in scope. AI marketing bots are designed for specific tasks in mind, like video editing or lead generation. If you’re in the marketing space, you might need more than one AI tool to enhance and streamline your workflow.

David Ciccarelli, CEO at Lake, said he uses six AI marketing tools. These include tools that focus on content optimization, image enhancement, grammar improvement, analysis, and more.

Other marketing professionals told me they use an average of two to four tools daily. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the best AI marketing bots on the market.

9 Best AI Marketing Bots You Need to Try

As I mentioned, there are tons of AI tools available to help streamline nearly every aspect of the marketing department. Let’s look at some of the best AI marketing bots according to which tasks they can help you with.

Presentations and Images

1. Beautiful AI

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Beautiful AI is one of the best AI marketing bots I’ve tried. As a former teacher, I can finally admit that I was a lazy presentation maker.

I won’t lie: I usually made my slides just a few minutes before class started — and it was never a pretty presentation.

Beautiful AI changes that. With just a prompt, users can create data-informed presentations in seconds. To try it out, I asked Beautiful AI to create a slide comparing the best features of AI content-writing tools. This is what it created:

Obviously, before I use this in a presentation, I would be sure to fact-check each of these numbers. But overall, I like the chart’s simplicity — not to mention the speed at which it was created.

What the Experts Say

Renee Miller, founder of The Miller Group, uses Beautiful AI regularly. Millers told me, “Beautiful AI is a nice tool for creating presentations, and it’s pretty intuitive, so my whole team can use it — even the Luddites! It does have some limitations, as do most AI marketing tools at this time, especially ChatGPT.”

2. Canva’s Magic Studio

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Canva is a popular design tool for a reason. It allows marketers and designers alike to create eye-catching presentations.

With the addition of AI, Canva’s Magic Studio is the perfect tool to create a presentation in just seconds. Use it as a draft to add your own personal branding touches, or make a few tweaks and call it done.

I used Magic Design to create a pitch deck for an interior design business. It was simple: I just entered the prompt, waited for it to generate a design, then clicked “apply to all slides,” and I was done. I would likely update some of the copy if I wanted to use this for my business. Overall, though, it’s not a bad presentation.

What the Experts Say

Jauncey told me, “Canva is wonderful for producing professional-looking graphics quickly without needing to actually study design. Canva is able to help us create professional graphics fast.”

Video

3. Munch

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If you’re into creating podcasts or recording interviews, Munch is an AI tool you need to consider adding to your arsenal. Munch helps marketers turn long-form videos into short-form content by using AI to analyze the most engaging parts of the video to create engaging clips.

I tried out Munch and found it easy to use. The interface is simple and user-friendly. I also appreciate that it organizes clips into categories based on keyword volume. This can be useful to target SEO and algorithms.

What the Experts Say

Kelsey Stewart, owner of Eleven89 Marketing and Design, uses Munch regularly.

She told me, “Munch because it helps me with two purposes: Creates short-form videos from one long-form video and it creates subtitles for those videos automatically.”

4. Submagic

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Submagic is an all-in-one AI video editor that makes creating viral shorts a breeze. Submagic offers various editing tools that any marketer or video editor can use to enhance their video content.

Plus, it offers features like a clip generator for marketers to create short-form content from their long-form videos.

What the Experts Say

I personally use Submagic on a nearly weekly basis. I’ve shied away from creating video content because video editing is just not my skill set. They mean it when Submagic says you can fully edit a video with AI in two minutes or less.

Submagic saves me so much time, and my videos look professionally edited, complete with captions. Spoiler: they’re not.

Content Generators

5. Koala

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Need to draft a fully optimized blog post, but you’re running short on time? Try Koala.

KoalaWriter, backed by ChatGPT-4o, combines the power of SERP analysis with real-time data to help you create content with the potential to rank in the searches. Plus, Koala AI can also help you create lead magnets to embed into your website and generate images for your blog post.

I tested out Koala AI by asking it to write a blog post on “Are orange cats the best cat?” I like that Koala asks for the target keyword and allows the post to be written with or without real-time data. Koala also offers a “polish” feature, which can help clean up a blog post and improve readability.

What the Experts Say

Lucas Carval, growth specialist at Mention, says he uses Koala AI to help speed up his workflow.

Carval told me, “With custom instructions and data from the web, I can make a base for the topic I‘m covering, which I’ll then enhance with my own perspective, original data, and case studies.

[Then I use] SurferSEO to adjust the number of words, headings, images, and NLP keywords based on the articles ranking in the top 5 for the keyword I’m targeting.”

6. Jasper

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Have you noticed that some AI marketing bots can’t seem to nail your brand’s tone and voice?

Jasper, an AI marketing tool, solves that problem by learning your brand’s voice and analyzing your existing content, like product descriptions and style guides.

Once Jasper learns who you are, you can create entire marketing campaigns in seconds, including social copy and blog posts.

Plus, Jasper can generate images for your marketing strategy.

Launching ad campaigns has never been easier with Jasper. I like that it offers options for various ad headlines and asks users for examples of their preferred copy before generating results. This can save marketers so much time!

What the Experts Say

Mike Vannelli, creative director of Envy Creative, told me, “Jasper excels at generating engaging copy that resonates with our audience.

It’s like having a creative partner who’s always ready with fresh ideas … Jasper shines in helping us maintain a consistent brand voice across multiple platforms while saving us hours on content creation.”

Sales and Leads

7. HubSpot

Every business needs a CRM that guides customers through the customer journey and allows the sales and marketing teams to come together to create magic.

That’s HubSpot. HubSpot AI enhances your workflow, from drafting content to optimizing your web pages to nailing your brand voice.

Email marketing is an integral part of sales, which is why your marketing and sales team make a dynamic duo. Creating email campaigns is straightforward with HubSpot AI.

I like that it gives me the option to create my own headlines or use AI to generate them — which is especially helpful for the times when my brain just cannot write another sentence.

What the Experts Say

Yevhenii Tymoshenko, Skylum‘s chief marketing officer, told me, “At Skylum, HubSpot has helped our marketing and sales tremendously. With it, we can track customer interactions, automate emails, and manage leads — all in one place.

The analytics show us what’s working, and we can improve our strategies. Overall, HubSpot helps us stay in touch with our customers and grow our business.”

8. LeadReply

Have you ever wished you had a clone of yourself to take care of Yelp leads?

Consider LeadReply your clone. LeadReply is an AI autoresponder that monitors your Yelp activity, instantly responds to customer queries, and personalizes your messages.

This AI marketing bot is especially helpful for industries where response time could make or break a lead.

As a solopreneur, I understand the importance of a tool that can automate specific tasks— especially if you’re the only one running your business.

I appreciate that LeadReply can take over catching qualified leads, which can help streamline your workflow.

What the Experts Say

Aaron Watters, CEO of LeadHub, told me, “In an industry where speed to lead can make or break a deal, this tool helps our clients respond to inquiries faster than their competitors — every single time.

Plus, it’s not just about speed; it’s the fact that we can personalize responses and follow up automatically, making it incredibly efficient and effective at converting leads into customers.”

Chatbots

9. Tidio

Chatbots are a great way to reach potential leads who are browsing your website.

An intuitive chatbot powered by AI can help answer customer questions, collect contact information, and suggest products, services, and resources your customers need.

I appreciate tools that can help free up some of my time. Tidio can answer up to 70% of customer inquiries without human interaction, meaning your team has more time to nurture and convert qualified leads into loyal customers.

What the Experts Say

Gary Warner, marketing manager at Joloda Hydraroll, told me, “We use Tidio as it was simple to install, the pricing plan was reasonable, reviews very high, and we were reassured that many big brands have already tried and tested their AI offering. It works on a mobile site, and we have it placed on every page.”

Warner also says the chatbot can deliver support in multiple languages, a big benefit for a global business.

Scale your business with AI marketing bots.

I think it’s safe to say that AI is here to stay. There are tons of AI tools available on the market, each promising to deliver different results.

Adding AI marketing bots to your toolkit has the potential to improve your workflow, whether by creating better marketing campaigns that convert leads or saving time by automating tasks.

And who doesn’t want better campaigns and more time to do meaningful tasks?

Before adding a new tool to your arsenal, research and explore all your options. You might find you need just one tool or multiple to streamline your business.

Google owns just a bit more than 90% of the global search engine market, which means it is a significant driver of how people look for, and find, information on the internet.

In this post, I’ll review key Google search statistics that will help you understand how search works, search trends, and how Google search adapts to changing technologies. 

Table of Contents

• How many people use Google?
• How many Google searches per day?
• Top Google Search Statistics 2023
• How To Find Trending Searches

Google’s nearest competitor, Bing, only holds 3.9% of market share, while Yahoo accounts for 1.3%. The distribution has remained relatively stable over the past few years with Google consistently claiming competitive victory thanks to detailed search results, in-depth analytics, and evolving service offerings.

Consider the rapid uptake of “Google” as a verb meaning, “to search” — “I’ll just Google it,” “can’t you Google that?” “isn’t it on Google?” It’s not an exaggeration to say that when it comes to searching for information online, Google is — by far — the digital frontrunner.

Google also makes efforts to personalize search results, in turn, increasing the chances that users will opt for Google the next time they have a question.

For users that aren’t logged into a Gmail or another Google account, the company uses anonymously stored browser cookies to get a sense of search histories and preferences.

For users signed into their Google account, Chrome’s browser history provides the data necessary for Google to construct a profile based on age, language preference, gender and search preferences, which informs the type of search results returned.

Location offers an easy example of this approach — if users have location services turned on, Google search results will be filtered by geographic location to increase overall relevance.

Now, let’s look at a few of this year’s top Google Search statistics and take a deeper dive into the trending searches that guide your marketing strategy.

Top Google Search Statistics in 2024

Let’s look at how Google influences search with these latest statistics.

• When Google opened its proverbial doors in September 1998, it only averaged about 10,000 daily search queries. (The Search)
• As of January 2024, Google has approximately 84.2 billion visits worldwide, up from 83.9 billion in April 2023. (Statista)
• There are over 192 different country and region-based Google Search engines. (GiT Magazine)
• As of October 2024, Chrome accounts for 65% of the web browser market share. (Statcounter)
• As of October 2024, 61% of web traffic searches take place on mobile. (Statcounter)
• Our survey respondents rank smartphones or mobile phones as their site visitors’ most-used browsing device. (HubSpot Blog Research) 
• Some of the most globally popular Google searches in 2023 include “Titanic Submarine,” “Sinéad O’Connor,” “Connections” (the New York Times Game), and “Barbie.” (Google)
• 65% of SEOs say Google’s 2023 algorithm updates have positively impacted web traffic and SERP rankings. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• A majority of professionals say their websites have maintained the same amount of traffic or don’t believe that generative AI/LLM AI features in search engines have impacted their site traffic. 41% say their websites are getting more traffic than before. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• Just over ¼ of survey respondents say organic traffic is their top source of web traffic. Paid/search Google ads & paid social media/social media ads take second place. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Our survey respondents tell us that most of their website pages rank in position 6-10 in SERPs. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• 89% of URLs and 37% of URLs in positions 1-20 rank differently on mobile and desktop. (SEMRush)
• 54% of survey respondents think people use search engines to find answers more often since AI overviews and other LLM search features became available. (HubSpot Blog Research) 

• Professionals ranked Trustworthiness and Expertise as the most important ranking factors in the E-E-A-T framework. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Experts think how-to, step-by-step guides, and other educational content will perform best with generative AI incorporated into search engines. Personal stories/experiences will be the most negatively impacted. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Optimizing content for search intent, optimizing on-page content around target keywords, and conducting keyword research are the most effective SEO strategies for ranking highly on SERPs. (HubSpot Blog Research)

• 25% of desktop Google searchers end without a click, and 17% of mobile end without a click (Semrush)
• The average keyword is roughly 3-4 words long. (Semrush)
• Long-tailed keywords get 1.76x more clicks in organic SERPs. (Backlinko)
• In 2020, 500 keywords accounted for 8.4% of all search volume. (Backlinko)
• The average cost-per-click for a keyword is about $0.61. (Backlinko)
• The average cost-per-click in Google Ads in 2024 is $4.66 across all industries. (WordStream)
• Four times as many people are likely to click on a paid search ad on Google (63%) than on any other search engine — Amazon (15%), YouTube (9%), and Bing (6%). (Clutch)
• For every $1 businesses spend on Google Ads, they make an average of $2 in revenue. (Google)
• 55% of people clicking on Google search ads prefer those to be text ads. (Clutch)
• The average conversion rate in Google Ads across all industries in 2024 is 6.96% (WordStream)
• The average CTR for titles with questions is 15.5%. Regular (non-question) titles have a 16.3% CTR. (Backlinko)
• The average click-through rate for first place on desktop is 39.8%. If the top result is a featured snippet, CTR increases to 42.9%. (FirstPage)
• 21% of Google SERPs show images. (Moz)
• Compressing images and text could help 25% of web pages save more than 250KB and 10% save more than 1 MB. These changes reduce bounce rates and increase page rank on Google SERPs. (Google)
• 50% of U.S. consumers use voice search daily. (UpCity)

With search volumes constantly fluctuating in response to world events and evolving news coverage, it’s worth knowing what searches are trending, how quickly they’re ramping up, and how they tie into similar keyword queries.

While one option is a scattershot approach — simply type a potential trend term into Google and see how many total results are reported — more targeted options often provide an easier path to improved search performance.

Let’s review some of the most useful tools available in the section below.

1. Google Trends

Review the “Year in Search,” take Google Trends lessons, and see what’s trending now. You can also view the peaks and valleys of topic interest over time, which uncovers seasonality and allows you to plan your marketing calendar accordingly.

Plus, find related topics and queries, and identify sub-regions your topic has been trending to better target your campaigns.

2. Think with Google

Discover articles, benchmark reports, and consumer insights that keep you up to speed on search. From ad bidding strategies to brand jingles, you’ll find interesting content that helps you think bigger while staying educated on how to leverage Google search for your business.

3. X (formerly Twitter)

Sign on to X, and use the “trends” feature to uncover what’s trending in your state, country, or around the globe. When you click into a trend, you’ll see top tweets about the topic, relevant news stories, and live responses.

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4. BuzzSumo

I like how BuzzSumo helps you identify the most shared content in the previous 12 months or the last 24 hours.

BuzzSumo allows you to drill down and analyze the topics that matter to your industry, your competitors, and the influencers you learn from.

5. Feedly

I think Feedly’s RSS feed aggregator is a great tool. It allows you to follow your favorite brands and see their most recent content in one place.

Add your favorites and discover new publishers by searching your industry, skills, or — you guessed it — trending topics. Feedly also allows you to set up keyword alerts, so you’re always tracking the latest trends on topics you’re interested in.

6. Reddit

Freshness and user-based voting determine how content is prioritized on Reddit. A quick visit to the homepage shows you trending or popular posts. And, you can filter by country or recency for a more relevant feed.

7. Ahrefs

Conduct competitive research, home in on a keyword, or search for trending topics. Ahrefs helps you identify trending content and shows you what to do to outrank your competitors.

8. Pocket

Pocket allows you to save content from anywhere on the web. Review your content whenever you wish and head to the Explore page to find trending topics that are relevant to you.

9. Quora

Sign up for Quora and select topic areas that interest you (e.g., “startups,” “marketing,” and “economics”). Quora will stock your feed with questions related to your content interests.

This gives you insight into what your customers are asking, real-time debates about competitors, and even allows you to answer questions about topics you have experience in.

Expanding Your Google Impact

Bottom line? Google owns the largest piece of both search and web browser market shares and provides a host of interconnected services that empower the company to deliver personalized, real-time search results.

For marketers, this makes Google an irreplaceable tool for boosting consumer loyalty, courting new clients, and improving customer conversions.

Armed with actionable trend data and relevant source statistics, marketing teams can expand their Google impact and ensure the right content gets seen by the right customers to jumpstart the sales process.

The prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) has many concerned about job security.

AI writing, AI images, AI videos — while the final products are far from perfect, they raise the question of what jobs AI could eventually replace, even if we don’t want them to.

But, heck, if AI can create a marketing plan for me, I say, “Welcome to the team!”

A marketing plan is a foundational piece of any marketing strategy. It keeps businesses organized and focused on their goals. However, with all the details it should consider and capture, it can be extremely time-consuming and tedious to put together.

That’s where I’ve discovered AI can help.

After years of researching and compiling documents by hand, I recently used AI to create a marketing plan to see what it could deliver. Let’s break down the steps I took, how the plans turned out, and how you can replicate them.

Why use AI to create a marketing plan?

We at HubSpot probably sound like a broken record by now, but AI can help marketers work smarter, not harder.

Don’t get me wrong — plagiarism, bias, data insecurity, and poor quality are all concerns when generating content with AI. But when it comes to planning and research? The tools can save massive amounts of time and money.

In fact, one of our recent studies found that 75% of marketers say AI and automation help them spend less time on manual tasks like research.

AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and even HubSpot’s Breeze perform research and optimization in real time.

The speed at which they can pull information from multiple data sources just isn’t humanly possible. Add in tasks like data analysis, calculations, and formatting, and it’s no wonder marketers report getting 12.5 hours back weekly.

By using AI to create, or at least draft, your marketing plan, you can spend less time and money planning and more actually executing.

Now, speaking of spending less time on planning, enough of this background info. Let’s get to the real action.

How to Create a Marketing Plan with AI

I tested two AI tools and approaches for creating a marketing plan: a chatbot and a generator.

Below, I’ll break down my process into specific steps and share my thoughts on how they did, along with some tips I learned along the way.

Creating a Marketing Plan with a Chatbot

A few months back, HubSpot’s Kieran Flanagan and CMO Kipp Bodnar used ChatGPT to create a marketing plan for the Marketing Against the Grain podcast.

I used this as my jumping-off point.

As they discussed, the quality you get from a chatbot or AI assistant like ChatGPT depends on the quality of your prompt. It’s like your creative brief.

You can’t talk to AI like a search engine with incomplete sentences and keywords.

Instead, you want to speak to it like you would another person. Give your chatbot the same detailed information you would give your intern or freelancer to complete a task.

Most of the steps described below are focused on doing just that.

1. Summarize your business (i.e., Your product, company, unique selling points).

To quote one of my favorite Bollywood movies, “Who are you?”

Before AI could develop my marketing plan, it needed to know what it was marketing and who exactly my company was.

What I included: Following Bodnar and Flanagan’s lead, I kept it simple, including being “head of marketing for a technology company that sells a SaaS product for Sales Teams.”

But this is really the bare minimum a tool needs to know about your company to craft a marketing plan. To get the best results, you’ll want to dive into:

• Your product/offering
• What makes it different (specific features, capabilities, etc.)
• Company mission
• Company values

Pro tip: You may even want to provide a SWOT analysis or competitive analysis so the AI knows the full scope of what you’re dealing with. No information is too much.

For example, I borrowed this market information from Flanagan to include in my prompt:

“The market is getting crowded; there are a lot of apps with similar features. I also have to be concerned that the CRMs we integrate with will build the feature when they see its popularity grow. This means I need to scale demand and the product fast to take advantage of the opportunity.”

2. Outline your business goals.

What is your marketing team working on? What is it trying to achieve? Document these goals so your AI tool knows what all its suggestions need to work toward.

Use the SMART framework for goals — in other words, make sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This leaves less room for ambiguity in whether you accomplished what you were supposed to.

For example, in the past, I’ve seen clients try to set vague goals like “Increase my presence on TikTok.” But a SMART version could be, “Increase my TikTok following by 30% by June.”

Notice the difference?

In the first, “presence” could mean posting more videos, attracting more followers, or even getting more views. The SMART version makes it clear the focus is follower count.

What I included: “The goal of the marketing plan is to close 5000 new customers in the next 12 months.”

Pro tip: Including your average conversion rates and buyer behavior can help AI better understand your sales cycle and determine which strategies will be more effective for you.

For example, I added this line, “Assume the conversion rate from traffic to customer will be 5%, which means I’ll need roughly 100,000 website visits. “

3. Describe your target audience.

Who is your buyer? Who does your marketing plan need to reach? AI needs to know this information to ensure its strategic suggestions align.

You can share a full buyer persona with your AI tool, but at the least, you want to include the following in your prompt:

• Age
• Location
• Company, job title, industry (if B2B)
• Goals
• Personal challenges
• Pain points you solve

What I included: “Our audience is primarily sales reps at small-to-medium-sized businesses. Their teams are usually small, with 2-4 reps on the team total. They are concerned with meeting their sales goals, prioritizing the right prospects, and streamlining their sales process. Our CRM offers automation and data enrichment tools to make this easier.”

4. Define your marketing budget.

This point is pretty straightforward — How much can your company spend on your marketing plan to achieve your goals? Defining your market budget in your prompt gives the chatbot parameters to work with.

You know, so it doesn’t suggest running a Super Bowl commercial or recruiting Beyonce as a celebrity ambassador.

What I included: “Our marketing budget is $10,000 for the year. Cost-effectiveness is a top priority.” I added the second line to clarify that while I have this total to spend, I want it to be distributed in proven areas.

5. Establish your timeline.

Like your budget, your timeline gives your chatbot further direction on what suggestions are plausible and which aren’t.

For example, if your timeline is only one month, it wouldn’t make sense to suggest leaning into SEO and blog articles, as those can take months to gain traction.

What I included: My timeline of “12 months” was established in my goal and referenced throughout my prompt.

6. Set key performance indicators (KPIs).

How will you track and report on your success? Some company stakeholders expect to see specific data. If so, your prompt is your chance to loop your chatbot in on this expectation.

But if you don’t include them, it’s not make or break.

Usually, KPIs are linked to your tactics and strategies. So, if you’re waiting to see what our marketing plan suggests to set metrics, no worries.

Pro tip: You can also ask the chatbot to suggest KPIs based on its proposed strategy.

What I included: I left KPIs out of my prompt so ChatGPT would focus on tactics and strategy.

7. Share examples and “extras.”

Do you have specific campaigns you admire? How about marketing frameworks like StoryBrand or thought leaders like Ann Handley or Neil Patel?

Once again, sharing these examples with your chatbot in your prompt helps it understand what you’re looking for from your marketing plan.

What I included: I added to my prompt: “I want your answers to be heavily influenced by marketing greats:

• Seth Godin’s approach to branding
• Gary Vaynerchuk’s approach to social media marketing
• Andy Crestodina’s approach to web and digital strategy”

You can also take this time to add what I call “extras” to your prompt.

For instance, Flanagan made it a point to tell ChatGPT that he didn’t want to see best practices. You can mention if there are specific channels you want to include or exclude, or maybe even global holidays.

8. Compile information into a prompt.

Once you’ve got all the pieces from steps 1-9, compile them into one prompt. Make sure that it’s conversational, and each sentence is short and precise.

9. Enter the prompt into a chatbot.

10. Review and refine.

Once you get your results (like mine below), you can use this as a first draft to elaborate on or ask for edits.

Flanagan asked ChatGPT to flesh out specifics about the suggested campaigns and tactics and make them more actionable. Remember, ChatGPT is like your intern or freelancer. Refine and clarify until the finished product meets your needs.

Honestly, I wasn’t super impressed by the results I got from my initial prompt.

The answers were quite similar to what Flanagan and Bodnar got which goes to show you, how generic your results can be if you don’t give specific details about your business.

But perhaps if I made follow-up requests like they did in the podcast episode, I could have uncovered some unique gems.

What did I like about this AI marketing plan?

• Easy to skim through the ideas
• Clearly considered my examples and requests
• The conversational nature of the chatbot made it easy to use.

What could be improved?

• Suggestions were fairly generic
• It takes iterations to get more detailed and specific results
• Putting together the creative brief is very time-consuming
• Formatting is informal

Who is this best for?

Small-to-medium-sized marketing teams that need help brainstorming strategies but don’t necessarily need anything cutting-edge.

By the way, marketing plans aren’t the only things ChatGPT can do with the right prompt.

Our free guide, “How to Use ChatGPT at Work,” talks through some of the most effective use cases and shares over 100 prompts you can use immediately.

Marketing Plan Generator

After ChatGPT, I tried HubSpot’s AI-powered Marketing Plan Generator.

Try our free Marketing Plan Generator here.

Here, I still needed all the information we discussed above ready to go, but this tool did a great job of simplifying the compilation process and formatting it into a neat little document.

Rather than putting together an instructional prompt, all I had to do was ask a few questions. (I was essentially copying and pasting the details from earlier.)

Then, the tool delivered a one-page document with a yearly marketing plan along with priority and strategy suggestions based on the goal I entered.

The document (shown in the image below) makes it easy to review the marketing plan at a glance and share it with teammates and stakeholders.

Pro tip: This AI marketing plan generator does a lot of formal formatting for you, but the quality it delivers is only as good as the information you give it to work off.

Before you use the generator, sit down and flesh out your:

• Marketing mission statement: This is what your marketing is focused on for the year.
• Strategy: What are you doing to reach your goals?
• Marketing Initiatives (i.e., brand awareness or building a high-quality pipeline)
• Target Goals (i.e., generating 100 leads per week)
• Metrics

The tool will ask you about these things, and it’s better to consider them before making them up at that moment.

What did I like about this AI marketing plan?

• Easy to skim one-page document
• Form eliminates the stress of knowing how to write a good prompt

What could be improved?

• More detailed strategy/suggestions

Who is this best for?

Businesses short on time or those new to creating marketing plans who want a starting point. It’s also great for those who haven’t mastered the art of chatbot prompts. (I’m still working on this, too.)

Final verdict: Treat AI like a running start.

These are just two of the ways you can create a marketing plan using AI. In fact, there are many other tools dedicated specifically to this need. However, no matter which you choose, remember to treat any results as a first draft.

Artificial intelligence only knows as much about your company, product, and audience as it’s been told. It doesn’t have your team’s first-hand experience or knowledge.

So, treat any results as a brainstorming tool and something to elaborate on.

Right now, AI can only give you a running start; it can’t take you to the finish line.

Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.

Jade Walters is, easily, the Queen of Gen Z LinkedIn. And if you want to know why, taking a glance at the array of content on her early career resource platform, The Ninth Semester (also accessible through Instagram, TikTok, Apple Podcasts, and LinkedIn), will corroborate this claim.

Jade has spent the last year independently building up her LinkedIn following, making early career opportunities more visible for young professionals, specifically first generation students of color.

I had the honor and privilege of chatting (and gabbing, really) with her about pretty much everything LinkedIn-related, from developing the Ninth Semester to how Gen Z students of color can easily utilize LinkedIn as their secret weapon for securing jobs and connections.

In this article, I’ll share my takeaways from Jade’s playbook and suggestions for how emerging professionals can overcome the daunting landscapes of internships, networking, and rejection.

Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents:

• How Jade Walters Helps Gen Z Get Hired
• How to Find Early Career Opportunities Through LinkedIn
• How to Use LinkedIn for Networking and Internship/Job Hunting

How Jade Walters Helps Gen Z Get Hired

“I wanted a seat at the table… and no one would give me a seat, so I created my own table.”

When Jade and I hopped on Zoom for our conversation, one of the first things she said was that “helping Gen Z get hired” has always been the core of her mission, vision, and brand as an early career and recruitment specialist.

Of course, this authentic and steadfast commitment comes from adversities she’s faced — and overcome — all on her own.

Like much of Gen Z, Jade started on an untraditional, non-linear career path. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in Maternal and Child Health, but once her undergrad concluded, she found herself experiencing a career pivot.

Eventually, that limbo period led to an unexpected union between personal reflections she’d already been sharing (via her personal blog) and her affinity for early career recruiting.

Although Jade graduated a few years ago, much of Gen Z’s attitudes around jobs, post-grad life, and overcoming the competitive job market, has not changed. If anything, anxieties have heightened, making Gen Z’s race to the finish line even more frenzied.

According to the Class of 2025 Big Dreams, Bigger Challenges Report from Handshake, 63% of upcoming graduates revealed that competition for employment contributes to feelings of pessimism.

Additionally, of students who are pessimistic about starting their careers, 54% cite concerns about job security and 45% cite concerns about insufficient benefits and compensation.

Source: Handshake

The Big Dreams, Bigger Challenges Report also revealed that going to college is (shockingly) not enough to stand out in today’s job market; students must go above and beyond to get noticed by the right employer.

62% of students are working part-time during their senior year and 61% are pursuing an internship during it, too.

Source: Handshake

Nevertheless, Walters has seen the impact of all of this data with her own eyes, specifically via her LinkedIn audience which has a (very calm) 90,000 followers. “I realized there weren’t a lot of resources for early career professionals,” she told me.

When Jade started out, she was applying to roles related to recruitment, but because of her educational and professional background, did not hear back about most of those roles.

She eventually carved her own lane in this space and has now paved the way for other early career content creators (e.g., Taylor Falls, Morgan Young) to do the same.

“I wanted to be the solution for a problem that I was having. I wanted to help others that were in my same shoes not have to struggle the way that I did,” she said.

Now, Jade dedicates most of her LinkedIn presence to sharing ways that Gen Z, specifically young professionals of color, can secure internships, grow their skill sets, and eventually get hired full-time.

How to Find Early Career Opportunities Through LinkedIn

When I asked Jade about the best ways for Gen Z to discover and acquire internships, externships, jobs, and networking opportunities, she put her answer plainly:

“I was that person who just used to log into LinkedIn to update my job experiences, talk about new accomplishments. But within the last year, I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of value in the [additional] content that people share [outside of just those things].”

These days, if you want to make the most of LinkedIn, per Jade’s advice, you’ve got to do more than just post a new job update and keep your work experiences fresh.

Here are a few of Jade’s recommendations for growing a strong community on LinkedIn:

1. Post as much as you scroll.

Jade says that you should post on LinkedIn just as often as you scroll through your feed.

“You can no longer just show up and post about your new job. You need to spend at least 15 minutes scrolling through, seeing what people are talking about, and catching up with industry facts and feelings,” she affirmed.

And she’s right. When Jade mentioned this, I was quickly reminded of my own progression on LinkedIn. When I first started taking the platform more seriously, I was simply sharing things that I thought should live on LinkedIn.

If I got a new internship? I’d post about it. If I completed a large-scale project for my college org? I was drafting an announcement as if it were a press release. It all made sense… until I saw another side of LinkedIn (aka “cool LinkedIn”).

You see, on cool LinkedIn, young people like me were talking about viral trends and sharing their one-of-a-kind perspectives on their internship experiences and all things Gen Z.

When I found this out, I was not only astounded but motivated to start doing the same. Even more so, seeing Jade’s content inspired me to start platforming my own gospel.

Now, I’m gradually working towards building a following based on creating content that speaks to all of me: my passions, humor, even what I’ve learned thus far in my (very early) career.

So, if you’re looking for ways to keep your timeline fresh and connections strong on LinkedIn, be sure to interact and engage with the app in a meaningful way. What you put in is what you get out.

Pro tip: Translating your experiences and/or advice into various kinds of content creation — whether that be short-form video content or social media design – will definitely catch eyes on LinkedIn. You just need to find your personal branding “sweet spot” and run with it. Since starting my own journey, this has looked like offering ‘#jeanius’ advice to my followers. 

2. Take advantage of self-paced education resources.

When it comes to filling in the gaps of experience or getting free learning, Jade suggests to get it in where you can fit it in.

“When I wanted to learn about early career and university recruiting, LinkedIn Learning was one of the first places I went. I was like, ‘Let me learn some realistic stuff, like, vetted by professionals.’”

Also, LinkedIn Learning is just a starting point. I cannot stress how resourceful companies like Extern and Parker Dewey are, especially for young Black/Brown professionals and students of color seeking to build up robust, real-world work experience.

Both Extern and Parker Dewey offer free access to paid short-term programs and micro-internship opportunities for college students across the country, for those enrolled in four-year institutions, community colleges, even historically Black colleges/universities (HBCUs).

All you have to do is ensure that you meet a program’s criteria and apply.

Pro tip: HubSpot is partnered with Parker Dewey for its very own AI Bootcamp Program and LinkedIn Ambassador Program. As a Caribbean-American first-generation college graduate, this program (and anything offered through Parker Dewey) was extremely instrumental in helping me secure multiple internships and, eventually, my first full-time job.

3. Don’t be afraid to niche down, folks.

“I have mixed feelings and emotions about the different softwares coming up where you can send, like, 200 applications in one click. There’s always this question about whether or not it’s a numbers game, and I do agree, it is a numbers game when it comes to applying for jobs but … it also needs to be strategic,” Jade says.

When applying for jobs, internships, or any sort of early career role, Jade recommends that folks figure out two things: exactly what opportunities they’re looking for and what opportunities suit their current background.

She told me: “For example, sometimes people just apply to things [that have ‘marketing’ in title]. They’re applying to campus marketer roles, email marketer roles, influencer marketing roles… but their resumes don’t reflect that.”

Jade says that looking for the right job/internship is simply like going to a restaurant: “You don’t just go like, ‘I want a burger.’ You pick something from the menu. You have to be intentional. So, let’s say you want to work in marketing. Okay. But what type of marketing? Influencer marketing? Copywriting? Social strategy? Once you narrow it down, you have a dream wish list.”

How to Use LinkedIn for Networking and Internship/Job Hunting

At the end of our conversation, Jade and I got into a rich discussion about the ways in which young people like me can use LinkedIn exclusively for networking and internship/job-hunting purposes.

As the job market gets heated and applicant tracking systems (ATS) become increasingly more difficult to surpass, Gen Z can’t just apply to their dream roles and hope for the best. Instead, Gen Z must now lean on alternative techniques to succeed, both in their hunt for employment and in interviews.

Thankfully, Jade knows exactly what to do, and here’s what she proposes (along with a small sprinkle of my own guidance):

1. LinkedIn has tons of free game for Gen Z.

If you’re wondering if it’s okay for you to start randomly connecting with people on LinkedIn, the answer is yes. Yes. Yes. In fact, this casual approach to LinkedIn can be incredibly fruitful.

“One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn is that you can just, like, connect with people you don’t know or people that you want to work with. And it’s okay. Like, it’s normal,” Jade urged.

“Nine times out of ten, like, someone will probably accept your invitation to connect, and you could follow from their journey. And if they have the time, you can have a coffee chat. LinkedIn is a place where you could be connected with, like, the VP of Marketing at your dream company. And it’s not like you met them in an exclusive place… you met them on LinkedIn.”

In my own experience (as a former student of color turned young Black professional), Jade’s advice has worked out pretty well.

In the last three months alone, I’ve set-up several coffee chats — some with folks who work at companies I’ve always wanted to know more about, others with fellow young people of color who’ve found me and wanted to simply learn about my journey — and those conversations have been some of the most meaningful discussions I’ve had the pleasure of having.

However, they never would’ve if I wasn’t open to using LinkedIn for its sole purpose: community building.

At the end of the day, LinkedIn is a social networking platform, so don’t hesitate to use it for what it was made for.

2. Lean on your tribe while you need them.

When in doubt about your future job prospects, Jade reinforced that one of the best ways to get early access to internships or full-time role opportunities is, without fail, to talk to your people (especially your LinkedIn friends and followers).

“Befriend your professors, connect with them. Speak to your community about what you’re looking for. That’s one of the best ways [to hear about opportunities before they go live online],” she said.

You may not know it now but folks you already know – professors, former managers, even faculty/administrators at your university – could have those coveted, close-knit connections to companies or leadership that you may have been looking to get in touch with for a while.

It’s all about maintaining your relationship with that person and, of course, how you approach the conversation you have.

3. Follow recruiters and early career content creators.

Finally, what better way to know what’s tea about job opportunities than to reach out to the very people who have a say in who gets hired?

Jade and I agree that connecting with recruiters on LinkedIn, especially those that specialize in early career talent acquisition, is the easiest way to go when searching for your next professional endeavor.

By reaching out to recruiters, you’re essentially tapping into a hidden job market.

They can truly provide you with valuable information about companies, industries, and specific roles that might be a good fit for you.

When you do reach out, be sure to introduce yourself, inquire about the specific department you’re looking into, and ask for personalized guidance on your job search, from resume writing and interview preparation to networking strategies.

The Future of Gen Z Success Starts with LinkedIn

Clearly, LinkedIn has emerged as a powerful tool for Gen Z professionals, especially young professionals of color.

By embracing the scary unknown of the LinkedIn sphere and utilizing it strategically, Gen Z professionals, particularly students of color seeking an entryway into their next career opportunity, can unlock a world of possibilities and uniquely position themselves for success.

And just as Jade has so eloquently demonstrated, with determination, creativity, and a willingness to adapt, even the most unconventional career paths can lead to extraordinary outcomes.

As a video marketer, you know there’s no cookie-cutter approach to crafting engaging videos, but you should always ensure you‘re using the best video format for your content, regardless of the kind of video you’re creating.

There is no one-size-fits-all video format— not every computer, video platform, or website browser supports every video format.

Fortunately, we’ve rounded up the best video formats and listed their pros and cons so you can learn which video format to use in different situations.

Once you know the best format for your videos, check out HubSpot’s Clip Creator, our free AI-powered video maker, so you can easily make high-quality videos.

Table of Contents

• Best for Long-form Video
• Best for Editing on Apple Devices
• Best for Copyright Protection
• Best for Streaming Online
• Best for Television
• Best for High-End Videos

6 of the Best Video Formats for 2025

1. MP4

Most digital devices and platforms support MP4, making it the most universal video format. MP4 can also store video, audio, text, and still images. Additionally, it can retain high video quality while maintaining relatively small file sizes.

Best for: MP4 formats are best for long-form video formats because MP4 files are relatively small but still of high quality.

“For my YouTube channel, I usually use the MP4 video format because a lot of the YouTube videos I made were as long as 20 minutes,” HubSpot Marketing Manager Erica Santiago says.

“MP4s are such small files that it would make rendering and uploading long-form videos a lot easier and more efficient. Plus, MP4s typically only experience a slight quality loss when uploaded to platforms like YouTube or TikTok.”

• Pros: MP4 files are fairly small, making them quick to upload and easy to save without clogging up space on your device.
• Cons: Because MP4 files are so straightforward and common to work with, they’re also easy to pirate, which poses a concern for creators.

2. MOV

Developed by Apple, MOV is a video format specifically designed for QuickTime Player. However, since there’s a version of QuickTime Player for Windows, MOV is also compatible with Windows.

The MOV video format can store audio, text, and video effects, but since its quality is usually so high, it’ll take up significantly more space on people’s computers.

Best for: The MOV format is best for editing on Apple devices since they’re specifically formatted for QuickTime Player.

Pros: MOVs are loved by filmmakers because they contain audio, text, and video effects and can be separated into multiple tracks. Their high quality makes MOVs easy to edit and is the professional standard in video editing.

Cons: Unlike MP4s, MOV formats are not widely playable across different devices, and their super high quality also leads to large file sizes.

“I rarely use MOV formatting for my videos because, in my opinion, the high quality doesn’t make up for how much file space they consume and how long they take to upload,” Santiago says.

3. WMV

Microsoft developed WMV, so your audience can play these types of videos on Windows Media Player. They can download a WMV player to play WMV videos if they have a Mac. Just like the MOV format, the WMV format boasts high video quality, but it’s at the expense of a small file size.

Best for: WMVs are best for creators who want to ensure copyright protection for their work. The format contains copyright and licensing functions that check whether uses have the right to use them.

Pros: WMV files are so small they can even be played via Google Drive.

Cons: “While I like the small file size for editing, WMV files often lose image quality when they’re getting uploaded and compressed, so I avoid using this format as well,” says Santiago.

4. FLV

Specifically designed for Adobe Flash Video Players, FLV is one of the most versatile and popular video formats. Every web browser and video platform supports it.

Best for: If your audience streams many videos on online platforms, like YouTube and Google Video, FLV is the video format for you.

Pros: Their file sizes are usually small, so people can quickly download them.

Cons: The only drawback of the video format is that it’s not compatible with iOS devices and many other mobile devices.

5. AVI

One of the oldest video formats, AVI, was developed by Microsoft in 1992. Since then, it has become one of the most versatile, compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, and supported by most web browsers.

• Best for: AVI is best for short videos and television.
• Pros: AVIs are compatible with most operating systems and boast excellent audio and video quality.
• Cons: The AVI video format file size is large, which is more conducive for people to store on their computers than to stream or download.

6. AVCHD

Panasonic and Sony developed AVCHD, the highest-quality video format, specifically for digital camcorders, so it’s perfect for those who regularly shoot high-end videos.

Powered by H.264/MPEG-4 video compression technology, the video format lets you store hours of high-quality video using only a tiny amount of data.

Additionally, the video format has both standard and high-definition variations, and its latest variation, AVCHD 2.0, even supports three-dimensional video.

• Best for: AVCHD is best for creators shooting high-end videos.
• Pros: AVCHD is small in file size and doesn’t experience much loss in data quality.
• Cons: This format has very limited compatibility because it’s developed for use with Panasonic and Sony products.

Now that you know the best video format for your content, you’re ready to create outstanding, engaging videos that will reach your audience.

The year I turned 30, I started a new job. The role was a management position and carried strategic responsibility for marketing, communications and PR — all things I was excited about.

Also tucked in the job description? Event planning for a festival and various smaller events. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to take a crash course in event marketing.

Event marketing is planning and executing an event with the goal of promoting a brand and its products and services. Events are opportunities for building brand awareness, engaging target audiences including new and existing customers, and generating leads.

Because the goals fall under marketing, the responsibility typically falls to the marketing team. Planning an event that attracts prospects and makes an impact starts with your event marketing budget.

I’ll walk you through how to create an event marketing budget with what to include and share tips from event planning experts along the way.

Deal? Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• How much of your marketing budget should be for events?
• What does an event marketing budget go toward?
• How to Create an Event Marketing Budget
• Tips for Creating the Right Event Marketing Budget

How much of your marketing budget should be for events?

First, how much of your marketing budget should you dedicate to events? Experts say that companies spend around 10-20% of their marketing budgets on events on average.

Gartner found companies spend an average of 17.1% of marketing budgets on event marketing, while Amex found the number to be closer to 14%. This is on the rise, especially in the past two years. A Zuddl survey found that over 50% of marketers expect budget increases.

Of course, this number depends on many factors. What’s your industry? What is the goal and ROI of each event? Is the budget offset by ticket or sponsor revenue? Is your event in-person, virtual, or hybrid? Take all of these questions into consideration as you plan.

Event Marketing Budget Formula

Let’s take a ballpark percentage of 16% and calculate your event marketing budget from it.

Annual marketing budget X 0.16 = Event marketing budget

So if your marketing budget is $1 million, calculate 1M X 0.16 = $160,000 to estimate a good event budget.

What does an event marketing budget go toward?

Calculating a budget based on an industry average only gets you so far. To propose a realistic budget, you also need to research the estimated expenses to pull off your vision.

According to Knowland’s 2023 State of the Meetings Industry, increasing event expenses is one of the biggest concerns for event organizers. Almost half (46.3%) of event professionals said rising costs are their biggest obstacle when planning events.

Here’s how Zuddl found B2B companies broke down their event budgets.

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Here’s what to consider as you plan your event.

1. Venue and Food/Beverage Cost

Venue and food/beverage is typically the largest budget item for events, eating up 15-35% of your overall budget. This goes far beyond room rental fees. Don’t forget to look for any hidden costs that might pop up.

Here are some factors to keep in mind:

• Event location. Venues in major markets have a price tag to match. While some event organizers save on costs by moving their events to secondary markets, this can impact attendance. Conference attendees rate venue location and travel/accommodation costs as two of their top three priorities when deciding whether to attend an in-person event.
• Food/beverage. Will you provide coffee, snacks, and meals, or expect attendees to purchase them on their own? Your choice impacts the event experience, especially if attendees need to leave the event to buy food. A Bizzabo survey found that catering alone accounted for 20% of event budgets.
• A/V (Audiovisual) needs. For each room you rent, you likely need a lighting or IT technician to make sure everything’s running smoothly. 55.4% of event planners expect A/V costs to rise by over 20% in the near future. Bizzabo reports that event planners spend nearly 8% of event budgets on AV alone.
• Set design. If you have a keynote stage, consider the set design and what it will cost to get the look you want.

2. Entertainment/Speaker Fees

Marketers spend 15% of an event budget on average on speakers and entertainment. Be sure to budget an honorarium and possibly accommodations for your keynote speakers and consider whether you’ll book a band or other entertainment to set the mood.

3. Technology

Technology has grown to become a huge part of the event experience. If you run a hybrid or virtual event, technology will make or break the experience and should make up a larger percentage of the budget.

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Consider these event statistics:

• 65% of events post-pandemic are primarily in-person, followed by 20% virtual and 15% hybrid
• Almost 9 in 10 events offer some kind of virtual component or recording afterward
• 63% of attendees expect in-person conferences to use modern technology
• 69% of organizers say event software has a major impact on the success of their events
• 68% of attendees say it’s vital to have a mobile event app, and 56% say the app can make or break their event experience.

Technology budget items to consider include registration and event management software, live or after-event streaming, and a mobile app.

4. Marketing

Your event can’t drive brand awareness or deals if your target audience isn’t there. So, marketing is key to making sure the right audience is there to hear your message. Consider these costs and channels to attract attendees.

• Digital ad campaigns. Digital ads are one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to market an event. For B2C events, consider location or interests when targeting your demographics for digital ads. For B2B, use social media retargeting or keyword search to connect with relevant audiences.

• Direct mail campaign. Direct mail is more expensive but can be highly effective if you’re inviting members or current customers to your event. Printed invitations stand out from the digital noise and add gravitas to your event.
• Print and out-of-home advertising. If you’re running a consumer event like a food festival, consider local ad placement on billboards, buses, or in local magazines to reach interested parties.
• Sponsorships and cross-marketing. Work with industry groups or local partners to cross-market your event to similar audiences. This can be free (the best!) or can incur a sponsorship cost, like placing an event ad in a relevant email newsletter.
• Agencies and consultants. Almost half of event planners work with a marketing agency for their events, according to the Amex 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast. An event marketing agency can market your event through creative design, advertising strategy in markets you don’t know well, or PR for media coverage.
• Owned and organic channels. Remember that some of the best tactics like email marketing, organic social media marketing, and word-of-mouth carry little-to-no cost.

Keep in mind that new events will need a larger marketing effort than established ones since they don’t yet have brand recognition and returning attendees.

Consider allocating 10-15% of your event budget to marketing a recurring event and 15-20% of your budget to marketing a new one.

5. Signage and Swag

Don’t forget about the little things! Printed signage helps attendees navigate your event smoothly and can bring in more street traffic for unticketed events.

Name badges, branded pop-up banners, and other little touches serve both a functional and aesthetic purpose.

Swag and giveaways help to drive excitement about your event and give attendees a reason to remember the event after the fact.

6. Accessibility and Sustainability

Nearly 60% of event marketers have a plan for addressing accessibility and inclusivity, Zuddl found. Extra may include closed captioning and interpretation for sign language and multiple languages. Other costs may be wrapped into technology or venue choice to reach your inclusivity goals.

While sustainability is still a lower priority (prioritized by 34% of event organizers), it is growing. B2B event attendees rank sustainable practices as the fifth most important factor in attending an event, beating out registration cost, exhibitors, and speakers/content.

Strategies may include selecting green venues, local sourcing, or hosting virtual events. Another strategy could be investing in a refillable water station and branded water bottles instead of plastic ones. Like accessibility, sustainability can touch multiple budget categories like venue, food and drink, and swag.

7. Contingency and Insurance Fund

It happens. Snowstorms, venue damage, speaker cancellations, or higher costs than expected mean you could go over budget or even need to cancel without recouping costs. Allocate at least 5% of your budget to a contingency fund and insure your event in case you need to cancel and issue refunds.

How to Create an Event Marketing Budget

Now that you understand the main categories, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. If you’re creating an event marketing budget for the first time, follow these steps.

1. Define your event goals and objectives.

First, discuss your goals and objectives for the event (or events). Saying your goals out loud will help you cast a vision and get approval from higher-ups for the budget you need.

2. Research and estimate costs.

Next, put on your research hat and research how much it will cost to pull off this vision. It might be that you’ve already been given a budget from above, so you want to see if that budget is enough to reach your goals.

Go through the budget items listed above and reach out to vendors to estimate your costs. Some of this research can be informal, while others may need a formal RFP process.

While you can do some of this research online, Googling only gets you so far. I’ve found that a phone call with a vendor or a venue visit can be much more effective than online research. Call other marketing professionals in your network and ask them about venues and tips for creating a good experience.

3. Determine fixed and variable costs.

In event planning, some costs are fixed while others are variable.

A venue rental is fixed, for example, while per-person catering fluctuates depending on registration numbers. Identifying these variations helps you understand how much money you need

This is also a good time to distinguish between must-have and wish-list budget items. For instance, you may determine that a mobile app is non-negotiable, but a floral budget may be a wish-list item to add only if you reach a certain revenue threshold.

4. Identify potential revenue sources.

When creating your budget, estimate how much you plan to bring in to offset your costs. The most common sources are ticket revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise. Estimate your target revenue and a minimum number you’ll need to bring in to break even.

5. Write a budget proposal and finalize your budget.

After all of the above steps, write a formal budget proposal outlining your event goals, budget breakdown, expected revenue, and fixed and variable costs.

If you have already received a budget number from leadership, you will need to make a compelling argument to increase that amount. Meet with leadership, answer any questions about the proposed budget, and consider creative adjustments until all parties are satisfied.

6. Track your budget.

Once you have the stamp of approval on your budget, get cracking on execution! Event planning takes months or even years, so tracking your spend is critical for success. There are a few different ways to track your budget.

Use a spreadsheet for budget tracking.

The simplest method is sometimes the best. Create a detailed budget spreadsheet with all of your projected expenses and revenues, and add in your revenue and spend as it comes in.

Get started by downloading HubSpot’s eight free budget tracking templates here.

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Use budgeting software.

A dedicated budget and financial management software can help you track your budget plan, expenses, and receipts all in one place.

While common accounting software like QuickBooks can meet your needs, a dedicated events tool like Planning Pod, EventPro, or Cvent can manage budgeting in addition to registrations, project management, and other event functions.

Integrate with your marketing tracking.

Since event marketing is part of your overall marketing strategy, there’s a good argument for wrapping the spend tracking and ROI into your larger marketing tracking.

For instance, if you use HubSpot to manage your marketing campaigns, you can manage a campaign budget in Marketing Hub to promote your event. The tool will track your budget total, spend total, and remaining budget in real-time — and how many conversions resulted from the campaign.

7. Track and measure ROI.

Event ROI can be really tricky to measure. Registration numbers, attendee satisfaction surveys, session/booth engagement, and social media mentions are all good metrics to gauge success.

But here’s what’s even more valuable than reporting event registration numbers or budget totals — tracking the effectiveness of events on your KPIs, like leads and sales.

If your goal is marketing your brand and driving growth, you have to look deeper. When you track ROI, the results can be powerful. Zuddl survey participants reported that 44% see a 1-2X ROI, while 56% experience greater than 3X ROI.

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When it’s time for next year’s event budget cycle, you’ll need to prove that the event had some impact to justify the expense. Here’s one way that marketer Ryan Gunn used HubSpot to track the impact of in-person events on his pipeline.

“Measurement is always tough because events don’t typically see results right away,” shared Drew Bush, senior events marketing manager at Propel.

“The influenced pipeline and positive feedback from customers and attendees will help drive future events and budgets, but it’s tough to define. I typically measure ROI by attendance and pipeline, deals, and upselling that are influenced by individuals who attended our event.”

Tips for Creating the Right Event Marketing Budget

I know I needed inspiration and mentorship to become a successful event planner. I asked experts for their best tips for event planning and budgeting. Here are the nuggets they shared.

1. Align stakeholders.

Creating an event marketing budget is often a collaborative, cross-departmental effort. It requires working with stakeholders in the initial budgeting process and continuing throughout the event lifecycle.

“Some of the toughest challenges are aligning with key stakeholders on the priorities for an event,” shared Bush.

“A great way to align on top priorities is to have kickoff meetings with stakeholders. In some cases, our teams have followed the RACI model and in others we’ve had weekly syncs with the executives to keep track of progress.”

2. Narrow down your ICP.

Understanding your audience is key to creating a successful event.

For instance, knowing that your audience values networking hours may lead you to prioritize food and beverage budgets for networking.

Conduct surveys year after year so you have the data to build the event your audience wants — and drive engagement and results.

Knowing your ideal customer profile (ICP) can also help you market your event more effectively and affordably.

“Our product team has worked really hard in determining our ICP so we know who to target,” shared Bush. “I’m a huge fan of social media, especially LinkedIn. This works well for our current team as we’ve determined our ICP.”

3. Consolidate vendors.

“If you’re looking for a venue, you might want to go for a venue that will have all other vendors in-house,” recommended Lady Jane Acquah, Special Events Manager for Integral Care.

“From my experience, if you have a venue and you have to bring in people to bring in furniture, to do the floral arrangement, to provide AV or even catering — all of that is costly. But if you have one venue that can provide all of these services, it definitely cuts down on the price.”

The same goes for technology. The more you can consolidate tech platforms for registrations, event management, budgeting, advertising, and analytics, the more time and money you can save.

4. Leverage relationships.

While some costs are fixed, never underestimate the power of relationships in creating an effective event marketing budget. Work with good vendors again and again and don’t be afraid to negotiate to add services or cut costs.

Relationships and partnerships are also a free or low-cost way to market your event. Consider cross-marketing and strategic endorsements or event promotion from partners and longtime contacts to drive event interest.

Drive impact with a well-planned, well-executed event.

In my years planning events, the number-one thing I learned was to stay flexible.

No matter how well you plan, there will always be roadblocks and unexpected expenses that pop up.

Being detail-oriented is important, but the event planner who’s scrappy, creative, and negotiates well will succeed in event budget management.

From understanding how much to allocate to tracking expenses and measuring ROI, building a comprehensive event marketing budget sets you up for a seamless and impactful experience.

Remember to be flexible, consult experts when needed, and always keep your event goals and audience top of mind.

Graphic design has come a long way since I started in the arts nearly a decade and a half ago.

Improvements in tools like Photoshop or my personal favorite, Procreate, from then to now have helped remove creative roadblocks and speed up the design process. Then, user-friendly design tools like Canva have made design more accessible to non-specialists.

Now, it’s 2024, and we find ourselves in the throes of the “AI revolution.” We’re met with a ton of AI tools for graphic design that promise to streamline our creative workflows and more.

But is the juice really worth the squeeze with these tools? Today, we find out.

Table of Contents

• Why use AI for graphic design?
• How I Tested the Best AI Graphic Design Tools
• AI Tools for Graphic Design

Why use AI for graphic design?

From removing creative blocks to saving time, here are three reasons to consider adding AI to your graphic design process.

Remove Creative Blocks

One of the main benefits I’ve found by using AI is that it helps me remove creative blocks.

So, when I’m writing and hit a wall, rather than staring at a blank screen, I might ask ChatGPT to generate an example use case for something. Even if the text it generates is clunky and unusable, it at least gives me a starting point.

When it comes to design, specifically, the same goes for something like color pairing. Without AI assistance or pre-created palettes, I struggle to choose more than one color for a design. (As you’ll see later, a specific AI tool for graphic design can help remove that creative block.)

Creative Experimentation

As an Illustration graduate who specialized in printmaking, I can tell you first-hand that creative experimentation in real life gets messy.

Not only is the process often messy, but it can take up a lot of space. Before you know it, multiple physical versions of your experimentations are mounting up, and the next issue is where to store them.

Aside from that, non-digital creative experimentation is often riskier. Without the faithful “Ctrl Z” or equivalent at your disposal, you’re always one move away from ruining a design. The crux? It’s enough to put you off even trying, and that’s not good for business.

But I’m not just some random ex-art grad on a soap box lecturing you about creative expression without just cause. I’m also a business owner shouting from the rooftops about one key fact: Experimentation is the driving force behind innovation.

So, the more you can encourage it in yourself and, if relevant, your organization, the better.

Save Yourself Time

There’s a reason 95% of professionals using AI say it helps them spend less time on manual tasks. And a further 83% say it helps them focus on the creative aspects of their role.

Through automation, AI can help you simplify your creative workflow, be it through bulk edits or generating designs in a few prompts. Also, by removing creative blocks and providing a way to experiment at speed, you can get from a concept to a final design much quicker.

That said, there’s something magical about creating a physical piece that you can hold in your hands. And without all those years spent in the print room or experimenting with different mediums — from textiles to gloopy oil paints — I don’t think I’d understand how to use AI to achieve my desired outcome.

How I Tested the Best AI Graphic Design Tools

I tested each tool against the following criteria:

• Price. I wanted to know if you could get started with the tool for free. (As a side note, it’s worth exploring how much it will cost you to actually download and use the end product for commercial purposes.)
• Ease of use. I wanted to test how intuitive and user-friendly the design platform was.
• Design capabilities. I wanted to know how broad each tool’s design capabilities were. More specifically, I tried to understand whether the tools’ AI elements were overhyped or genuinely helpful.
• Licenses and copyright. I wanted to know if you could use the end products commercially. Bonus points if the companies behind the tools actively protect people from potential legal action after using designs created through the platform.
• Ethics. As a creative, I was curious about how each company trained the AI models. I personally would prefer not to use a tool that didn’t work with creatives fairly or didn’t openly state how it trained the models.

AI Tools for Graphic Design

I road-tested six tools for graphic design. Here’s what I found.

1. Adobe Express

Adobe Express is an all-in-one AI content creation app that allows users to make stunning social posts, marketing images, flyers, and more.

Its AI tools are powered by Adobe Firefly, a generative machine-learning model specifically for design. 

Though Adobe Express is available for everyone,  HubSpot’s newest integration allows HubSpot users to use the AI content creation app to make aesthetically pleasing marketing materials without leaving HubSpot.

A popular use case for Adobe Express is to “create stunning, life-like images.” However, you can also use the tool for AI photo editing (i.e., changing backgrounds and removing unwanted elements from your images).

I decided to try Adobe Express for generating images from scratch. For context, remember what I said earlier about having an Illustration degree and spending a lot of time in a printmaking studio. So, I’d definitely say my bias is toward the more painterly/illustrative side of graphic design.

My prompt: “A simple black outline of a mountain drawn in the style of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings drawings colored with random splotches of drawing ink in magenta, blue, purple, and gold.”

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I was actually quite impressed with the output, especially considering I only prompted the tool and didn’t configure any of the settings initially.

But how does Adobe Express stack up when you get more specific with the settings? I chose Art as the content type to find out.

In my opinion, the setting change didn’t make that much difference to the output. But that could be because the original prompt was biased towards an “art” type of output anyway.

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As a further experiment, I also adjusted the prompt to bring more whitespace into the mountain portion of the design. Adobe Express interpreted that as more whitespace, in general, rather than in the mountain section itself. Long story short, that didn’t work out as I envisioned, so I ditched that portion of the prompt.

I will say that with something like this (personal work), it’s often about the journey as much as the destination. And even though it took mere seconds to produce, it wasn’t as fun to create this digitally as it would’ve been by using traditional printing or even with biro and drawing ink.

What I like: Adobe Firefly, which powers Adobe Express, first piqued my interest in 2023 when Sarah Rogers, a Contributing Artist at Cricut, posted about the tool on LinkedIn.

Best for: Adobe Express is best for individual graphic designers, design teams, students, students and teachers. And anyone looking to improve their design skills using a responsible AI tool.

Pricing: Get started for free.

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I’d followed Sarah’s thoughtful LinkedIn posts about AI for a while. And we both seemed to have a similar mindset regarding its use within creative endeavors. I don’t want to speak for Sarah, but as for me, here’s my mindset:

• Yes, you might be able to speed up your creative process with AI — if you know how to use it.
• No, you shouldn’t fire all of your creative team and replace them with AI.
• And yes, you should keep a healthy level of skepticism regarding the application of AI within your business. (A healthy level of skepticism, specifically about the output of the tools, legal issues like licensing, and how the models are trained.)

So, what caught my eye the most about Sarah’s endorsement of Adobe Firefly was that Adobe is, seemingly at least, acting responsibly in this space.

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They’re arguably the most responsible folks in the design tool world regarding AI. That makes me feel more confident about any potential licensing issues and that “no creatives were harmed” in training the models.

2. Canva

Canva is a free online graphic design tool. You can use it to create a range of designs, such as social media posts, logos, and presentations.

Canva has integrated AI into its platform in several different ways, including Magic Design, a text-to-image generator, and Magic Studio, which includes AI-driven photo editing features and text-to-video generation.

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These days, I mostly use Canva to make (some might say, hilarious) memes for my LinkedIn.

However, I used the tool a lot when I offered social media marketing services, so I wanted to use Magic Studio to create a social media image.

I started with a time-saving social media template — an Instagram post specifically.

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I chose Cream Minimalist New Collection Instagram Post by Kinley Creative.

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I wanted to customize the image, so I uploaded a picture of some of my own artwork.

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I also wanted to upload a font I’d recently downloaded from Type Colony. (This is TC Kuareen if you’re interested.)

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To upload the font, I clicked on the “new collection” templated text, selected the font drop-down menu, and clicked “Upload a font.”

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Once I’d come this far, I realized I’d not used any AI features. So my next task was to try to find some. But, try as I might, I could only find two noticeable AI features within the image editor.

One of them was “Magic Write.” I could see that being helpful for designers or business owners who need help writing copy. That said, if you don’t know how to use AI well, it’s no replacement for working with a trained copywriter. Of course, the same goes for design.

The other AI feature was “Translate.” Once again, I could see this being helpful. However, like copy and design, AI translation is no replacement for having an actual translator to safeguard against translation mishaps.

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This could be my misunderstanding of the tool, but I found it hard to see a specific AI use case for social media graphic creation.

But I think the tool could be really handy for AI image editing. For example, the “Magic Eraser” edit feature gets rid of unwanted design elements, and “Magic Edit” adds to, replaces, or edits an image in a few clicks.

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What I like: Canva is really user-friendly. I feel like people with varying levels of design knowledge, and even those with little experience using design tools could use it.

I also like that the platform has introduced an “industry-leading collection of robust trust, safety, and privacy tools” through Canva Shield.

It seems like Canva is also safeguarding against intellectual property claims for Enterprise customers. Plus, they’re compensating Canva creatives for their work through an AI royalty program.

Best for: Individual graphic designers, design teams, and small to enterprise businesses.

Pricing: Get started for free.

3. Designs.ai

Designs.ai is an integrated Agency-as-a-Service platform powered by AI technology. It’s a one-stop shop for everything from logo design to social media and image generation.

You can even convert text to speech for voice-over content.

I tried creating a social media image to see how Designs.ai compares to Canva, mainly because I wanted to know if the AI aspects of this tool were more prominent.

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My first thought was that if you’ve used Canva before, it won’t take you long to get to grips with the layout for this section of the tool. But even if you haven’t, the Designs.ai platform is straightforward and intuitive. I can see most people being able to pick up this tool and run with it to some degree.

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At first glance, the social media section is very similar to Canva in terms of picking templates to customize based on the channel (Facebook, Instagram, etc.). So, it’s pretty standard stuff, really. The “Wizard” option, however, caught my eye.

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The default format is “Business Card,” but you can choose from different options, such as “Quotes,” “Product Listings,” and “YouTube Thumbnail.” I picked “Instagram Post” to compare the results to Canva.

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In addition to the different design format options, you can also choose from predetermined categories like “Events & Celebrations,” “Business, Legal & Finance,” and “Animal & Pet.” I selected “Art, Design & Inspiration.”

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As a side note, I had to sign up/sign in to upload my own title image. But I did everything until that point via the website without signing up for the platform.

After inputting the design variables, I hit Generate. The options the tool spat out weren’t standout designs, but they were better than I expected — a pleasant surprise!

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Next, I selected one of the suggested designs to see what the image editor was like. As with much of Designs.ai, the layout is similar to Canva.

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For the sake of continuity, I could’ve missed something, but unlike Canva, as far as I’m aware, you can’t upload your own fonts to Designs.ai.

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Overall, I found the platform easy to navigate and use. That said, I don’t think this would serve your needs if you wanted to create complex designs.

I also couldn’t find any information about how Designs.ai trained its models, so I’m wary of that aspect.

There is information about licensing, though. Generally, “finished projects made with our creative AI tools can be distributed to promote and advertise your business.” Still, there are specific Do’s and Don’ts segmented by each aspect of the tool (Logo, Social Media, Video, etc.) that you might want to pay attention to.

What I like: In terms of AI, Designs.ai goes a step beyond Canva. I can also see the “Bulk Edit” function coming in handy if you want to automate mass edits.

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Best for: Small businesses at the start of their journey who don’t have the budget for a designer. Individual graphic designers or design teams specializing in holistic marketing.

Pricing: Get started for free.

4. AutoDraw

AutoDraw is an AI tool that combines machine learning and drawings from artists. You can use the tool to “draw stuff fast.” In terms of graphic design use cases, you could use AutoDraw to make learning materials and custom graphics.

And for any design that requires a quick outline, I can see Autodraw speeding up the process.

A warning: I don’t have my graphics tablet set up. So everything you’re about to witness — hilarious though it may be — was done with just a mouse. I’m guessing the tool’s capabilities are far greater with a tablet or a stylus at hand.

However, without giving too much away, it proves that you can input a terrible drawing into AutoDraw and get something better back.

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I decided to keep things simple with a good old smiley face. First, I used the “Shape” tool to create a circle outline, and then I used “AutoDraw” for the eyes and nose. As you can see, the AutoDraw elements inputted by me are … lacking finesse, shall we say.

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But that’s not a problem. The “Do you mean” section on the top toolbar gives various options to finesse your drawing. So even if your attempt to draw a smiley face with just a mouse didn’t turn out so well, one click on a smiley face up top, and you’re golden.

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As you can see the smiley face is now a little less unbearable to behold. Next I used Select to select and then delete the initial circle shape I added. (It turned out to be unnecessary.) Et voila! A shiny happy clipart style person laughing … or something.

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Regarding training the models, Google used“the same technology to guess what you’re trying to draw,” as Quick, Draw!, which relied upon “artists, designers, illustrators, and friends of Google” to add drawings to the doodling data set.

I doubt the artists were compensated for their work. Still, at least they shared designs willingly rather than having them scraped by AI without their consent.

What I like: I really like that the tool is simple to use, free, and, let’s be honest, fun! However, it wouldn’t be ideal for complex design work. That said, if you don’t have a lot of time and need to visualize an idea quickly, AutoDraw can help.

Best for: Anyone who needs to convey ideas and concepts at speed.

Pricing: Get started for free.

5. Khroma

Khroma is an AI graphic design tool that helps you match your favorite colors into a series of palettes. The tool also blocks the colors you don’t like, so they’ll never find their way into your palettes.

I love that this tool is so specialized for a specific purpose. And I can see this being a big time saver if you struggle with color pairing like me.

For context, I can pick a few colors that I like, no problem. But I’m not always confident they go together and can get lost in analysis paralysis. As a result, I tend to buy pre-made color palettes for my go-to illustrative tool, Procreate.

After I clicked Generate, I was prompted to choose 50 colors “to train a color generator algorithm” personalized to me. I dove right in and picked the colors that stood out to me at a glance.

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As I picked the colors, the “likes to go” section counted how many colors I still had to choose. The color bar also started filling up with the ones I’d selected so far.

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After picking my 50 colors, I hit Start Training.

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Then, the results came in. The layout for the color pairings is beautiful, and I see a lot of potential in this tool.

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Another interesting element of Khroma is that you can visualize your color pairings in different ways, including “Type” (the view above) and “Gradient” (the view below). You can also see how your color choices look as posters, images, and within broader color palettes.

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Since Khroma helps you pair colors already in existence, I can’t see it being exploitative to creators or needing specific licenses for commercial use. But I can’t say that for certain, so do your due diligence.

What I like: When you click the information icon against each color pairing, Khroma provides you with the color codes. That will be such a time saver if you want to color match in another design tool.

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Best for: Individual designers and design teams looking to save time on color selection and pairing.

Pricing: Get started for free.

6. Looka

Looka is a platform specifically for logo and brand design. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create designs based on your input.

I started my test by entering an example company name and clicking Get started. From then on, Looka took me through a series of steps to help me create a logo.

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The first step was to pick my industry. As you can see, there is a range of sectors to choose from.

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I was then prompted to select some logos I liked, followed by some colors.

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The following steps were to add a company name (again, for some reason?) accompanied by a slogan and then to choose some symbol types.

An observation: I liked that Looka gave me notes about my company name and slogan choices as I inputted them. This could be handy advice for beginners. Plus, you can also pick your own symbols if you want to be more hands-on with the design.

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After that, Looka generated a few different logos for me. While they were competent logos, they were too “out of the box” for me and lacked the creative flair needed for brand differentiation. That said, I didn’t go too deep into customizing the logo.

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This tool shines more in the presentation of the designs than in the designs themselves. For example, I like that Looka provides design mock-ups so you can see how your logo will look on a business card, website, social media, and more.

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I couldn’t find any specifics about how Looka trained its AI models, but they at least address the potential negative impact on human designers here:

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In terms of licensing and copyright, Looka says:

“You may not use any of Looka’s End Products outside of the Site, whether for commercial or personal use, without paying all applicable and respective Fees in advance. This includes both digital and physical use of the End Products.”

What I like: Overall, the platform is intuitive and easy to use. I like that Looka doesn’t use templates; rather, it generates each design based on your specific input. There is also a wide range of font, layout, and color options.

Best for: New businesses without the budget to work with a designer. Individual designers and design teams working specifically in branding.

Pricing: Get started for free.

Looking to pair your designs with AI-powered text? Get started with HubSpot AI today.

7. Kittl

Kittl is a free, easy-to-use online design platform that lets you create high-quality designs without the steep learning curve of traditional graphic design software.

Because it’s web-based, Kittl is perfect for designers on the go or those seeking a simple design solution without the hassle of installations, updates, and storage space.

One of Kittl’s most notable qualities is its emphasis on “quick and easy creation of professional designs,” which makes it especially well-liked by users who need to quickly and easily create visually appealing social media images, typography, and logos.

But don’t be fooled by its simplicity — Kittl provides sophisticated customization options that allow you to adjust every layout element with precision.

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Kittl offers several AI-based tools such as an AI logo generator, AI vectorizer, AI product background generator, and more. To have a better sense of the platform, I decided to specifically investigate their AI Image Generator.

While choosing what to create, I discovered tons of free templates for specific projects such as T-shirt designs, business cards, POD products, and more. I settled on designing a logo and aimed to create a modern yet natural look using a pre-made template, an AI image, and Kittl’s extensive collection of fonts.

After logging in to Kittl, I started a New Project, navigated to templates, and selected a pre-made logo design from a pretty hefty template library. This added a new artboard to my project with a customizable design.

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With my template selected, I needed to create my AI image. The Image Generator was very straightforward and even if you don’t have much experience using AI design tools, you should be able to navigate the features with ease. 

The concept for my logo design was, “a sleek, nature-inspired logo in muted earth tones, with elegant typography.” The prompt I entered into the image generator was “a dreamy desert oasis.”

I was pleasantly surprised that I could choose from a variety of styles such as “cartoon,” and even “synthwave.” I settled on the “watercolor” style. 

Using the AI Background Remover, I got rid of the resulting image’s white background with a click – and viola! I was left with the image below…which is pretty awesome.

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I didn’t think the bright image matched the natural look I wanted so I tried another AI tool: the AI Vectorizer. This was surprisingly easy to use and I was able to choose how many colors would remain in the vector image.

From here I tweaked some things, like the artboard color, text color, and font. The amount of unique fonts Kittl has made it difficult to choose! I even duplicated the artboard to experiment with other brand colors.

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After I finished the graphic I went to the mockup section and chose the sticker mockup how real does that look? The text wraps around the contours of the image!

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All in all, creating a custom logo on Kittl was super straightforward. What stood out with Kittl was just the ease of navigation and use. It was incredibly easy to adjust each aspect with precision in just a few clicks.

What I like: If we’re thinking of AI tools, then I like how Kittl strikes a mix between ease of use and advanced capabilities. Because the design tools are simple to use, I could explore and make adjustments without any hassle.

Best for: Beginner or expert-level graphic designers, design teams, and POD creators. Kitt’s particularly good for individuals wanting professional quality designs without the steep learning curve of other design software. 

Pricing: Get started for free.

The Bottom Line on AI Tools for Graphic Design

Let’s be honest: A tool is only as good as the person wielding it. So, if you don’t know much about graphic design concepts to begin with, it’s unlikely you’ll create a brand-differentiating end product.

However, if you know your way around your colors, typography, alignment, visual hierarchy, balance, and the rest, AI can speed up your creative process.

Personally, I loved testing out Adobe Firefly. The end output exceeded that sterile “out of the box” template, which feels common with other tools. I also liked that you could create something painterly in style.

Plus, I love Adobe’s ethical approach to using AI. They are working with creatives to train their models responsibly and protecting product users against potential licensing and legal issues.

If you’d asked me early in my career to define what marketing is, I would have no doubts. “Marketing is about promoting products,” I’d say. But today, it’s one of the toughest questions to answer. 

The term is so broad and flexible that it’s hard to pin down.

Marketing is present in all stages of the business, beginning to end. Without marketing, you can’t truly understand your audience, create a product that fits their needs, or successfully bring it to market.

Marketers have the firmest finger on the pulse of your consumer persona.

In this guide, I’ll show you in practice what marketing is, its different types, the 4 P’s, and how it differs from advertising.

Plus, I’ll spice things up with some expert tips. Whether you’re a pro looking for a refresher or a newbie trying to get the hang of things, I’ve got you covered.

Table of Contents

• What is marketing?
• What is the purpose of marketing?
• 3 Pillar Types of Marketing
• Why is marketing important?
• Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the difference?
• The 4 Ps of Marketing

Modern marketing began in the 1950s when people started to use more than just print media to endorse a product. As TV — and soon, the internet — entered households, marketers could conduct entire campaigns across multiple platforms.

And as you might expect, over the last 70 years, marketers have become increasingly important in fine-tuning how a business sells a product to consumers to optimize success.

In fact, the fundamental purpose of marketing is to attract consumers to your brand through messaging. Ideally, that messaging will be helpful and educational to your target audience so you can convert consumers into leads.

Today, there are literally dozens of places to carry out a marketing campaign — where does one even start?

3 Pillar Types of Marketing

Where your marketing campaigns live depends entirely on where your customers spend their time. It’s up to you to conduct market research that determines which types of marketing — and which mix of tools within each type — is best for building your brand.

We have two main categories of marketing: digital and traditional. The third one, which isn’t so popular but extremely effective, also deserves a standalone place: neuromarketing. Let’s find out what comes with each.

1. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the use of online channels and platforms, like social media, email, and search engines, to promote and sell products or services.

The main parts of it are:

Search Engine Optimization

Abbreviated as “SEO,” this is the process of optimizing content on a website so that it appears in search engine results.

It‘s used by marketers to attract people who perform searches that imply they’re interested in learning about a particular industry.

29% of marketers consider SEO one of the leading trends they use. And just like in other areas, AI has made significant strides here too, greatly aiding in SEO.

Actually, 54% of marketers use AI tools for automating SEO tasks such as meta tags, link descriptions, and alt text.

Also, 45% of marketers believe AI/automation tools are best for optimizing websites, 40% say they improve the user experience, and 37% value them for saving time.

Blog Marketing

Blogs are no longer exclusive to the individual writer. Brands now publish blogs to write about their industry and nurture the interest of potential customers who browse the internet for information.

Today, most marketers use AI to assist with content creation. Nearly half (46%) rely on it for writing marketing copy, and over 40% use it to create outlines.

Personally, I love using it for proofreading — a time-saver for writers.

Social Media Marketing

Businesses can use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and similar social networks to create impressions on their audience over time.

Social media is the top place where Gen Z and Millennials discover products, with 31% of people using it to find answers.

Additionally, 17% of users buy products on social media, and most sellers find it effective, with 59% seeing more sales in 2023 than in 2022.

It’s clear that investing time and energy in social media is worth it, and one of the best ways to speed things up is by, you guessed it — incorporating AI. In fact, 46% of marketers use AI to write social media posts.

Download our free step-by-step guide and create your digital strategy.

Search Engine Marketing

This type of marketing is a bit different than SEO, which is described above. Businesses can now pay a search engine to place links on pages of its index that get high exposure to their audience. (It‘s a concept called “pay-per-click.” I’ll show you an example of this in the next section.

Recent data shows that spending on SEM is expected to reach $306.7 billion in 2024 as businesses recognize its potential for targeting and converting high-intent customers.

SEM can deliver a strong ROI, especially with well-targeted strategies. On average, businesses get $2 back for every $1 spent on Google Ads, showing how powerful SEM can be when done right.

Video Marketing

While there were once just commercials, marketers now put money into creating and publishing all kinds of videos that entertain and educate their core customers.

Marketers are turning to TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to connect with younger audiences who favor social video over search engines.

Short-form video is delivering the best ROI and is expected to grow the most in 2024, with a quarter of marketers planning to invest heavily in it.

“Use social listening tools to identify key questions from prospects and customers, and then create content to answer them, or let brand advocates do it,” suggests Aja Frost, Senior Director of Global Growth at HubSpot.

P.S. If you’re interested in blending human and AI content for your social media, I recommend this podcast where Nathan Lands and Matt Wolfe dive into the latest AI video generators, like Gen 2 and Leonardo Motion, and how they’re changing the game for all of us:

2. Traditional Marketing

Compared to digital marketing, which is all online, traditional marketing focuses on offline connections with people.

Let’s break it down.

Print Marketing

As newspapers and magazines get better at understanding who subscribes to their print material, businesses continue to sponsor articles, photography, and similar content in the publications their customers are reading.

However, we must admit that print marketing is nowhere near what it used to be.

Digital marketing has totally shaken its dominance. According to Statista, global newspaper advertising spending was forecast to reach around $28.3 billion in 2022 — a major drop from its height in 2007 at $113 billion.

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Broadcast Marketing

38% of consumers discovered new products through TV ads, suggesting that broadcast marketing is still alive and way more popular than print ads.

TV spots hit the right audience during popular shows at peak times, while radio ads catch people in their daily groove, especially on the road.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing uses phone calls to reach potential or existing customers directly. It involves two main types:

1. Outbound telemarketing: Businesses initiate cold calls to promote products, services, or gather feedback from customers.

However, based on Cognism research, the average success rate for cold calling is only 4.8%. This figure is significantly lower compared to other sales methods.

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2. Inbound telemarketing: Customers call businesses in response to ads or promotions for inquiries, orders, or support.

Honestly, I don’t like telemarketing, especially cold calling. It often feels too pushy and irrelevant. However, it’s still a part of marketing, so we simply can’t ignore its existence. 🙂

3. Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing blends neuroscience with digital and traditional marketing to understand how people make choices and react to ads. It’s one of the most fascinating things I’ve been into lately, so let me show you how it works:

• Brain Scans. Track brain activity with fMRI and PET to see reactions to marketing.
• Electrical Brain Activity. Use EEG and ERP to measure real-time responses to ads.
• Body Reactions. Measure stress and emotional responses with tools like skin conductance and heart rate monitors.
• Eye Tracking. Follow where people look and for how long to gauge ad impact.
• Behavior Tracking. Analyze decision speed and choices to understand preferences.
• Neuroeconomics: Study decision-making by combining brain science, psychology, and economics.

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Neuromarketing improves various sectors by enhancing customer experiences in retail, shaping perceptions in consumer electronics, boosting patient engagement in healthcare, understanding trust in BFSI, and tailoring content in media and entertainment, according to Business Research Insights,

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Click here to get your free introductory ebook on marketing psychology.

Why is marketing important?

I could write a book on this because marketing is important for so many reasons. But here are the top six, according to the experts I’ve talked to.

1. Marketing builds brand loyalty and customer relationships.

“Focusing solely on short-term sales shouldn’t come at the expense of long-term customer relationships,” highlights Rosario Maccarrone, director and head of student services at OPIT.

Instead, focus on a strong marketing strategy that supports ongoing growth and builds brand loyalty. Rosario points out:

“One of the successful campaigns I led at OPIT involved the revision and promotion of our course offerings. Having noted a decline in subscribing to our advanced tech courses, we launched a campaign focused on showcasing real-life applications and success stories of past students.”

He continues, “This drove immediate course registrations (short-term goal) while also building a strong alumni-student network, fostering huge potential for long-term engagement and brand loyalty.”

Free Download: How Best In Class Companies Build Customer Loyalty

Marta Romaniak, VP of global branding at Avenga, agrees with Rosario, explaining that the commitment should not end once the service is delivered:

“We continue providing insights that could benefit them, which helps build long-term trust. On the same note, if a customer purchases a short-term service or solution, we send them personalized recommendations regarding services they might need in the future. So, a short-term cooperation turns into a long-term relationship.”

2. Marketing guides smart pricing decisions.

Marketing reveals what customers want and how much they’ll pay. It helps you get a read on customer behavior, keep tabs on competitors, and spot trends so you can set prices that attract customers.

“We once re-priced our master’s degree in Data Science based on market feedback and competitor benchmarking. We reduced the cost by 15%, which resulted in a 25% increase in enrollment for the subsequent batch,” shares Greta Maiocchi, head of marketing & admissions at OPIT.

Debbie Moran, marketing manager at RecurPost, also shared one successful story from her company:

“One of the most impactful examples of re-pricing was with our ‘Enterprise Plan.’ Initially, it was priced too high for the features offered, leading to slow adoption. After restructuring based on user feedback, we saw a 50% increase in enterprise sign-ups within three months.”

3. Marketing builds brand recognition.

Marketing helps companies connect with new audiences and enter new markets. Through targeted advertising, social media campaigns, and partnerships, it can attract potential customers who might not have heard of the business before.

Ally Moisse from Pearl Lemon Group illustrates this through a recent multi-channel campaign — emails, cold calling, cold email outreach, and marketing activity on X:

“We engaged in industry conversations and shared insights, which helped us connect with leads in a more organic, non-intrusive way.”

The best thing about marketing is that it’s not strictly tied to just one channel and opens up the possibility to spread the word about a business far and wide. Moise backs this up:

“The success of our campaign came from how these channels worked together. Each approach reinforced the other, creating a consistent presence that resulted in higher engagement and better conversions overall.”

4. Marketing helps you understand customer behavior.

Marketing often reveals why your customers might hesitate to buy. What concerns or objections do people have? Worries about price or fit? Through surveys, feedback, and watching their behavior, you can learn a lot.

By identifying these issues, you can improve products and make changes that help turn hesitations into sales.

Here’s what Elisa Montanari, head of organic growth at Wrike has to say about it:

“If customers are holding back because they can’t afford your products, that’s a whole different issue than them not seeing the value in your product. Dig deep into your marketing data to understand why people are hesitating — if it’s an issue with perceived value, you can change that with the right messaging.”

5. Marketing sells the experience and JTBDs.

We use marketing to sell, but marketing isn’t about selling products or services.

It’s about selling experiences and emotions. It helps shape how customers perceive and interact with a brand. Through storytelling, visuals, and messaging, marketing creates an emotional connection that encourages repeat business and builds a strong brand identity.

Moreover, smart marketing gives potential customers a feel for the jobs to be done (JTBDs). With that, consumers will find themselves easily signing up for your services or products.

When I promoted my freelance writing services on LinkedIn, I didn’t post something like “Look at my articles, work with me.” Nobody cares about it.

Instead, my posts were tailored to the JTBDs of content marketers, my target persona. For example, I shared how one of my articles went viral and ended up in dozens of high-quality links. Or my approach to editing or spicing up content with expert tips, and so on.

This type of marketing is all about sales and improving my personal brand, but the influence is indirect. I just show my potential clients that I’ll take a great deal of burden off their shoulders by providing content that ranks and is picked up by their target persona.

6. Marketing gives a competitive edge.

Marketing helps businesses shine in a super-crowded marketplace. But this won’t happen with one good ad going viral. Sure, people will notice your brand at that moment, but a lasting impression won’t happen.

I chatted about this with the amazing Marta Romaniak, who says, “Business owners sometimes mix up advertising with marketing.” She emphasizes that advertising is just a piece of the bigger marketing puzzle.

A solid marketing strategy is what really sets your brand apart from the competition.

But getting a competitive edge through marketing doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t expect instant results from a single campaign.

It’s about consistently pushing your message, connecting with your audience, and adjusting your strategy as you go. Real, lasting success comes from sticking with it and putting in the work over time.

Let’s now dive a bit deeper into marketing and advertising differences.

Marketing vs. Advertising: What’s the Difference?

If marketing is a wheel, advertising is one spoke of that wheel.

Marketing entails product development, market research, product distribution, sales strategy, public relations, and customer support.

Marketing is necessary in all stages of a business’s selling journey, and it can use numerous platforms, social media channels, and teams within the organization to identify its audience, communicate with it, amplify its voice, and build brand loyalty over time.

On the other hand, advertising is just one component of marketing. It‘s a strategic effort, usually paid for, to spread awareness of a product or service as a part of the more holistic goals outlined above.

Put simply, it’s not the only method used by marketers to sell a product.

“If you just want to create ads when you hire a marketing specialist or set goals for your marketing team, that‘s fine, you are making their job easier. But don’t be surprised when the results turn out to be not what you expected,” insists Romaniak.

“Advertisements are good for short-term solutions as part of your marketing strategy. Marketing, though, is a key to the long-term success of your brand.”

Here‘s an example (keep reading — there’s a quiz at the end of it):

Let‘s say a business is rolling out a brand-new product and wants to create a campaign promoting that product to its customer base.

This company’s channels of choice are Facebook, Instagram, Google, and its company website. It uses all of these spaces to support its various campaigns every quarter and generate leads through those campaigns.

To broadcast its new product launch, it publishes a downloadable product guide to its website, posts a video to Instagram demonstrating its new product, and invests in a series of sponsored search results on Google directing traffic to a new product page on its website.

Now, which of the above decisions was marketing, and which was advertising?

The advertising took place on Instagram and Google. Instagram generally isn‘t an advertising channel, but when used for branding, you can develop a base of followers that’s primed for a gentle product announcement every now and again.

Google was definitely used for advertising in this example; the company paid for space on Google — a program known as pay-per-click (PPC) — on which to drive traffic to a specific page focused on its product. A classic online ad.

Where did the marketing take place? This was a bit of a trick question, as the marketing was the entire process.

By aligning Instagram, Google, and its own website around a customer-focused initiative, the company ran a three-part marketing campaign that identified its audience, created a message for that audience, and delivered it across the industry to maximize its impact.

It’s important to know that this type of marketing campaign requires proper coordination and monitoring of multiple channels. You need to adapt your approach to each specific channel yet get them to yield the same results: to generate revenue.

This is where a unified marketing software solution can come in handy. It includes the tools necessary to monitor and manage campaigns across multiple channels — from websites to emails and online advertisements.

The 4 Ps of Marketing

In the 1960s, E Jerome McCarthy came up with the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Essentially, these 4 Ps explain how marketing interacts with each stage of the business.

Download Now: Free Marketing Mix Templates

Product

Let‘s say you come up with an idea for a product you want your business to sell. What’s next? You probably won’t be successful if you just start selling it.

Instead, you need your marketing team to do market research, interpret marketing analytics data into actionable insights, and answer some critical questions: Who’s your target audience? Is there a market fit for this product?

What messaging will increase product sales, and on which platforms? How should your product developers modify the product to increase likelihood of success? What do focus groups think of the product, and what questions or hesitations do they have?

Marketers use the answers to these questions to help businesses understand the demand for the product and increase product quality by mentioning concerns stemming from focus groups or survey participants.

Price

Your marketing team will check out competitors‘ product prices, or use focus groups and surveys, to estimate how much your ideal customer is willing to pay.

Price it too high, and you’ll lose out on a solid customer base. If you price it too low, you might lose more money than you gain. Fortunately, marketers can use industry research and consumer analysis to gauge a good price range.

Place

It‘s critical that your marketing department uses their understanding and analysis of your business’s consumers to offer suggestions for how and where to sell your product.

Perhaps they believe an ecommerce site works better than a retail location, or vice versa. Or, maybe they can offer insights into which locations would be most viable to sell your product, either nationally and internationally.

Promotion

This P is likely the one you expected from the get-go: promotion entails any online or print advertisement, event, or discount your marketing team creates to increase awareness and interest in your product and, ultimately, lead to more sales.

During this stage, you’ll likely see methods like public relations campaigns, advertisements, or social media promotions.

Hopefully, our definition and the four Ps help you understand marketing‘s purpose and how to define it. Marketing intersects with all areas of a business, so it’s important you understand how to use marketing to increase your business’s efficiency and success.

Marketing is your eyes and ears.

While we can sum up the definition of marketing in one sentence, it will always feel incomplete. That’s because marketing is a mix of everything and the core of every business.

Without marketing, you don’t exist. No one will see you. No one will hear you. No one will recognize you. Without marketing, you won’t understand your audience’s needs. You won’t create the products or services they are looking for.

That’s why you need a smart marketing strategy that targets where your audience is, what they need, and shapes everything around that.

If they’re on LinkedIn, spend most of your time and effort there. If they’re on TikTok, make videos. Entertain them. Educate them. Give them what they want, and chances are, they’ll give you what you want in return.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Artificial Intelligence is hot in the streets. Straight gas. Sigma.

(I haven’t yet adjusted to being in my mid- late-thirties.)

Anyway…AI is one of the most talked about topics in the world. 

One search for “artificial intelligence” on Twitter (I’m not calling it X) and you’ll be introduced to articles on how AI is shaping the future of healthcare, art, food, and more.

We shared last time that Ahrefs reported searches for the term “AI” doubled over six years. 

Recent months have made this doubling look like child’s play.

Statista reports that since June 2022, searches for the term “AI” exploded by 283.5%.

Find more statistics at Statista.

How the B2B AI Market Has Evolved

In late 2021, AI was more of a marketing buzzword than a fully realized tool—used to dazzle without much substance behind it. Some brands treated AI like a shiny object, drawing attention without delivering real results.

Today, the landscape has shifted. 

While there’s still work to be done, the days of empty AI promises are fading. Companies are now leveraging AI in meaningful ways, from boosting efficiency to driving smarter decision-making and unlocking new growth opportunities.

Still, there are questions to be asked and answers to be had.

Fortunately, this is something that NetLine has greater visibility into. 

The Challenge

Better understand the…

• AI software market beyond its current buyers.
• Priorities where organizations are allocating resources towards.
• Top challenges in managing and using AI Software.
• Timeframe for additional investment.

The Goal

• Identify and understand how leading IT decision makers use or intend to use AI software and whether they intend to increase their investment any further within the next 12 months and beyond.
• Such observations should exclusively be captured via first-party interactions with IT buyers as they voluntarily registered and consumed related content. 

How B2B Decision-Makers View AI Investment

According to NetLine’s buyer-level intent data, AI investment was riding high in late 2021, with nearly a third of businesses expecting to adopt it within 12 months. 

2024 tells a very different story. 

Today, over 60% of companies are delaying AI investments for more than a year, signaling a shift from short-term enthusiasm to strategic caution.

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Despite all the AI-hype, more than 60% of B2B companies are delaying AI investments for more than a year—signaling a shift from short-term enthusiasm to strategic caution.
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There are a few major factors behind this shift:

• Strategic Focus: Companies are aligning AI investments with long-term business goals.
• Data Privacy: Businesses need clearer understanding before committing.
• Market Maturity: As AI solutions advance, understanding how to use them effectively remains a challenge.

While the market’s focus in 2021 was on quick wins like automation, today’s conversations have shifted toward scalability, long-term value, and cybersecurity—factors that were barely on the radar before. 

The timeline data makes one thing clear: B2B companies are in no rush to adopt AI.

Companies now prioritize thoughtful integration and future readiness over rapid adoption.

With 61% planning investments beyond 12 months, they’re prioritizing strategic preparation over quick wins. Meanwhile, 20.6% expect to invest within 6-12 months, suggesting growing momentum among those who’ve already begun laying the groundwork.

However, with only 10.2% planning action within 3-6 months and 8.2% ready to invest sooner, AI adoption remains complex and costly, requiring significant planning and budget alignment.

Marketers need to position themselves as guides, helping companies navigate these challenges and reinforcing the long-term value of AI—making thoughtful integration the focus, not rushed ROI.

NetLine isn’t the only business observing this delay in investment. 

According to the Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025, more than half of B2B marketers (56%) plan to prioritize AI-powered automation in 2025.

Another 21% view it as a low priority, while 11% don’t prioritize it at all. 

While the figures are not identical, they’re clearly related:

• NetLine: 39% of Respondents Prioritizing Over Next 12 Months
• CMI: 41% of Respondents Prioritizing Over Next 12 Months

Which Job Levels Prioritize AI Investment?

The real standout in NetLine’s data is the level of seniority among respondents.

Based on the responses, AI software decisions hold the attention of top-tier decision-makers across industries—demonstrating its growing importance at the highest levels of leadership.

• C-Level executives make up nearly a third of respondents, signaling strong buy-in from those steering the company’s direction. 
• Directors (23%) and Managers (16.5%) were eager to respond, highlighting that AI is being discussed at multiple leadership tiers. 

While not on the same level, VPs (8.4%) and Senior Managers (4.4%) were significant contributors, confirming that AI is a cross-functional topic—engaging everyone in how AI might shape their future strategies.

Let’s dive further into the details on how B2B professionals responded to these questions.

What are Your Top AI Software Priorities You Are Allocating Resources Towards?

B2B companies are leaning into AI for security and efficiency.

With 18.8% focused on managing risks and cybersecurity, businesses are treating AI as more than an operational tool—it’s a shield against evolving digital threats. At the same time, 16.5% are turning to AI to automate routine tasks, highlighting their push for greater productivity and strategic bandwidth.

Key priorities include:

• Automating & optimizing routine tasks (10.7%): AI frees teams from repetitive work.
• Improving decision-making (10.7%): AI helps businesses act faster with better insights.
• Leveraging ChatGPT & emerging tech (6.4%): Interest is growing, but cautious adoption prevails.
• Responsible AI (2%): Ethics remains a low priority, signaling a need for greater focus.

For marketers, the opportunity lies in helping businesses adopt AI responsibly—addressing both practical automation needs and governance challenges. Companies need solutions that balance efficiency with ethics, aligning AI efforts to their long-term goals and values.

What are Your Top Challenges in Managing and Using AI Software?

Managing AI software is revealing some clear friction points.

• Data management tops the list (29.5%), highlighting that even with advanced tools, wrangling data into meaningful insights remains a pain.
• Transparency issues (22.3%) with evolving algorithms show that trust in AI isn’t automatic—teams need to understand the “why” behind the outputs.
• Meanwhile, automation optimization (7.8%) and the rise of tools like ChatGPT (6.7%) present both opportunities and headaches.

AI promises efficiency, but these findings suggest that success depends on getting the foundation right—clean data, clear insights, and trust in the technology.

Key Takeaways for B2B Marketers

Let’s not get it twisted, here: AI investments are inevitable.

However, most businesses remain in preparation mode. 

Helping them understand AI’s long-term value will set savvy marketers apart from competitors making premature claims.

AI investment is a long-term game. Marketers need to understand that businesses are focused on future readiness, not immediate wins. Vendors and marketers should align messaging to help businesses prepare for AI’s future potential, rather than rushing them toward adoption.

Implications for the Market

• Caution and Strategy: Companies are still ironing out their AI readiness and integration strategies, making education and thought leadership critical in this phase.
• Challenge of Justifying Immediate ROI: With many delaying investments, those claiming quick ROI may miss the bigger picture. Marketers need to demonstrate the value of long-term, well-planned AI investment.

Priorities and Challenges

The delay in AI adoption reflects concerns around:

• Integration: AI needs to work seamlessly with existing systems, and businesses are cautious about the complexities of making it happen.
• ROI Uncertainty: Without immediate value, businesses are hesitant to invest, which is why proving long-term benefits will be critical.

Don’t Confuse Patience with Apathy

While there’s still work to be done, the days of empty AI promises are fading. 

Companies are now leveraging AI in meaningful ways, from boosting efficiency to driving smarter decision-making and unlocking new growth opportunities.

How This Data Was Captured

NetLine’s INTENTIVE platform offers B2B marketers unmatched, real-time visibility into buyer-level intent by combining first-party data with online and offline insights. It tracks behavior across 11,000+ topics, 247 industries, and over 100 million offline activities via Informa events. Key features include:

• Buyer discovery and prioritization tools to target in-market buyers.
• Event Intent for tracking offline engagement, adding a layer beyond digital signals.
• Dedicated integrations and automated notifications to streamline outreach.

By focusing on “who, what, where, and when” buyers engage, INTENTIVE removes the guesswork, helping marketers act faster and with more precision to drive revenue.

Move beyond account-level data and start your buyer-level intent discovery journey—explore our site for more details.

Several months ago, I tested several AI logo generators and documented my experience. Then my friend Michael Randall, a graphic designer, read the post, and I‘ll just say he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“[Expletive] logo generators? We’re doomed,” were his exact words.

I ended that blog post by clarifying that businesses should use actual graphic designers when designing their logos to stand out. And I stand by that, so hopefully, that gave him more faith in humanity and our friendship.

That said, I wanted to ask my friend for his perspective on AI in graphic design. So, here are some of Michael’s thoughts mixed in with my findings from other sources.

After reading, if you’re curious about integrating AI into your own workflow, check out our various HubSpot AI tools to see if any can help with your next big campaign. 

AI Graphic Design: What is it?

AI graphic design is exactly as it sounds. It’s the use of artificial intelligence to generate graphics such as infographics, ads, logos, and other forms of visual art.

The logos I created in my previous post via AI generators are examples of AI graphic designs.

How will AI affect graphic design?

According to Randall, many graphic designers already see AI’s negative impacts on the industry and fear it could cause more future problems for artists and designers.

“Designers are getting pretty stressed,” he says. “Since the pandemic, there has been a shift. Many freelancers and independent business owners have lost work in a way you would expect because of the pandemic, but then AI started to really explode.”

Randall says AI is seen as more accessible or cheaper to business owners than hiring an actual graphic designer.

“Creating a brand identity for less than $5 is something most people would jump at compared to hiring a professional for hundreds of dollars—and the latter price is justified because graphic design is labor, but people don’t think of it like this.”

Therefore, there‘s a concern that AI’s promises of accessible, affordable, and fast graphic designs could further devalue artists in the design industry.

However, some designers say the future of AI in graphic design is less clear and maybe even less dystopian. In a YouTube video, graphic artist Will Paterson said whether AI could replace designers is tricky, and no one truly has the answer.

“All I can say for certain is that despite your beliefs of generative AI—whether it’s good or bad—to say competitive and to be in the industries that we want to be in, we need to see it as a tool that can change the art and design process,” he explains.

Paterson then sites new AI graphic tools and platforms like Adobe Firefly, which only uses licensed images as its data model.

“Adobe is, thankfully, turning the conversation to more of ‘How can I make AI help creators create?’ instead of ‘How can I make AI create for us?’” he says. “I don’t know whether we’re being replaced in the future. I believe we won’t be, but we’ll just have to find out.”

The Pros and Cons of Using AI in Graphic Design

The future of AI in graphic design is a bit ambiguous, but one clear thing is that AI is here to stay.

According to Marq, last year saw an unprecedented surge in demand for AI design tools, with the search volume for AI design-related tools and software increasing by 1700% from 2022 to 2023.

Furthermore, a recent Canva survey found that 75% of global marketing and creative leaders agree that AI is essential to their creative toolset.

So, designers and business owners must weigh the pros and cons of using AI when integrating it into their marketing or designs.

One benefit of AI in graphic design is that it can help artists speed through repetitive or tedious tasks. Even my friend Michael has found a use for it in his work.

“I work in architecture, particularly signage and wayfinding,” he explains. “I take photos of existing spaces and do mock-ups. Instead of doing the hard task of removing a person or other existing elements in the photo I took, I can use the generative fill to cut through that task pretty easily.”

He stresses, “That’s the only context in which I use AI in graphic design.”

Another pro is that it can make graphic design more accessible for newbies and small business owners.

For example, I’m not the most design-savvy person. I like to think I have an eye for color and a strong enough sense of style to know how to fit different elements together like puzzle pieces.

However, I lack the expertise to make gorgeous designs like those of trained artists like my friend or other graphic designers.

So, I benefit greatly from platforms like Canva that boast various AI-driven design tools that help me create featured images, YouTube thumbnails, and high-quality social media graphics that are easy on the eyes.

I’m especially fond of its Resize and Magic Switch tool, which allows me to swap formats, languages, and dimensions in my designs in seconds.

However, one con is that an overreliance on AI in graphic design can result in materials devoid of creativity or originality. For example, I tested five AI logo generators and found that all their designs yielded similar results and created ultimately uninspired logos.

Another major con is that AI is flawed and can generate images that are, for lack of a better term, wonky. My colleague Ramona Sukhraj tested AI image generators recently, and they created some hilarious (and creepy) images.

When to Avoid Using AI in Graphic Designs

My friend Michael is pretty straightforward regarding the use of AI.

“It can only be ethical when you are using it to do a task that is not particularly skill-based, you’re shortening tedious work, or you’re using it to do things that are impossible for a human to accomplish,” he says.

In other words, avoid using AI to replace human work. Instead, use it as an assistive tool that helps designers work efficiently.

So, what does the future hold for AI in graphic design? Who really knows? I believe AI will eventually become a commonplace tool for designers, like tablets and digital pens. But I don’t believe it will be able to fully replace real graphic artists.

AI can generate but doesn‘t host creativity the same way the human mind can, and we’ll always need designers’ creativity to craft images that will stand out against competitors.

That said, Paterson was right in that artists should use it as a tool to remain competitive.