The Covid-19 pandemic was just one of the many real-life tragedies that occurred in 2020. Even before the pandemic, the world was struggling with an economic downturn. Executives and business owners sought to reduce costs and generate more revenue. This naturally lead to marketers reevaluating their marketing and advertising strategies, particularly when it came to online marketing.
Now more than ever, marketers must be able to prove the value of their efforts. Luckily, HubSpot has you covered with their latest research on what industries are spending the most money on digital marketing.
Top 10 Most Popular Industries for Online Marketing
To determine the industries that are spending the most money on online marketing, HubSpot analyzed over 200 million marketing activities from 140,000 organizations across 118 countries. The companies they work with range from small businesses to large organizations, so it should come as no great surprise that marketing spend varies widely between industries.
The results of their analysis, which you can find in the Tableau dashboard below, identify the top 10 most popular industries for online marketing. Each entry features the year-over-year growth rate for the associated industry, along with a visual depiction of the top competitors in that market.
Top 5 Fastest-Growing Industries For Online Marketing
Alongside the popular industries discussed above, HubSpot also looked into the top 5 industries that are experiencing the highest year-over-year growth rates for digital marketing.
The results of their analysis, which you can find in the Tableau dashboard below, identify five of the fastest-growing industries for online marketing. Each entry features the year-over-year growth rate for the associated industry, along with a visual depiction of the top competitors in that market.
What Are the Most Popular Industries For Online Marketing?
As noted above, the industries for which marketers are spending the most money are wildly varied, ranging from technology to healthcare to education and more. Below, you’ll find a Tableau dashboard that displays key insights from the analysis.
The data reveal a number of interesting trends, including which industries are currently growing the most, what platforms marketers are most frequently using, and more.
Tableau Dashboard
The Tableau dashboard below, which you can find in the Resource Links section of this article, features key insights from the analysis. To view the dashboard, simply click on the image above.
Which Industries Are Spending the Most On Online Marketing?
With each entry featured in the above Tableau dashboard, you’ll discover key insights into the most popular markets for online marketing. Keep reading for a more detailed analysis of these markets.
The Overall Spending Trend
As mentioned above, the industries for which marketers are spending the most money are varied, ranging from technology to healthcare to education and more. The data revealed a general downward trend in overall marketing spending, with the most costly campaign occurring in 2020 and the least costly campaign occurring in 2011. This trend can be linked to the Great Recession that began in late 2019 and the subsequent economic downturn. Many businesses closed down, reducing demand and, consequently, marketing budgets. However, as the economy began to slowly improve, businesses started to spend more money on marketing campaigns, particularly online marketing.
The data also indicate an increase in the average cost per completed marketing activity. It would appear that marketers are continuing to optimize their campaigns in light of greater competition and increasing costs. Fortunately, there are ways to cut corners and use less expensive tools which you can read about in the link below.
Top Technologies for Marketers To Focus On
The data above, which you can find in the Tableau dashboard below, feature insight into the top technologies that marketers should focus on in order to become more efficient and effective. The Tableau dashboard is interactive, allowing you to pull up to three fields of information, including the technology, platform, and size of the associated market. Using the above filters, you can discover a wealth of information, including the market size, average cost, and growth rate for each technology.
Which Platforms Are Spenders Using?
Along with the above data, the Tableau dashboard below, which you can find in the Resource Links section of this article, features a bird’s-eye view of the platforms which marketers are using to carry out their digital marketing activities.
Considering that there are hundreds of platforms and tools available to marketers, it’s no great surprise that they would turn to multiple solutions for the various tasks that they undertake. In the Tableau dashboard, you’ll see that nearly every major browser and mobile operating system is represented. While the above data only reveals which platforms are most popular, you can use the filters to dive deeper into the trends below.
The Growth Tricky
The growth rate for digital marketing is constantly changing, as algorithms and emerging technologies emerge to replace slower, more traditional methods. One of the more interesting trends that the data above reveals is the emergence of video content, particularly short-form videos. Marketers can use these videos to engage with potential customers in a more relevant and efficient manner. In terms of growth rate, the most popular video-related tasks, according to the Tableau dashboard, include creating video content (38%), preparing video content for online distribution (23%), and distributing video content (17%).
With the video content market growing at such an astonishing rate, it’s important to pause and consider how you can use this emerging platform to become more efficient and effective. One way is to create compelling short-form videos for social media platforms like TikTok and others.
Top 5 Services For Marketers to Outsource
In addition to analyzing the most popular industries for online marketing, HubSpot also looked into the top 5 service providers for those same markets. The data, which you can find in the Tableau dashboard below, reveal a number of highly reputable companies, including HubSpot itself, which offers a hosted marketing platform. The above Tableau dashboard allows for easy comparison of the five most popular services, providing you with key insights into which service providers are most efficient, effective, and affordable. For example, you can see that HubSpot is both effective and affordable, while also providing you with a wide array of features.
Top Performing Marketers
One way to become more effective and efficient is to identify the best practices of highly performing firms, which you can do via HubSpot’s Predictive Analytics feature. In the Tableau dashboard below, you’ll find the top 30 performing marketers in each of the five most popular industries above. As you can see, many of the prominent brands and organizations, including AT&T, American Express, Southwest Airlines, and Subway, utilize HubSpot’s marketing platforms to gain a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic was the beginning of the end for many businesses, both large and small. The economic downturn that followed led to many companies reducing their marketing budgets, particularly for traditional advertising. However, as the economy began to slowly improve, businesses started to spend more money on marketing campaigns, particularly online marketing. While the use of sophisticated tools and platforms can seem overwhelming, it’s important to remember that these tools make your life easier and more efficient. Consider what specific tools can do for you and how you can better utilize these tools to become more effective and efficient. In doing so, you won’t just be helping your own bottom line – you’ll be helping your clients and customers too.