Yearly Archives: 2023

It was an interesting year to be a marketer. Expectations were high, budgets were low, content moved at the speed of light, and marketers had to make magic happen through it all.

As 2023 comes to a close, I polled the HubSpot Media Team to see what their favorite marketing campaigns of the year were. Check out the full run-down below.

HubSpot Media’s Favorite Marketing Campaigns of 2023

The Barbie Movie

Let’s start with the obvious: Barbie owned the first half of 2023.

To promote the summer blockbuster, Warner Bros. and Mattel teamed up to execute one of the most robust, well-rounded marketing campaigns we’ve ever seen. The “Barbie” movie’s marketing engine, from experiential activations to product collaborations, had it all. Some of the highlights include:

Ken’s Malibu Dreamhouse that was listed on Airbnb
Barbie-themed co-branded products with brands like Crocks, XBOX, BEIS, and Homesick Candles
An experiential Barbie-themed boat cruise in Boston
The Barbie meme generator

However, Warner Bros. and Mattel can’t take all the credit — “Barbie” also had a ton of organic marketing support. Opening the same weekend as “Oppenheimer” led movie fans to create the “Barbenheimer” double feature trend on social media, giving both films a marketing boost. Also, anytime we saw the color pink this year, we couldn’t help but think of Barbie.

Snoop Dogg and Solo Stove

In the fall, Snoop Dogg shared a cryptic social media post implying that he was giving up smoking. Naturally, the post garnered a lot of attention, as Snoop Dogg’s marijuana use has been a big part of his brand since day one.

It turns out the post was a teaser to promote his collaboration with Solo Stove, a brand that sells smokeless fire pits. The brand announced Snoop was its official “smokesman” and dropped an official ad days after his initial social media post.

Walmart Black Friday

Walmart tapped into nostalgia marketing in a big way with its “Mean Girls” themed Black Friday campaign.

The retailer rolled out a series of commercials starring the original cast of the 2004 film reprising their roles. This campaign was well-produced and effectively targeted the largest demographic of holiday shoppers: millennials.

Millennials are expected to spend more than other generations this holiday season. The original “Mean Girls” was a generational film that many millennials know and love, and the ads immediately sparked nostalgia for this important group of consumers.

Dunkin’ Donuts x Ben Affleck

In February, Dunkin’ Donuts aired its first-ever Super Bowl commercial starring Ben Affleck. The Massachusetts-raised actor has been photographed enjoying Dunkin’ coffee several times over the years, so it made sense for him to become an official spokesperson for the brand.

The Superbowl commercial kicked off a series of Dunkin’ Donuts ads starring Affleck, and the partnership is a great example of brand alignment and a celebrity endorsement that just makes sense.

Nicki Minaj’s Gag City

Nicki Minaj has one of the most engaged fan bases on the planet. This year Minaj fans, known as the Barbz, rallied around the release of her latest album Pink Friday 2 effectively creating a viral marketing moment for the rapper.

In September, Minaj shared the album cover on social media. The cover featured her set in a pink futuristic city. Her fans quickly began using the term “Gag City” to describe the album cover and used AI to generate their own pink cityscape images to depict Gag City. Barbz essentially created an online world and generated memes to help promote the album.

Other brands like Baskin Robbins and Microsoft Bing quickly got in on the action, creating their own Gag City images and adding fuel to the trend.

While it’s unclear whether the Gag City campaign was deliberate marketing from Minaj and her label or purely an organic movement created by her fans, it’s an interesting case study at the intersection of fan UGC and generative AI.

Dove Self-Esteem Project

The Dove Self-Esteem Project had a string of stellar campaigns supporting its impact work this year.

In the spring, Dove took on social media beauty filters with the #TurnYourBack campaign. The campaign featured celebrities and influencers sharing unretouched content warning their followers about the dangers of digital distortion and encouraging them to turn their back on filters that change their natural features.

Soon after, Dove launched an initiative with Lizzo called the Dove Self-Esteem Project Research for Kids Online Safety. The goal of the campaign was to draw attention to the Kids Online Safety Act, which promotes safety on social media for young users. To support the bill, Dove produced a film called “Cost of Beauty” to highlight the impact social media beauty standards can have on young people’s mental health.

As we covered this fall, Dove also teamed up with Nike to launch the Body Confident Sport initiative, which encourages girls’ participation in youth sports during and after puberty. In addition to an educational toolkit for coaches and caregivers, the Body Confident Sport campaign included a series of YouTube videos depicting the benefits of girls’ participation in sports.

From cinema to social impact, 2023 had its fair share of effective campaigns. We look forward to seeing what marketers have in store for 2024.

It’s that time of the year…

We asked a few badass colleagues and expert Trendsters what they think will be huge in 2024. Here’s what they said:

1. Niche Sports 

Sara Friedman, Senior Writer of The Hustle

Pickleball has grown into a national craze, with courts and other related businesses popping up everywhere. In 2024, more niche sports will follow.

Source: Google Trends, six-month rolling average

Games like badminton, racquetball, croquet, and spikeball will see increased popularity through activity bars, facilities, and clubs. These sports will be used to fill vacant shopping malls and offices that are too difficult to flip into residential space.

Badminton, where players use racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net, might be the next big hit among Gen Z and Millennials, per Pinterest.

2. The Menopause Market

Arlene Battishill, E-commerce maverick, Shark Tank trailblazer

The market is finally recognizing women ages 50 and older as a huge demographic with a lot of disposable income.

One way this trend will manifest is through the continued growth of the ~$17B menopause market. Globally, menopause causes $150B in lost productivity. It’s a big pain point for half the population, and a huge opportunity for businesses.

There’s already been an influx of products created for perimenopause and menopause care, with celebrities and influencers in the mix. But the market is still ripe for disruption.

3. Leaner Tech Startups

Dan Layfield, Subscription business expert, ex-Uber, ex-Codecademy

This year, many tech companies course-corrected their overhiring with massive layoffs. In 2024, the size of tech startups will continue to shrink, and we’ll see even leaner operations make bigger profits.

Source: Layoffs.fyi

With the help of better tools, newer codebases and AI, companies will need fewer engineers to build and ship meaningful products efficiently. This trend will show most clearly in the consumer app space – think fitness, health, nutrition and productivity.

4. Cryptocurrency

Cahill Camden, Fractional CMO with two 8-figure exits, web3 and AI expert

As the bad boys in crypto get cleared out of the way, there’s now space for cryptocurrency – especially Bitcoin – to receive mainstream adoption in 2024.

Major asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity already proposed to launch spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF), which will make bitcoin more accessible to the average investor.

A spot ETF allows people to directly invest in Bitcoin, rather than Bitcoin futures contracts. It’s simpler, more affordable, and could potentially boost the legitimacy of Bitcoin in regulators’ eyes.

5. Expertise-driven SEO

Caroline Forsey, Principal Marketing Manager at HubSpot

In 2024, entrepreneurs will need to lean heavily into their own expertise when they create content for search engines.

This year Google introduced new EEAT guidelines to evaluate the quality of search results. One of the “E’s”, Experience, will drive a lot of content decisions in 2024, particularly as more users turn to AI to get their questions answered (rather than Google).

Content creators will now focus their SEO and creation strategies on expert, human-first content. They will need to ask themselves: What first-hand experience can we draw from to make this content unique and unreplicable by AI?  

6. AI Video Tools

Justin Kelsey, Founder of SwitchFrame, serial entrepreneur

OpenAI now lets you prompt ChatGPT with voice and pictures, and other developers are following suit. So I see AI becoming more ubiquitous in multimedia production, with video AI leading the pack.

Every day a new video AI startup pops up, and you can easily find 5+ such tools within a minute of search. With consumers’ growing preference for short-form videos, we’ll see even more advanced AI capabilities for video editing in 2024.

These new tools will not only make your video look beautiful and master your audio professionally, but will also be able to chop a full video into snackable bits that fit different platforms, like Instagram Reels and TikTok.

7. Anything with A Human Touch

Ben Berkley, Editor of The Hustle

As AI continually heats up, so too will that AI-can’t-do-everything backlash. Amidst all the change, people will find comfort in anything that feels innately *human*.

This holiday season, and in 2024, we’re going to see a rise in:

Paper goods, as people send each other hand-written cards and letters
Art and dance classes, book clubs, and watch parties;
Hand-crafted, Etsy-style gifts that scream “this was created by another human” rather than some bot.

This backlash will also play out in arenas like travel, as people will crave intimate connection and conversation with family, old friends, and truly anything non-GPT. They’ll hit “book” on affordable, shared experiences.

Post Content

This year, global social media users swelled to a record-breaking 4.9 billion. Statistics like these suggest that social media stocks may be a great investment opportunity — but what are the best social media stocks to invest in?

Social media is big business. One recent report valued the industry at a whopping $231 billion.

It’s also an incredibly complex market, with countless platforms, technologies, and companies all doing their best to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving space.

This article explores how to invest in social media stocks, what social media can tell us about the broader economy, and which are the top social media stocks to watch in 2023.

What are social media stocks?
Should you invest in social media stocks?
What Social Media Stocks Tell Us About the Economy
Social Media Stocks to Watch

What are social media stocks?

Of course, to craft an effective social media investment strategy, it’s important first to understand what a social media stock is.

The social media landscape is constantly evolving, but at a high level, social media refers to any digital technology that enables users to share ideas through virtual networks and communities, whether via text, images, videos, or some combination.

Some of the most widely-used platforms today include TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) — but new platforms emerge constantly, always looking to compete with incumbents and capture new market share.

Because of its massive user base, social media is a major component of many companies’ marketing strategies.

Many firms create their own social media presence on top platforms to promote their brand and engage with existing and prospective customers through comments, reposts, and more.

Clearly, social media is a critical part of the broader tech ecosystem and global economy. As such, it’s hardly a surprise that social media stocks are now crucial to many investment strategies.

Specifically, many investors may look to social media stocks to buy shares in some of the most cutting-edge, rapidly growing companies.

Should you invest in social media stocks?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to investing (and never any return guarantee), many experts have suggested that social media stocks can be a solid option for today’s investors.

For example, stock market expert Josh Dylan argues that investing in social media stocks is an “attractive proposition” for two reasons.

“Firstly,” he notes, “social media usage continues to climb, creating a vast and growing market for these platforms.”

Secondly, he continues, “the digital advertising market, a key revenue stream for social media companies, is also on a growth trajectory as businesses increasingly shift marketing dollars from traditional channels to online ones.”

To be sure, social media stocks aren’t without risk.

Dylan points out that the social media sector is “subject to changing user preferences, significant regulatory scrutiny, and intense competition among platforms.”

He says, “As with any investment, potential investors should conduct thorough research and consider the risk factors unique to this dynamic and highly visible sector.”

It’s always important to be aware of the risks associated with any form of investment.

However, according to a recent research report from Market Research Future, the global social media industry is expected to continue to experience “healthy growth” over the next decade.

So, it’s worth considering investing in social media stocks as part of a diversified investment portfolio.

What Social Media Stocks Tell Us About the Economy

In a recent report from the Carnegie Institute, market experts Claudia Biancotti and Paolo Ciocca suggest that social media has become increasingly intertwined with the broader global economy.

As they explain, “Discourse on social media increasingly affects personal financial decisions…the influence of social media on financial markets is here to stay, as younger generations start saving and investing.”

In other words, as social media continues to grow, it’s likely to have more and more influence on the broader stock market.

Especially since the social media industry is particularly relevant to younger generations, this market will likely have an increasingly large effect on the global economy as younger demographics grow and gain buying power.

Indeed, studies have shown that growth in social media may correlate with broader economic growth across sectors and geographies.

One recently published study found that increased social media penetration corresponded to a boost in economic growth across 177 countries worldwide.

Conversely, analysts have reported that when one social media stock falls, it can have substantial ripple effects on other firms’ stock prices.

For example, when shares of the popular image-sharing platform Snapchat dropped substantially in 2022, Piper Sandler analyst Tom Champion suggested that the drop was reflective of broader trends, arguing that “at this point, our sense is this is more macro and industry-driven versus Snap specific.”

Clearly, social media stocks can tell us a lot about the state of the broader economy. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, more than 80% of Americans aged 18-49 use at least one social media site.

These platforms have become a massive part of the global economy, so it’s only natural that social media stocks have become closely connected to more significant economic trends.

Social Media Stocks to Watch

In light of the importance of social media stocks in the broader investment landscape, which are the top stocks to watch in 2023?

Below, we’ve listed some of the top social media stocks based on past performance, current metrics, and projected short- and long-term growth.

Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Image Source

What They Do

Alphabet, Inc. is Google’s parent company, which operates several social media platforms such as Google Meet, Blogger, and YouTube.

Alphabet also ran Facebook competitor Google+, but this platform was shut down in 2019. Today, YouTube alone boasts more than two billion active users and more than half of global internet users access the site at least once a month.

Why They’re Worth Watching

Google has long been one of the major players driving growth in the tech sector. Today, analysts are particularly optimistic about Alphabet’s prospects for a few key reasons:

First, Google’s ad revenue has remained strong in recent months despite fluctuations and market disruptions.

In addition, while Google’s investment in AI may be somewhat overshadowed by Microsoft-owned OpenAI’s recent successes with ChatGPT, analysts have largely argued that Alphabet remains well-positioned to leverage new AI technology.

Finally, Stifel analyst Mark Kelley has argued that YouTube’s core product and YouTubeTV likely represent substantial opportunities, contributing to his “buy” rating for Alphabet in March of this year.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

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What They Do

Meta is behind the leading social media apps Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. This family of apps represents a huge global revenue base, with a market share of more than 16% in Q2 2023.

Beyond its well-known platforms for sharing posts and sending direct messages, Meta has made substantial inroads into cutting-edge technologies such as Virtual Reality and wearable devices.

Why They’re Worth Watching

In its most recent annual investor letter, investment management firm Davis Advisers expressed confidence that while Meta has hit some stumbling blocks,

David Advisers says its “growing user base, as well as the continued growth in the amount of time users are spending on these platforms, is a far more important indicator of Meta’s relevance and value.”

In particular, Davis Advisers pointed to Meta’s ad revenue per user being up more than 30% since 2019, as well as its three billion active users (which represents one of the largest user bases of any company in history), as indications of its enduring success.

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

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What They Do

Match Group focuses on a specific niche within the social media space: online dating. Best known for its popular apps Hinge, OkCupid, and Tinder, Match has grown steadily (and produced double-digit revenue growth) for years.

In addition, unlike most other social media firms, Match derives most of its revenue from user subscriptions rather than ads.

This makes it an excellent option to consider if you’re looking to diversify your investments across different social media business models.

Why They’re Worth Watching

In 2023, Match expects to achieve year-over-year growth of up to 10% overall and direct revenue from its market leader, Tinder. In addition, Hinge is projected to generate $400 million in direct revenue in 2023.

The company also made headlines for its $1.725 billion acquisition of Korean social and video platform Hyperconnect, indicating its appetite for growth and expansion into new markets.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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What They Do

While Microsoft might not be the first company that comes to mind when you think about social media, Microsoft Corporation is, in fact, a major player in this space.

LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams, and Skype all fall under its purview.

LinkedIn has over 930 million members in more than 200 countries worldwide, while Skype and Teams account for more than 40% of the global market share for video call platforms.

In addition, Microsoft also owns Yammer and Flipgrid, which offer enterprise social networking and educational video-sharing services, respectively.

Why They’re Worth Watching

According to analysts from Morgan Stanley, Microsoft has “favorable fundamentals” and is “increasingly well positioned” in 2023.

Moreover, the most recent CIO survey revealed “several forward-looking indicators that indicate Microsoft’s strong relative position,” which suggests that Microsoft may continue to be a strong player in the global social media market.

Tencent Holdings Limited (OTC:TCEHY)

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What They Do

Any top social media companies analysis would be incomplete without mentioning Chinese tech giant Tencent.

Tencent is the parent company of well-known apps like QQ, Weibo, and WeChat, and its consumer businesses extend beyond instant messaging and social networking to various online gaming, video streaming, music sharing, and other services.

While its market penetration remains limited outside Asia, it was the world’s tenth most valuable company by market value in February 2022, and it was the first Asian technology company to cross the $500 billion valuation mark.

Why They’re Worth Watching

Especially if you’re looking to broaden your portfolio beyond U.S.-based companies, Tencent is one of the best social media stocks to consider.

Indeed, as global investment bank, brokerage, and advisory firm Loop Capital explained in a recent research note, Tencent’s “core gaming and payments engines show promising signs for valuation, as well as a positive outlook for advertising revenue growth.”

The research note argues that this stock is expected to continue performing well thanks to positive macroeconomic trends and expected revenue growth across Tencent’s core segments.

What You Need to Know

Importantly, this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as personal financial advice, and risks are always associated with any investment or financial decision.

However, if you want to learn more about the best social media stocks to invest in, the data-driven, expert-approved tips outlined above may be a helpful starting point.

From Alphabet’s YouTube to Meta’s Facebook to Tencent’s WeChat and countless others, the social media industry is booming around the world.

As such, social media stocks can tell us a lot about the broader state of the economy, and they can represent a substantial investment opportunity for anyone looking to buy shares in a high-growth, rapidly evolving industry.

In the 1990s, SEO success relied on keywords. In 2023, new SEO challenges have emerged.

While keywords still matter, other considerations such as page authority, loading speed, and regularly-updated content all play a role in maximizing SEO impact.

Here’s a look at eight SEO challenges brands are facing in 2023.

Top 8 SEO Challenges in 2023

1. Staying ahead of algorithm changes.

HubSpot surveyed 400+ web traffic analysts to identify top SEO challenges. The leading challenge — experienced by 50% of marketers — is staying on top of search engine algorithm changes.

This isn’t surprising — in 2020 alone, Google ran more than 500,000 experiments that led to 4,000+ changes to search. For many marketers, staying current with these changes is like hitting a moving target.

So how can you succeed when Google keeps moving the goal post? The key is to respond to these changes strategically.

First, remember that there’s no need to overhaul your entire SEO strategy in response to a minor change. Instead, your time is better spent staying on top of industry news. If a big algorithm change is on the horizon, the SEO industry will talk about it.

If a significant algorithm change does happen, wait for the dust to settle before making any moves. Why? In some cases, Google reverts to a previous version if an update doesn’t go to plan.

If you’ve spent time and effort rebuilding your SEO plan from the ground up, you’ll have to spend more time and money undoing the change.

2. Not ranking higher in search results.

Unlike paid search, SEO takes time to show results — and it’s usually a result of smaller efforts.

There are some “solutions” to fix a low ranking, such as pivoting to technical SEO and content marketing. SEO experts have also identified some factors that play into your ranking, like the E-E-A-T framework. E-E-A-T in SEO stands for “experience,” “expertise,” “authoritativeness,” and “trustworthiness.”

However, even more important is developing a long-term strategy that focuses on a handful of initiatives at a time. Remember, SEO is a long-term game. The work you put in today will pay off down the road.

Consider a recent Google search update that may be prioritizing “AI-generated crap” over human-written text. While this type of update can temporarily depress search engine rankings, changes from Google in response to search results and user feedback will prompt further changes.

3. Focusing too much on keywords.

Keywords matter, but they’re not enough to get your site on page one of Google search. Consider a company that provides mobile car detailing services.

If they spend time and money ranking for terms such as “mobile car detailing,” “car detailing at my home,” and “car cleaning service near me,” they’ll see an initial boost in search rankings.

But this lift will be short-lived if Google crawls their site and discovers that it’s full of outdated, irrelevant content.

The result? Moving up the search ladder requires a mutli-metric focus.

According to recent HubSpot survey data, just 17% of SEO professionals said that SERP rankings for targeted keywords were their top priority.

Leading the pack were sales, leads, and conversion rates (31%), total monthly visitors (30%), and click-through rates (28%).

4. Writing compelling titles and meta descriptions.

According to 400+ web traffic analysts, one of the most effective strategies for improving search ranking is writing compelling titles and meta descriptions. But writing catchy titles is easier said than done.

According to one recent study that analyzed 5 million headlines, emotional titles — either positive or negative — had a higher click-through rate (CTR) than neutral titles. In fact, both positive and negative titles improved CTR by approximately 7%. Additionally, web pages with meta descriptions get almost 6% more clicks than those without.

A word of caution here — while emotionally-charged titles can drive clicks, you run the risk of sounding like clickbait. For example, the same study found that “power words” — or words specifically designed to draw attention — can negatively impact CTR. Power words include terms like crazy, insane, and amazing. Use them sparingly, if at all.

5. Missing the mark on mobile.

Your SEO strategy should absolutely include mobile optimization.

Why? As you might expect, mobile devices account for a large chunk of web traffic — 58% to be exact — making it essential to approach your website with a mobile-first mindset.

In addition, Google now practices mobile-first indexing. This means Google uses the mobile version of your web pages when indexing and ranking pages.

The trend is clear — optimizing for mobile is key for traffic growth, SEO, and great user experience. It’s no surprise that almost 25% of companies invest in mobile as a top SEO tactic.

You don’t need to be a developer or have a large budget to optimize your website for mobile. Check out this helpful guide to learn how small tweaks can improve the mobile experience.

6. Leveraging video in search results.

If you Google “How to tie a knot,” the top search result is a video:

You can see this in action with a simple search of your own. Google a question, and see what comes up.

The first 3-4 results? Videos. It makes sense: Data shows that 75% of people watch short-form videos on their mobile devices, and are 52% more likely to share videos than any other content.

Google plans to surface videos by crawling and indexing them like any other type of content. So how can marketers leverage their video content for search? Here are a few strategies:

Add video chapters. Chapters section your video by topic, providing a layer of context for viewers. It also makes it easy for Google to understand the content in your video and use different clips in search results.

Optimize your title, tags, and description. Like web pages, videos also have titles, descriptions, and tags. Optimize these using SEO best practices.

Also, embedding videos into your website and blog posts doesn’t hurt — and can actually improve your bounce rates.

7. Incorporating generative AI.

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have made market waves since their debut in late 2022.

While worries about the full-blown takeover of SERPs by AI-driven content are unfounded, there’s no doubt that artificial intelligence plays a role in the future of search.

Consider that 74% of web analysts now say that content made with AI assistance performs better, and 65% say it ranks higher on SERPs.

The near future may also see generative AI directly integrated with search functions — 68% of professionals say their blog would see more traffic as a result.

What does this mean in practice? That companies need to find a balance between human and AI content. Posts and articles that are entirely generated by AI may provide an immediate search boost, but don’t have the authority to stand the test of time.

Human-created pieces, meanwhile, may not make best use of emerging trends. By using AI to generate topics or provide basic article structures which are then handled by humans, businesses can get the best of both worlds.

8. Optimizing for voice.

50% of the U.S. population now uses voice search daily. It makes sense — with tools such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit continually adding new functions and features, voice search isn’t just a way to find information.

Users can add payment methods and purchase items directly from their smart devices. The caveat? Finding what they’re looking for on the first try.

To help navigate the increasing importance of voice, companies need to optimize their content for natural-language queries.

For example, website content should be well-structured, easy to read, and contain high-value keywords. This is because voice searches typically start with a scan of webpages — if smart devices can’t easily parse the information available, they’ll move onto the next result.

By making the site voice-friendly, brands are better positioned to capture this growing search market.

Solving for SEO

In 2023, there’s no single, simple solution for SEO.

That’s because great search engine optimization isn’t just about keywords. Instead, it’s a combination of factors that help create a consistent experience for users, from initial search to first impressions to eventual action.

The result? Solving for SEO is an ongoing effort. In 2023, top priorities include incorporating new search algorithms, effectively incorporating video, and leveraging the power of generative AI.

New years will bring new challenges, but with a solid SEO foundation businesses are better-equipped to navigate the evolving nature of search.