Marketing Budgets in 2025: Where's the Money Going?
With inflation slowing declining and other geopolitical upheavals, we were intrigued to learn how corporations intend to modify their 2025 marketing budgets.
So we asked marketers to find out how they want to spend their marketing dollars and what they intend to accomplish with their budgets by channel.
Organic Media
25% of marketers expect to increase their organic social media budget. The primary rationale was that organic social media is an excellent way for people to learn about your company, even if it does not result in "direct conversions." 17% intend to keep things the same. The most popular explanations were that you had no choice but to be present on social platforms because that is where the spotlight is, and that social media is an excellent way to engage with your clients. The main reason for the 58% who want to reduce their budget was because their reach is consistently declining year after year, no matter what they do.
Paid media
44% of marketers intend to boost their SEO budgets. The number one reason was that most marketers believe SEO is still alive and well, as AI results have not significantly impacted most people's traffic. The number one reason given by the 39% who plan to keep it the same is that it works. The 17% drop can be attributed to several factors.
They were afraid of algorithm modifications since they didn't like how their traffic could fluctuate, and they have mostly seen a declining trend.
The second most prevalent comment was that they were concerned about how search results would look in the future owing to AI.
Content Creation
63% intend to increase their content budgets, and there were three popular responses:
1. They need to invest more money to keep up with all of the format types required by all platforms.
2. They believed that human-created material performed better than AI content. Thus they are boosting their budget after cutting it earlier in the hopes that AI will help alleviate the strain.
3. Podcasting is an important channel with far more effect than before, hence a larger amount of money is required to invest in developing a podcast.
33% intend to maintain their budget the same. The number one reason was that the content could be repurposed for numerous campaigns and formats, so they thought the investment was worthwhile even if it didn't do well on social media.
4% intend to reduce their budget as a result of AI, with the goal of using AI to help develop more content.
AI SEO
A remarkable 97% intend to spend in SEO for AI platforms like ChatGPT and SearchGPT.
They are relatively new channels that most marketers have not previously targeted, and they believe they are worth investing in at this time.
1. Only 2% intend to maintain their budget the same. The majority of these marketers have already invested in using AI platforms for sales and intend to continue doing so in the future.
2. The number one reason for the 1% who intend to decrease is because they have not seen any positive effects from ChatGPT or Perplexity advocating their company, product, or services.
Email Marketing
28% of marketers intend to boost their email marketing budget. As the list size increases, so does the expense.
1. They believe that collecting emails is more vital than ever, given the number of algorithm updates on other platforms.
2. 59% intend to maintain their budget the same. The main reason was that it works and is a significant avenue for driving sales.
3. 13% intend to decrease their email marketing budget. The main reason was that they believed they could save money by switching vendors or cleaning up their email list.
CRO and UX
59% intend to increase their budget due to the following reasons:
1. To combat the increasing cost of advertising.
2. A decent UX influences SEO rankings.
3. In a down economy, it is critical to boost ROI.
21% intend to maintain their budget the same. They believe the investment is worthwhile, and it has improved the ROI over time.
20% intend to reduce their budget, and the explanation for this was interesting. The number one reason was that they felt they had already optimised their conversions and didn't believe they could obtain much more of a boost.
Community Building
81% intend to increase their community-building expenditure. The following were the most popular reasons why:
1. With AI, human connection is gradually fading, and marketers believe staying in contact is more crucial than ever.
2. Customers no longer interact exclusively through your website or by phone. Staying in touch requires you to use a variety of channels.
3. Some people believed that in-person events were back and more powerful than ever.
Only 3% intend to maintain their budget the same. The main reason was that they thought it was working, but owing to economic constraints, they couldn't increase the budget.
16% reduced their community budget. The primary reason is economic difficulty, and community is a more challenging channel to quantify ROI on.
Other Channels:
Given the shift in emphasis, the budget increase for podcasts, influencer marketing, and CTV was unsurprising. However, the remarketing budget jumped by an astonishing 89%.
1. The main reason is that advertisements are growing more expensive, making it more cost-effective to run content ads and then spend money on retargeting to entice those people back to market your product or service. In other words, many marketers employ retargeting to warm up cold ad traffic.
2. The decreases were primarily the result of economic conditions or a reduced ROI. The main cause for the decline in influencer marketing was the difficulties of administering the process internally, as well as the staffing costs associated with maintaining all of their influencer relationships.
Conclusion
Marketing budgets in 2025 reflect a strategic shift toward high-impact, cost-effective channels. Brands are prioritising AI-driven SEO, content creation, and community building, recognising their long-term value in customer engagement and retention. Paid media, CRO, and UX investments are increasing to maximise advertising efficiency, while email marketing and influencer strategies are being refined for better cost management. The emphasis on podcasting, remarketing, and organic media showcases a diversified approach to reaching audiences. As marketers navigate economic uncertainties, ROI-driven decisions will define how budgets are allocated, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes to sustainable growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which marketing channels will see the biggest budget increase in 2025?
AI SEO, content creation, community building, and CRO/UX are experiencing the highest growth in investment.
Why are marketers investing more in AI-driven SEO?
AI platforms like ChatGPT and SearchGPT are emerging as crucial search channels, making them a high-priority investment.
Are marketers still spending on organic social media?
While 25% are increasing their budget, 58% are cutting back due to declining reach and engagement.
Why are some companies reducing their paid media spending?
Concerns over algorithm updates, fluctuating search traffic, and changing AI-driven search results are causing hesitation.
Why is community building a priority for marketers?
With AI reducing human interaction, brands are investing in deeper customer engagement through multi-channel community-building efforts.