We’re halfway through November, but you haven’t planned your marketing budget for 2014. Your boss expected a draft of recommendations yesterday (thank goodness you’re familiar with the “I forgot to attach the file” excuse), but you haven’t even started to research what your competitors are doing, much less what you should do.

Luckily, your frantic Googling landed you in the right place this time. We’ve put together a cheat sheet of ideas, trends, and predictions for 2014, each with a handy sentence or two of explanation.

Feel free to use the tips below to impress your boss with your preparation and insight. No need to quote us – this one’s a freebie.

Where We Are

• 93% of B2B marketers already use content marketing. [Marketing Profs]
• Marketers currently spend an average of 25% of their budgets on content – through development, delivery, and promotion. [B2B Marketing Insider]
• Currently, only 29.1% of markets have a separate budget allocated for social media. [Social Media Today]
• 72% of B2B marketers devote at least part of their budgets to email marketing. [eMarketer]

Where We’re Going

• 64% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets for 2014. Landing page optimization and website upgrades tie for second place in the same survey, with 60% planning to spend more in those areas. [MarketingSherpa]
• The top goals marketers hope to achieve through their content marketing are boosting brand awareness (82%) and generating leads (74%). [Meister Interactive]
• 50.8% will invest in marketing automation systems in 2014. [Social Media Today]
• In the UK, 55% of marketers expect their pay per click budgets to increase through the middle of 2014. [eConsultancy]
• 56% plan on increasing their social media budgets. [Media Bistro]
• 70% of B2B marketers will spend more on mobile in 2014 than they did in 2013. [Social Media Today]

We’ve posted before on why Distribion’s marketing automation solutions should be a part of your 2014 budget, but now you’ve got confirmation on why automation is necessary. If you plan on keeping up with your competitors, you’ll need to spend more on content, PPC, social media, and mobile in 2014. Automation offers the best way to minimize the time commitment involved in each channel – while ensuring you’re getting the return you want.

With these numbers to start you off, you’ll be able to put together your 2014 recommendations and confidently present them to your boss – only a day or two late. You’re welcome.

Want to learn more about how Distribion can increase your marketing ROI? Contact us for a personalized assessment of your business’ needs and how we can help.

About the Author: Sharon Eliza Nichols created the Facebook group “I judge you when you use poor grammar.”, which grew to almost 500,000 members. She turned the content into two books, “I judge you when you use poor grammar.” and “More Badder Grammar!”, which have sold 90,000+ copies. Sharon has a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law, she’s been featured in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and she works in marketing in Virginia.