The most comprehensive marketing report of 2014 is here. ExactTarget surveyed over 2,500 marketers to identify the major challenges, areas of potential growth, and channel-by-channel strategies that marketers must know in 2014. That research is now available in our 2014 State of Marketing report.

Whether you're a CMO choosing the wisest ways to invest your resources or a community manager in search of new social statistics, this illustrated report simplifies and identifies what you need to know this year in marketing.

Among the discoveries of this report:

Top three marketing priorities for 2014 are:

• Driving increased conversion rates (47%)
• Increasing and improving brand awareness (46%)
• Collecting, measuring, and using behavior (29%)

Top three metrics used to track success:

• Conversion Rates (67%)
• Engagement Rates (opens, clicks) (64%)
• Return on Investment (61%)

Four key areas where marketers plan to increase spending in 2014:

1. Data & analytics (61% plan to increase)
2. Marketing automation (60% plan to increase)
3. Email marketing (58% plan to increase)
4. Social media marketing (57% plan to increase

According to 2014 State of Marketing, 98% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their marketing spend in 2014-so if your brand's marketing budget expanded considerably in 2014 compared with last year, you're not alone. Data and analytics, marketing automation, email, social media, and content management ranked as the top five areas for increased spending this year, so expect to see more businesses tailor their content one-to-one as data investments grow alongside speedy, automated lifecycles.

2014 State of Marketing is available via free download. Below, let us know what you think about the findings.