Something changes instantly every time someone believes they have the whole marketing thing figured out. Additionally, marketers have likely had the same sense of whiplash as marketing trends change. Staying on top of the most recent marketing trends is not always straightforward. But staying ahead of your audience is essential if you want to thrive in the fast-paced world of marketing and keep them feeling relevant.
As 2025 approaches, the marketing environment is changing at a rate never seen before due to changes in consumer behavior, technology breakthroughs, and the need for more personalised experiences.
AI-powered personalization is the new benchmark.
Customers want marketing to feel unique, not generic. Personalisation is becoming the norm rather than an option. Marketing is still being revolutionised by artificial intelligence (AI), which allows companies to provide highly customised experiences on a large scale. Businesses use AI to improve customer engagement with chatbots offering real-time assistance and AI-driven content recommendations. Anticipate more marketing techniques dominated by AI-crafted emails, personalised product suggestions, and predictive analytics.
AR and VR are making a comeback.
It looks like virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) could make a comeback in 2025. Thirty-five percent of marketers included AR or VR in their plans in 2021, and almost half of them intended to raise their spending in 2022. However, nearly a quarter (27%) of marketers intended to abandon VR and AR by 2023 completely. However, only 13% of marketers plan on decreasing their investment in VR and AR in 2024, and 84% plan to invest as much as the previous year or more. Marketers may have been slower in embracing this trend because of the equipment’s high cost and the headsets’ large size. But, as VR glasses and AR apps became more accessible, the trend is experiencing a turnaround.
Short-form Video Content (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, etc.) will continue to rule.
A recent poll found that 36% of American consumers claimed they would likely purchase anything after seeing an advertisement on TikTok, while 56% said they had already done so. Neil Patel, CMO and co-founder of NP Digital, said, “Video builds a deeper connection with your potential customer base, and it is easy for brands to repurpose video content into podcasts and text-based content.” Therefore, it should come as no surprise that according to HubSpot polls, 38% of marketers are keeping their investment the same from previous years, while 53% of marketers are utilising short-form videos like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikToks in 2024. Just 8% of respondents said they would cut back on their investment. Short-form videos need less bandwidth to produce, and they are a good fit for internet audiences of all demographics with short attention spans. It’s also crucial to note that businesses may deliver video content on a shoestring and with minimal resources.
Creating content reflecting the brand’s values will be key to retaining your customers.
According to Consumer Goods Technology, 82% want a brand’s values to match theirs. In addition, 75% of consumers claim to have severed their relationship with a business due to a disagreement in their principles. Brands will highlight their beliefs and positions on pertinent issues to maintain the favor of their target audience. According to HubSpot polls, 43% of marketers plan to raise their investment in content that reflects their brand’s values, and 45% plan to boost their commitment from 2024 levels. Just 9% of them will lose money. In 2025, consumers will be more ecologically and socially sensitive than before. Customers will be loyal to brands prioritising sustainability and genuinely supporting social concerns. This expanding audience segment will respond favorably to open communication regarding environmentally responsible procedures and campaigns with a clear goal.
Native advertising/sponsored content is still valuable.
In 2024, more than one-third (36%) of marketers intend to grow their native advertising budget, while 56% plan to keep it the same. Just 9% of respondents said they would cut back on their investment. Given the importance of native advertising, these figures shouldn’t come as a surprise. Native advertising is intended to blend in and introduce your company to a new audience that would not have otherwise heard of you, unlike traditional advertising, which is meant to stick out and disrupt. Customers are more inclined to consume native advertisements since they don’t “feel” like conventional commercials; they are viewed more than 50% more frequently than banner ads. Campaigns, social media, search engine results, and content recommendation systems are a few examples of native advertising. One well-known social media platform that frequently collaborates with businesses for native advertising is Instagram. Brands can discreetly promote a product by using Instagram Story or Shop features to share posts that resemble the posting habits of the typical user’s followers.
Influencer marketing is still crucial.
In 2024, influencers were everywhere. It was impossible to browse social media without influencers endorsing different goods. One of my favorite influencer marketing strategies in 2023 came from skincare company La Roche-Posay. At the US Open, where spectators would be exposed to the sun while watching the matches, the firm collaborated with influencers such as Jae Gurley to market its sunscreen products. According to a HubSpot survey, 84% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget by 2025. Marketers may increase brand exposure and acquire followers from the influencer’s audience by working with influencers and opinion leaders in the sector. A company can achieve more success at a lesser cost by collaborating with micro-influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers instead of celebrities or macro-influencers. Micro-influencers were the most popular choice for influencer marketers in 2023, with 64% of marketers who collaborated with creators and influencers using micro-influencers.
Blogging isn’t going anywhere.
Blogging has been a common marketing strategy since brands started building their websites. But the age of this tactic shouldn‘t be a sign that it’s out-of-date. Blogging has been used for so long simply because it works—so much that one in three marketers leverages their blog or website. Aside from providing consumer engagement and potential conversion, blogs also offer a crucial benefit to your website or online pages: search discoverability. Ultimately, sites with robust blogs have more search potential and can implement SEO strategies much easier than sites that don’t. Think about it this way. Suppose a prospective client wants to hire a virtual accountant, and your firm’s site has a blog post highlighting tax tips or strategies your accountants use. In that case, this person might find your post or website via Google search, read your post, explore your website, and then decide that they want to contact you for a consultation or accounting assistance. Blogging is also where AI tools play a vital role. They can significantly speed up the content production process and stay ahead of the competition if you use them properly.
Selling on social media will be even more normalised.
Many social media platforms are vying to become the next go-to shopping destination. Instagram has Instagram Shopping; Facebook has Facebook Shops; and TikTok is testing new e-commerce and partnership features. This shift is already impacting consumer shopping habits. For instance, 71% of Gen Z-ers prefer discovering new products on social media. The same is true for 51% of Millennials. So, it is safe to say social media shopping will continue to become the new norm this year.
Link-building will help brands grow authority — and search rankings.
When sites with solid rankings begin to link, Google’s crawlers note that your site might be credible and have solid authority in your space. This can then trick your Google ranking to go up. This, ultimately, is the goal of link-building — or getting other sites to link to yours. Although writing highly shareable content, reaching out to share it with other websites, or ensuring that your post gets links can be time-consuming and challenging, research shows that this time and effort pays off. Of the 48% of SEO marketers that use backlinking and link building, 63% say it‘s their brand’s most effective SEO tactic.
Historical optimisation will help old web pages get new traffic.
Instead of developing new ideas, marketers will optimise what has worked in the past for the present. In SEO, keeping your content up to date and full of rich, engaging content will outweigh older work that needs keyword relevancy with old statistics and links. Not only that, but taking existing content and repurposing it for a new podcast, webinar, or blog post can be an efficient way to keep it relevant in search engines. While one in four SEO marketers leverage historical optimisation in their strategy, 29% say that those marketers use it as an effective SEO strategy.
Brands will need to give customers more control over their data.
Data is highly valuable in marketing—not just to a marketer or business owner. Whether it’s an email address, credit card information, or smartphone location, consumers also view their data as precious and privileged. Every business uses data, whether a software company, bank, government agency, or lemonade stand. It’s the lifeblood of marketing, sales, service, and more. But, when precious information is misused or siphoned into the wrong hands, it leads to a strong distrust in businesses and potentially exploited consumers. That’s why the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted. GDPR is an effort by the EU to give consumers greater control over their data. Under the GDPR, organisations must ensure that their data is collected legally and safely and that those who collect and manage said data will protect it and respect consumers’ rights. Following the GDPR guidelines might seem like a burden, but fines for non-compliance will feel much heavier; fines range from 10 million euros to 4% of a company’s annual global revenue. GDPR isn’t the only entity enforcing privacy mandates in 2022. Companies like Google and Apple are now taking the stand for user data. Ultimately, brands and governing bodies are increasingly aiming to give users more choices regarding the release of their data. While this is great for the consumer, businesses that leverage personal data to run campaigns must create alternative strategies and pivot plans in case they lose access to crucial data points.
Author: Amar Chowdhury
