The Future of Digital Marketing: Trends for 2025

As we mull over our Spotify wrapped, analyze our Q4 earnings, and pre-program several OOO messages for the holidays— we’re also keeping our eyes fixed on the digital marketing trends that await us in 2025. And while there’s no crystal ball here, we’re analyzing the trends for 2025 and predicting what will stick from this year, what to expect more of (cough, AI, cough), and where we’re heading next. Read on to get ahead…

We’re Getting Personal

Consumers are expecting customized, personal experiences and that is a trend that is only growing stronger heading into 2025. As AI advances, consumers have come to expect the same personalized experience they get on their TikTok feed across the internet. To get ahead, marketers will need to go beyond personalized product recommendations and instead look at the bigger picture. We’ll see predictive analytics and behavioral data team up to anticipate the user’s needs at every step of their customer journey.

What does that look like in practice? We’ll be seeing more ads that exist within the context of what the user is viewing and less intrusive ads. A perfect example of how we’re seeing this in action is influencer endorsements. What feels like a friend recommending their favorite product or using a certain brand of makeup is actually a seamlessly marketed digital ad. In the same vein, sponsored content might be overhauled to be more educational or entertaining. Think: a cooking video with product placement and a recipe that you’ve got to save for later.

Sustainability Stands Out

Consumers are increasingly aware of sustainability and the impact their purchasing has on the environment. Brands who have implemented sustainable measures and are transparent about their social responsibility stand out in a crowded market. While we’ve begun to see brands adopting this transparency already, expect customers to demand supply chain transparency, social impact reports, and eco-friendly alternatives in 2025.

Some examples of this could be highlighting your brand’s community impact, showcasing your eco-friendly production practices, or sharing a behind the scenes look at your supply chain and the care taken at every step in the process. As consumers become more values-driven than ever, sharing the story behind your brand’s sustainability is a must to maintain their trust.

What if your brand isn’t a product that you can make more sustainable? Consider the social impact your company has on your community and how you could improve or share the work you do in that realm. Transparency really is the key here, consumers want to see that it’s a priority for their favorite brands to be good to their employees, their consumers, their community, and the earth.

The Next Generation of AI

It’s been a big year for AI. From relatively quiet chatters of ChatPGT grocery lists to every major search engine, software provider, and analytics platform integrating AI features on the market for mass consumption. While we’ve been seeing the first Gen AI get its sea legs, the next generation of AI has already swooped in and will be here to stay in 2025.

Beyond content creation, marketers will leverage AI to ideate, edit, and personalize content to their consumer. With increased data and the ability to extract and analyze in moments— marketers will know their consumer better than ever before. Expect to see campaign optimization, trend prediction, and personalized experiences topping the list of in-demand AI features for marketers in 2025.

Speaking of Predictive Trends…

Data nerds, this is going to be your year. We’ve gotten a taste of predictive analytics and enhanced data reporting in 2024, but next year we can expect a whole lot of new features on the horizon. Honing in on the capability to create predictive models, you’ll be able to dial in campaign performance, audience segmentation, and ad creative success before you launch to a single customer.

The ability to adjust and make proactive decisions on strategy and creative decisions while in the midst of campaign creation will shift workflows and lead to more agile decision-making in the long run. We’re expecting these tools to transform how campaigns are started— using enhanced data analysis to determine if a concept will work from earlier stages and letting analytics be the guide on what direction will reach the most consumers.

It’s a Party on the SERP

As AI integrates into all of the major search engines, expect more consumers to seek out zero-click search results. Products like Google’s featured snippets and answer boxes are becoming the go-to and marketers will need to format with these features in mind. Snippet sized content, answer boxes, and local packs help you to stay visible even when you aren’t driving clicks in directly.

How do you stay competitive in a zero-click search environment? The latest data shows fewer than 60% of searches on Google lead to a click. Sure, a lot of this can be attributed to “How Tall Is Timothée Chalamet?” searches (a google answer box tells us he’s 5’10”), but what about all of those other meaningful leads that you want to click through to your website?

Before you throw out your SEO strategy— consider the bigger picture. Optimizing to be that snippet at the top of the search engine gets you a major edge over the competition even if they don’t click through: Brand Awareness. Ultimately, we must adapt to how consumers are utilizing search engines. Meet them where they’re at and get creative about using the tools you have to influence them from the SERP!

Are You Up For The Challenge?

So as you analyze how you performed in 2024 and look ahead to 2025— keep your eyes on the futuristic tech that is leading the way for digital marketing. Changing, adapting, and growing an audience in new and creative ways is nothing new for digital marketers and we can’t wait to search, scroll, and swipe our way through the next generation of digital ad content in 2025.