The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, with new technologies, trends, and consumer behaviors influencing the way brands engage with their audiences. As we look ahead to 2025, it’s clear that the future of digital marketing will be shaped by advancements in content creation, consumer personalization, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-driven strategies. In this blog, we explore the top digital marketing trends that are set to dominate in 2025.
Content Creation
Further Growth of Short-Form Video
According to a study by Cognitive Market Research, the global short-form video market is expected to grow by 10.6% CAGR by 2031. Social media will continue to dominate the short-form video market not only in 2025 but the next decade. With improved video editing and recording tools, we see a user-friendly shift in content creation, making it easy for anyone to get started.
In HubSpot’s 2024 Consumer Trends Report, they show that 37% of consumers prefer short-form videos over other forms of advertising, especially when it comes to discovering a new product. In 2024, almost 90% of consumers confirmed that they wanted to see more videos from brands.
These studies show that people are already consuming media like Instagram and Facebook reels, TikTok, and YouTube shorts on a regular basis. By making short-form video content, you are making the buying process easier for the consumer by providing in-depth research for them during their downtime.
Soundless Advertising
To piggyback off of short-form videos, soundless videos will become even more popular over the next few years. People are in control of the media they consume, and it is extremely unlikely that they will opt for forced ads over auto-play ads. Using captions is something that is currently trending for 2024 and will become the standard for 2025. Captions allow people to engage with content if they are hard of hearing or are in an area where audio cannot be played out loud.
Soundless ads don’t just apply to video streaming, either. Making all your ads across all platforms as natural as possible is the key. Utilizing a less is more approach to your advertising will increase your engagement in 2025.
Social Commerce & eCommerce Platform Advertising
We are all familiar with the basics of eCommerce, but social eCommerce is becoming the new and improved way to display products to your target market in a natural and personalized way. Social commerce allows your business to sell products directly through TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Social commerce makes the buying process easier for your customers, as they do not have to leave the app to make a purchase. Social commerce is also incredibly personalized, which is important to keep in mind with consumer behavior trends shaping 2025. Users are able to discover products through posts, ads, or affiliate recommendations.
This is not to say you should throw production quality out the window. While relatability is important, 52% of Gen Z reported that they still value production quality over outright relatability.
Your brand will gain trust and credibility when someone recommends a product, doing all of the research for the buyer in a seamless way.
Personalization & Brand Authenticity
Relatable & Authentic Content
Consumer behavior has changed. How do we put this information into good practice, though? People don’t want to feel like they are at the end of a sales tactic, and they especially do not want to feel disappointed by a product or service.
These fears have led to a negative view of purchasing online. Everyone wants to make sure a widget or solution is going to help them at a good price. That’s why making relatable and authentic content is extremely important. As we mentioned earlier, less is becoming more.
Avoid cheesy sales tactics that may have worked in the past. Show your buyers why your product or service will help them.
When you are evaluating your marketing strategy, add a few extra questions regarding your target market analysis. Don’t just ask, “What is our target market?”. Ask, “What problem does our product solve for our target market?” Once you dive deeper into your target demographic, you will be able to relate to your audience on a much more personal level than ever before.
Sustainable Brand Values
As consumers become more environmentally conscious, brands are increasingly adopting sustainable marketing practices, such as promoting eco-friendly products, reducing waste in packaging, and supporting fair trade initiatives. This approach helps brands build consumer trust and loyalty and aligns businesses with a growing demand for positive social and environmental impact.
Sustainable marketing encourages long-term growth while fostering a balance between profitability and the planet’s health. Consumers now are making decisions based on a business’s ethics and sustainability.
Ensure consumers know that you are a trustworthy brand that protects data, privacy, and health. Show your community how your business is supporting those in need and keep a consistent code of ethics.
AI, AR, & Automation
Many businesses already utilize Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), automated content creation, and Augmented Reality (AR) in their digital marketing. AI and AR offer a customized experience for a consumer while eliminating additional tasks for employees.
Generative AI & Automation used in Digital Marketing
- Content Creation: Automatically generate blog posts, social media updates, email newsletters, and media content.
- Personalization: Customize marketing messages and offers based on individual consumer preferences and behaviors.
- Design and Visuals: Create unique visuals, logos, and advertisements tailored to specific campaigns or audiences.
- Customer Support: Use AI-driven chatbots to provide real-time customer service and support, enhancing user experience.
- Social Media Management: Generate engaging social media content and schedule posts across multiple platforms.
- Video Production: Automatically produce short video ads or content for marketing purposes.
- Voice and Conversational AI: Generate voice-based content for ads, podcasts, or interactive campaigns, improving engagement with voice-activated devices.
- SEO Optimization: Create SEO-friendly content by analyzing search trends and optimizing keywords and meta descriptions.
- Market Research: Use AI to generate insights from customer feedback, social media sentiment, and competitor analysis.
AR Used in Digital Marketing
- Virtual Try-Ons: Allow customers to virtually try on products (e.g., clothing, eyewear, makeup) before making a purchase.
- Interactive Product Demos: Provide immersive, interactive product demonstrations that help customers understand features and benefits.
- AR Ads: Create engaging advertisements where users can interact with 3D models or experiences through their mobile devices or AR glasses.
- Enhanced Shopping Experiences: Enable customers to visualize how products (furniture, home decor, etc.) will look in their own homes or environments before purchasing.
- Brand Activations: Use AR for in-store or event activations, creating memorable, interactive experiences that increase brand awareness.
- Interactive Packaging: Use AR to bring product packaging to life with animations or additional information when scanned with a mobile device.
- Social Media Filters: Create branded AR filters for platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, allowing users to interact with the brand in a fun, shareable way.
- Virtual Events & Showrooms: Host virtual events or create virtual showrooms that allow customers to explore products or services in an AR environment.
By eliminating employee workload, brands can focus more on what matters: solving a problem for a market of people while ensuring sustainability and ethics are up to standard.
AI and AR will become more useful tools in digital marketing in 2025. AI and AR tools will continue to support employees, not replace them. Consumers still value human interaction over AI, and AI should only be used to develop your brand further, not fully automate it.
Data-Driven Strategies
Marketers can gain a deeper understanding of their target audience by analyzing customer behavior, preferences, and interactions across websites, social media, email campaigns, and more. These insights allow for the creation of highly personalized and relevant content, optimized campaigns, and more precise customer segmentation.
Data-driven insights help marketers identify trends, predict future behaviors, and measure the effectiveness of their strategies in real time. Businesses can enhance customer experiences, improve ROI, and stay ahead of the competition by making decisions based on actual data rather than assumptions.
AI + Data
AI enables businesses to analyze vast amounts of data, predict consumer behavior, and personalize content on a scale that would be impossible manually. AI-powered tools like chatbots, recommendation engines, and automated email campaigns allow brands to engage customers more efficiently, provide tailored experiences, and optimize advertising efforts. Additionally, AI helps marketers gain deeper insights into customer preferences, refine targeting strategies, and enhance decision-making, ultimately driving more effective and cost-efficient marketing campaigns.
Enhanced Data Privacy
As consumers become increasingly concerned about how their personal information is handled, businesses must protect sensitive data while delivering personalized and targeted marketing experiences.
Marketers are required to obtain explicit consent from users before collecting data, provide transparency about how the data will be used, and offer consumers the ability to control or opt out of data sharing.
By prioritizing data privacy, companies can maintain strong relationships with their audience, reduce the risk of data breaches, and improve their overall brand reputation in a privacy-conscious market.
So, while data collection is important to grow in digital marketing, you must adhere to privacy standards. A great way to collect data in a way that includes the consumer is through conversational marketing.
Case Study: My Starbucks Idea
My Starbucks Idea was a website launched in 2008 by Starbucks. This website allowed people to suggest ideas directly to Starbucks, and some of their most successful menu items were a result of My Starbucks Idea. They inspired creativity, directly collected ideas and data, and created a huge spark on social media as everyone shared their ideas. While the website no longer allows submissions, My Starbucks Idea will go down in history as one of the most innovative digital marketing strategies.
Immerse your consumer in your brand. Gather data directly from the consumer. Starbucks serves as proof that your market wants to be involved in your brand strategy. So, let them be a part of it! Conversational marketing is crucial in relating to your audience. Take advantage of polls, submission forms, surveys, and in-text communication. You gain brand loyalty, a happy customer, some unique ideas, and data straight from the source.
Our Advice
Advertising can be difficult when digital marketing trends always seem to change. Here at 828 Biz, we believe that solving a problem for your market is the top priority when trying to succeed in digital marketing. If you can relate to your target market and create strong brand loyalty and trust, then you will stand out as a great place of business.
As we move toward 2025, the future of digital marketing will be defined by innovation, automation, and a greater focus on delivering personalized, immersive, and ethical brand experiences. Marketers who embrace emerging technologies while prioritizing data-driven insights and sustainability will be well-positioned to succeed in the marketplace.
Businesses must continuously adapt to these trends and find the right balance between innovation, customer experience, and brand values to create meaningful connections with the next generation of consumers. While data collection may be tempting, we urge you to keep true to a strong set of business ethics. While marketing is important, your consumers safety is always going to be a priority.
If you want to implement some of these digital marketing trends in your marketing strategy, we suggest starting small and getting some advice from a third-party marketing agency (like us!).
Not Sure Where to Start?
828 Biz has a variety of solutions to fit all your needs, and we are always expanding our offerings. If you don’t see something you need, let us know! Whether you are unsure of how to start your marketing strategy or want to revamp your digital marketing with these new trends, we are here to help you win more customers and make marketing easy.
Book your free marketing strategy consultation here!
