Marketing Trends to Follow in 2025 – and Trends to Leave Behind in 2024
As we approach 2025, marketing strategies are evolving faster than ever. With new technologies and shifting consumer behaviors, staying ahead is essential. However, some outdated practices are still used in practice, and it’s time to let them go. Here’s a guide to the marketing trends to follow in 2025 that you should embrace and the ones you should leave behind in 2024.
Marketing Trends to Follow in 2025
The use of AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s here, and it’s transforming marketing.
Key Benefits:
- Enhanced Efficiency: AI can automate repetitive tasks like email campaigns, content generation, and data analysis. This saves time and improves accuracy.
- Better Insights: Tools like Google Gemini and ChatGPT analyze consumer behavior, helping you understand what resonates best with your audience.
- Personalized Campaigns: AI offers hyper-personalization by examining data in order to craft messages tailored to individual preferences.
Pro Tip: Make sure to use AI as a secondary resource to clarify your ideas, not as a main source. In this way your content maintains a unique, human touch.
Personalization
In 2025, consumers expect brands to know them and deliver the content that matches their preferences.
How to Implement:
- Segmentation: Group your audience based on behaviors, demographics, or interests.
- Dynamic Content: Use tools that adapt email or website content to individual user profiles.
- Customized Offers: Create recommendations based on past purchases or browsing history.
Why It Matters: Personalized content increases engagement, builds loyalty, and drives conversions. According to McKinsey, personalized marketing can lift ROI by up to 30%.
Shopping on Social Media
Social commerce is reshaping how people shop. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are no longer just for inspiration, they’re now direct sales channels.
Steps to Take:
- Make the most of Shoppable Posts: Use Instagram’s Shop feature or TikTok’s product links to lead to sales.
- Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with creators who align with your brand to expand reach.
- Invest in Video: Short, engaging videos showcasing your products can turn viewers into buyers.
Pro Tip: It is important to optimize your social media profiles to make purchasing as easy as possible.
Marketing Trends to Leave Behind in 2024
Stressing Over Long-Term Planning
The days of strict five-year marketing plans are over.
Why It Doesn’t Work:
- Uncertainty: Rapid technological changes make long-term predictions unreliable.
- Budget Constraints: According to Forrester, only 35% of B2B marketers expect budget to increase in 2025.
What to Do Instead: Focus on short-term strategies with room for adjustment. Prioritize impactful initiatives while leaving space to experiment with new trends.
Concerned About the Social Media Platform
Not every new platform is worth your attention. Remember Lemon8 or Mastodon? They fizzled out quickly.
Why You Should Stop:
- Time-Consuming: Chasing trends diverts resources from proven platforms.
- Low ROI: Most new platforms fail to achieve lasting traction.
What to Do Instead: Double down on established platforms like LinkedIn, especially for B2B. Use analytics to identify where your audience spends their time and focus there.
Insisting on Short-Format Video
While short-form videos are effective, they’re no longer as important and must-do as they used to be in the world of content marketing.
The Shift:
- Longer Engagement: According to the HubSpot research, it is shown that audiences are more likely to watch long-form videos (3+ minutes) all the way through.
- Storytelling Opportunities: Longer videos allow deeper connections with viewers.
What to Do Instead: It is important to find a balance between short- and long-form content. Which content format you will use depends on what you plan to elaborate. Also, experiment with formats like informative videos, interviews, and tutorials for maximum impact.
All in all, marketing in 2025 will be about adaptability and intentionality. We should embrace AI, personalization, and social commerce to stay ahead. Simultaneously, let go of outdated practices like stressing over long-term plans, chasing every new platform that appears, and relying solely on the use of short-format video.
By focusing on strategies that deliver real value to your audience, you’ll position your brand for success in the ever-changing marketing landscape.