2025 Digital Marketing Trends & Predictions

Curious about what’s next for digital marketing? 2024 saw AI-driven personalization, voice search, and short-form videos take the spotlight. So, what’s in store for 2025? 

From emerging tech to shifting consumer habits, it’s all about staying one step ahead. Ready to keep your strategies fresh and effective? Let’s explore the digital marketing trends that will shape the future.

Key Takeaways

• Marketers will need to prioritize efficiency by leveraging technology and data to achieve better outcomes with fewer resources.
• Search engines (such as Google and Bing) and AI platforms (such as Perplexity AI and ChatGPT Search) are changing the SEO game, requiring content tailored to new formats like voice search (currently utilized by 41% of adults) and visual search (expected to grow 17.4% from 2024 to 2032).
• An integrated, omnichannel approach will be critical as consumers engage across diverse platforms and touchpoints.
• With more than 73% of consumers preferring a personalized shopping experience, AI will need to do a lot of heavy lifting to deliver personalized content and adaptive messaging.
• Authentic, value-driven branding will help businesses build trust and foster deeper connections with their audience.

Table of Contents

• Key Takeaways
• Digital Marketing Trend #1: Doing More With Less
• Digital Marketing Trend #2: Google Keeping Users on Google
• Digital Marketing Trend #3: New Search Platforms Will Play a Role
• Digital Marketing Trend #4: Search Everywhere Optimization
• Digital Marketing Trend #5: Sense Search Leveling Up
• Digital Marketing Trend #6: Customer Journey Will Become Seamless
• Digital Marketing Trend #7: Continued Blurring of Platform Boundaries
• Digital Marketing Trend #8: AI Use Will Shift from Generating Content to Making Efficient Use of Data
• Digital Marketing Trend #9: AI Will Make Personalization Smoother
• Digital Marketing Trend #10: B2B Marketing Gets Personal
• Digital Marketing Trend #11: Ads Will Get a Makeover
• Digital Marketing Trend #12: Platforms Will Double Down on AI Integration
• Digital Marketing Trend #13: Privacy Meets Personalization
• Digital Marketing Trend #14: Social Content Will be the New Storefront
• Digital Marketing Trend #15: Integrating Channels for Consistency and Synergy
• Digital Marketing Trend #16: Building a Strong Brand Based on Values
• FAQs
• Conclusion

Digital Marketing Trend #1: Doing More With Less

In 2025, marketers will need to get creative as budgets shrink and resources become limited. The challenge is clear: achieving better results with fewer resources. 

So how can marketers do more with less while still meeting customer demand?

Marketers should use smart targeting and data-driven decisions to get the most from every dollar. Efficiency is key. So where to begin? 

Brands can:

• Streamline workflows by creating standard operating procedures (SOPs), automating repetitive tasks, and batching their tasks.
• Enhance cross-team collaboration by implementing project management tools (like Trello or Asana), centralizing communication (with tools like Slack or Teams), and having regular check-ins.
• Leverage technology by integrating marketing tools, adopting customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce, and using AI across platforms (e.g. social media, search, email marketing software, etc). 

The brands that adopt these strategies will win despite budget cuts and resource limitations.

Digital Marketing Trend #2: Google Keeping Users on Google

One of the top digital marketing trends of 2025 is known, quite fittingly, as “zero click searches.” Let me explain. 

Google’s latest updates have introduced new features—like AI summaries–or made existing features—including rich snippets—more prominent on search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal of these features is two-fold: 

1. Keep users on Google longer.
2. Give users the answers to their queries quickly.

The problem for website owners is this creates a “zero click” environment. Users search, see an answer at the top of the page, and then leave the platform without clicking through to your website.

Because of this, ranking high isn’t enough anymore. To stay visible, you must optimize for Google’s new SERP features like rich snippets and local packs. You can do this by using schema markup and optimizing your content to include short, direct answers to the most common questions for target keywords. 

Focus on capturing attention within Google itself, because simply getting clicks to your site may not be enough to drive results.

Digital Marketing Trend #3: New Search Platforms Will Play a Role

AI-driven search platforms are on the rise, and they’re changing the game. 

In 2025, search won’t be limited to just Google or Bing. AI search engines —like Perplexity AI and ChatGPT Search—and other platforms will continue to grow. They will offer new chances to expand your reach. To stay ahead, optimize your content for voice search, image search, and the latest—conversational search, a subset of voice search that allows users to ask questions and receive answers in a natural language format. 

Here are a few ideas:

• Voice search: Use structured data and create content that directly answers your audience’s frequently asked questions.
• Image search: Use high-quality but compressed images that are optimized with alt tags and that incorporate your audience’s key image search terms.
• Conversation search: Create concise content that has a natural, laid-back tone, mimicking the conversational way people ask questions to their voice assistants.

These new platforms will help you find new audiences and broaden your digital presence, making them a must for your marketing strategy.

Digital Marketing Trend #4: Search Everywhere Optimization

SEO stands for search engine optimization, right? Well, in 2025, search everywhere optimization is more like it. 

But what does it mean?

Search everywhere optimization is a term with a broader meaning than its original counterpart. Instead of focusing solely on search for Google and other traditional search engines, it broadens it to include your search optimization efforts across the board—social media, AI engines, voice assistants, and more. 

The fact is, you can no longer afford to focus on just one channel. People are searching for your brand everywhere. 

To capture their attention, you need to be there at every touchpoint. This means thinking omnichannel. Integrate search, paid ads, social media, and more to create a seamless experience. 

Search everywhere optimization is no longer optional—it’s essential. But more important than where you are is the content you’re sharing.

It starts with tailoring content to fit the platform. For example, you might create content for Instagram Reels if your content is aesthetic or trendy, while you might use YouTube Shorts for short-form educational content. 

You must also monitor your content and quickly adapt to new trends as they emerge. Tools like HootSuite Insights and Sprout Social enable you to monitor your campaigns, track hashtag or brand mentions, and track user sentiment across platforms so you can stay on top of your game.

Digital Marketing Trend #5: Sense Search Leveling Up

Voice search and image-based search are on the rise.

Google Lens alone processes 10 billion visual searches each month, while more than 1 billion searches every month are done via voice assistant devices like Alexa and Google Assistant.

As a marketer, it’s crucial to optimize your content for these sensory searches. How? By adjusting your SEO strategies to incorporate visual and voice optimizations. 

You can optimize for visual search by:

• Using size-optimized, high-quality images.
• Labeling images with appropriate titles, alt text, filenames, and EXIF data—technical data embedded within an image file, like data and location.
• Incorporating structured data makeup into your HTML.
• Uploading a product data feed to Google Merchant Center.

As for voice search, consider the following:

• Optimize for local SEO by claiming your Google Business Profile and implementing location-based schema markup.
• Create conversational content.
• Use structured data to increase your odds of landing a featured SERP snippet.

Digital Marketing Trend #6: Customer Journey Will Become Seamless

Your customers expect a smooth, connected experience across every touchpoint. Whether they’re browsing on their phone, making a purchase in-store, or leaving a review, everything should feel effortless and unified. 

By connecting data across platforms, you can create a more personalized and consistent journey. How? With AI-driven customer experience tools.

Apps like Zaymo allow consumers to make a purchase or leave a review directly within your email campaign. Target connects in-store purchases to the Target app simply by capturing a customer’s phone number or saved payment method. Integrations like this reduce friction in the customer journey while improving engagement.

Brands that can deliver this level of integration will build stronger, more loyal customer relationships.

Digital Marketing Trend #7: Continued Blurring of Platform Boundaries

Platforms like Google and Amazon will continue merging their features, making it harder to distinguish between search, shopping, and content. 

Think of Google (where Google Shopping results now dominate more than 80% of e-commerce keywords) or Amazon Inspire—both are blurring the lines between e-commerce and search. 

To stay competitive, you’ll need to adapt to these changes by understanding how these platforms work together and optimizing your presence across them. This may mean more lifestyle imagery or even investment in influencer marketing as a way to improve your odds of your brand appearing naturally within these platforms. 

What it comes down to is needing to be everywhere your customers are and ensuring a seamless experience across different touchpoints.

Digital Marketing Trend #8: AI Use Will Shift from Generating Content to Making Efficient Use of Data

Continuing from 2024 marketing trends, AI is here to stay. However, AI’s role in marketing will shift. 

Rather than relying on AI to write blog posts or social media content, the real power lies in using it to make smarter decisions. By analyzing consumer behavior and fine-tuning targeting, AI will help you get better results faster. 

Take our Universal Technical Institute case study. We used AI to identify close cities to campuses based on population and distance. We then worked with UTI to optimize over 200 local web pages, incorporating features aligned with user intent queries. 

This resulted in an 18% year-over-year increase in total organic search inquiries and a 20% increase in #1 SERP rankings on non-branded queries. 

Digital Marketing Trend #9: AI Will Make Personalization Smoother

Did you know that 73% of consumers prefer brands that offer personalized shopping experiences? 

Well in 2025, real-time personalization will become the norm. 

AI will help brands engage customers in a way that feels natural and relevant, whether it’s offering the right product recommendations or creating personalized email campaigns.

This will make it easier to build stronger relationships and drive better results. 

If you weren’t already investing in AI, then you need to start. From CMS to CRM to email marketing, many of the platforms you’re already using likely integrate with various AI solutions to meet this need.

Digital Marketing Trend #10: B2B Marketing Gets Personal

As the demographics of business buying teams shift, so too will B2B marketing trends.

In fact, millennials now make up 75% of business buying teams. How do millennials differ from the prior generation of business decision-makers? They prefer personalized offers, value authenticity, and expect brands to elicit trust and have social responsibility.

B2B marketing is no longer about cold sales pitches—it’s about building relationships and connecting on a human level.

So how can you nurture those long-term relationships?

• Understand the specific needs and goals of your target businesses.
• Provide personalized solutions that fit their needs.
• Deliver value beyond initial transitions through target email campaigns and social media touchpoints.

As with any relationship, nurturing it will take time and deliberate action.

Digital Marketing Trend #11: Ads Will Get a Makeover

The future of ads is here: it’s interactive, visual, and personal. 

As a 2025 marketing trend, we’ll see shopping ads become more engaging with features like 3D product views, virtual try-ons, and video-powered experiences. Google and other platforms are already rolling out these new formats, and it’s time for marketers to get on board. 

Which ad formats should you focus on? Here’s some advice from Christina Guenther, Sr. Director, Paid Social, NP Digital:

“In 2025, several ad formats and styles are poised to break out. Short-form video ads, like those popularized by TikTok, will continue to gain traction due to their engaging and concise nature. Interactive ads, such as quizzes, polls, and gamified experiences, will also rise in popularity. Additionally, immersive formats like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) ads will become more mainstream. Furthermore, social commerce ads, enabling seamless purchases within platforms, will grow. Lastly, sustainable and eco-conscious advertising, highlighting brands’ environmental commitments, will gain prominence.”

To succeed, you’ll need to embrace these new ad formats and create more interactive, personalized experiences for your audience. The future of ads is all about engagement and personalization.

Digital Marketing Trend #12: Platforms Will Double Down on AI Integration

Gone are the days of creating a static ad campaign for search engines and social media. 

Ad platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google are all moving toward more AI-driven automation in 2025. Instead of manually managing campaigns, these platforms are using AI to optimize targeting, improve performance, make real-time updates, and drive results. 

In fact, 15 million ads were created using GenAI production tools in August of 2024 alone.

As a marketer, you’ll need to adapt to this shift by leveraging these automated tools to make your campaigns more efficient and effective. By allowing generative AI to predict outcomes, generate personalized ads, and iterate automatically, AI will become your best ally in managing campaigns and improving your ROI.

Digital Marketing Trend #13: Privacy Meets Personalization

Consumers want privacy, but they also want highly personalized shopping experiences. So marketers will need to get smart about balancing personalization with privacy in 2025. 

One way to do that? With zero-party data. This is information that customers willingly share.

You can collect this type of data through:

• Polls and surveys
• Quizzes 
• Contests
• Virtual try-ons
• Product configurators
• Post-purchase feedback forms

Brands that prioritize transparency and build trust will be the ones that succeed. 

Digital Marketing Trend #14: Social Content Will be the New Storefront

Social commerce will continue to grow in 2025 with social commerce revenues forecast to surpass $1 trillion dollars by 2028. 

Here is what Erik Stebbins, Associate Director, Paid Social, NP Digital has to say about the trend:

“Social shopping is expected to grow significantly in 2025, driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and immersive commerce. Next-generation platforms will leverage AI, AR, and VR to create interactive experiences, such as virtual try-ons and AI-powered styling assistants.”

Influencers will play a critical role in driving discovery and sales, as users increasingly turn to social media to find new products. To succeed, you’ll need to tap into social selling—whether through influencer partnerships, live shopping events, or shoppable posts. 

Per Stebbins: 

“Influencer marketing will evolve, prioritizing authentic and niche-specific recommendations. Social commerce platforms will integrate seamless checkout options, and live shopping events will become increasingly popular. Personalization, sustainability and data-driven insights will also shape the future of social shopping, with security and trust remaining top priorities.”

Social platforms are no longer just for engagement; they’re now a direct path to sales.

Digital Marketing Trend #15: Integrating Channels for Consistency and Synergy

In 2025, you can no longer afford not to integrate your marketing campaigns across channels. 

It’s no longer enough to run separate campaigns on social media, email, and your website. To get the best results, you need to create a seamless experience that connects all touchpoints. This means creating a cohesive campaign calendar that ensures consistency in brand messaging, visuals, and audience targeting. Such consistency reinforces your brand identity, builds trust with your audience, and ensures your message is clear and impactful across all platforms.

Digital Marketing Trend #16: Building a Strong Brand Based on Values

Consumers care more than ever about authenticity, sustainability, and social responsibility. To connect with your audience, you’ll need to build a brand that reflects your values. 

User-generated content (UGC) will help showcase your brand’s authenticity, while purpose-driven marketing—aligning your brand’s mission with a cause that resonates deeply with your audience—will help you stand out from the competition. 

Customers are looking for brands that align with their values. The brands that succeed will be those that connect on a deeper level.

FAQs

What are the marketing trends we will see in 2025?

The top marketing trends for 2025 include large-scale AI integration across the funnel, an increased need for personalization and brand interconnection through omnichannel marketing, and authentic, value-focused branding to build deeper connections.

How do marketing trends evolve over time, and what drives these changes?

Marketing trends evolve over time as technology advances and the attitudes of consumers and marketers shift.

How can businesses stay updated on marketing trends to remain competitive in the market?

Businesses can stay up-to-date on the latest marketing trends by creating Google Alerts on related topics, networking and attending conferences and webinars, and following industry blogs like my own.

Conclusion

While these predictions aren’t set in stone, I know one thing is for certain: adapting to change should be a marketer’s greatest takeaway when preparing for 2025.
The key is to remain flexible—whether it’s leveraging AI for smarter strategies, optimizing for new search platforms, or building value-driven brand connections. By embracing these shifts, marketers can continue to thrive even in a challenging environment.