Three Digital Marketing Trends to Watch in 2025
The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, forcing marketers to make short-term tactical adjustments without losing sight of their long-term strategic objectives. At Oneupweb, we invest considerable time in identifying and analyzing current marketing trends to discover opportunities for our clients. From keeping up with search engine and social media algorithms to pivoting to adjust to sweeping changes in how users interact with search results, these digital marketing industry trends will shape the year ahead.
The Top Trends for Marketers to Follow
Oneupweb asked some of our forward-thinking strategists to share the current marketing trends they expect will make or break brands in 2025. You can watch the full video with the responses, and make sure you get the latest trends in marketing delivered to your inbox every Monday with our Digital Digest.
Artificial Intelligence on the SERP Gets Real
Google’s slow and not-so-steady rollout of its artificial intelligence SERP feature, Overview, didn’t go exactly as planned. Initially unveiled as a Google Labs experiment before later entering Beta testing, Overviews were prone to hallucinations or inaccurate results, some of which became meme fodder. Overviews steadily improved as Google improved the model and tweaked which search queries triggered AI results.
Today, AI Overviews are a key part of Google’s search experience and a core component of any SEO strategy. We expect Overviews to accelerate the trend toward a zero-click SERP in 2025 and beyond.
Disintermediation
The zero-click SERP is a visible representation of another marketing trend: disintermediation. Disintermediation is the ongoing process of removing barriers between brands and customers. This is a multifaceted trend for marketers to grapple with because it reduces the influence of established marketing agencies and marketing channels, including media publishers and retailers.
In the AI Overview example, the search results page removes an access barrier by displaying the information on the SERP, reducing the need for the user to click through to the brand’s website. Disintermediation has advantages and disadvantages for users, brands, and certainly marketers—dive down that rabbit hole when you have time.
We expect disintermediation to continue to change how brands reach audiences in the year ahead. Marketers must constantly evaluate how their content is accessed and consumed and adjust creation as needed.
Sharing Is Caring
Blink and social media changes. Major platforms like Meta, X, and TikTok tweak algorithms constantly to keep users on-site longer (and checking in more often), leading to a major shift in the types of content that drive results. Social media is experiencing a trend toward homogenization (everyone has vertical video, even LinkedIn) and decentralization (Bluesky hit 25 million users in December 2024, while Meta is considering decentralizing Threads).
It’s a smart time to evaluate what’s working for your brand – and which playgrounds your competitors are playing in. A social media audit is a great way to give your social game a gut check as the new year begins.
Go Beyond Trends in Marketing with a Comprehensive Strategy
While current marketing trends might deliver immediate opportunities, brands can’t afford to lose sight of their long-term strategic objectives. Combine a multichannel approach with nearly three decades of industry experience and an integrated approach to SEO, social media, paid media, development, and design. Ready to get started? Get in touch or call (231) 922-9977 today (tomorrow is totally cool, too).