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Trends come and go, but evaluating audiences with a critical eye to tell a brand story and connect with audiences across both traditional and digital platforms is where the magic happens. 2025 has not only seen a shift in the type of content audiences are choosing to consume, but how they are engaging with it. Brands need to think more strategically than ever when they’re putting together campaigns and creating content. Oversaturation and unlimited choice are putting consumers in charge and they’re getting selective as to who they follow and frankly they they follow in the first place.
How you can connect and communicate with your audience is always in flux, but there are some key consistencies that we’ve been taking note of when crafting messaging and engaging with both external and internal audiences. Here are eight trends for marketers in 2025 to keep an eye on and consider adapting into their content and communications strategies as we move into the second half of the year!
Audiences engage with content differently depending on where they encounter it. Each digital platform has its own distinct vibe, purpose, and set of expectations. For example, on one end of the spectrum is the casual, visual nature of Instagram; on the other, the more professional, insight-driven tone of LinkedIn. Understanding these nuances is key to creating content that resonates. Brands that excel in digital spaces are those that tailor their messaging to suit the platform and the audience that lives there.
Not every channel will serve the same function or reach the same people, so by understanding where your audience spends their time, you can allocate your time and resources and craft content that feels authentic and real, builds trust and actually drives engagement. Whether it’s through analytics, website traffic sources, direct surveys, or plain old trial and error, there are plenty of ways to discover where your audience is hanging out online.
For example, light, fun, and visually appealing content often performs best on Instagram, while thought leadership pieces thrive on LinkedIn. Newsletters, when done right, offer a powerful channel for direct, personalized communication and audience segmentation, which is more effective than generic, dense messaging. To maximize impact, consider an omnichannel strategy that blends both traditional and digital touchpoints, allowing your message to meet your audience wherever they are, in the format they’re most likely to engage with.
It was once a common fact that a consumer had to see your brand 7 times in order for them to buy in, or at least inquire — now it’s more like 77! This is a blessing and a curse, because we have the platforms — across digital and traditional marketing channels — but it requires marketers to create multiple funnels and repackage their content over and over for a variety of platforms and mediums.
Easier said than done, but noted. However, the shift we’ve really noticed this year has been in the desire for tangible human touchpoints — experiences that are immersive, engaging and in real life. The trend to merely rely on digital marketing is waning. This is something that we haven’t seen nearly as much since COVID, but it’s beginning to pick up again. Audiences aren’t convinced merely by a creative video, but rather by how you take that key message and incorporate it into a real-life experience on behalf of a brand. This includes everything from conferences to round tables, panels, events, activations, and interactive spaces. Simply put, consumers want to engage with a brand they love on social media, in real life.
In order to do this successfully these in-person touch points are simply meant to compliment your digital presence by strengthening your relationship and engaging with your audience beyond their scenes. When creating your strategy, always ensure you’re thinking about your digital approach to begin with, then how you're translating that in-person and bringing it back to your online profiles. Integrated campaigns need to be social first and cyclical, engaging your audience at every touchpoint.
Online we’re seeing a growing demand for individuality in content. In a world where everyone is following the same trends, using the same formats and recycling the same sounds (is that overused TikTok sound still stuck in your head?), our feeds have quickly become stale, oversaturated, and predictable. It’s time to shake things up and give your audience a unique perspective.
That’s why we always ask ourselves before we jump on a trend for our clients: does this really align with the brand? Realizing the difference between being trendy and trend-hopping will allow you to create true alignment in your content creation.
Each client that we work with has its own personality and ecosystem, and we are aware of this when creating content for each one - the formula for content creation is not one-size-fits all. Each piece of communication that relates to your clients should work together to create an overall cohesive brand. That’s the exciting part of working in the digital world. Being able to treat each client as a separate entity with different needs and wants gives us the creative freedom to be strategic and thoughtful in how we show up for each audience.
It’s a fact that AI is here and it’s changing the way we live, work and interact with one another. Not only is it accessible to the masses, but it allows us to be more efficient and produce a higher volume of output in a much shorter period of time. This is great, but if you’re a marketing manager you need to be careful how much you lean on AI when it comes to your brand, storytelling, creativity and strategy.
Utilizing AI as a tool to help produce higher-quality campaigns and projects is great, but it needs to be balanced delicately. To begin, it’s accessible but it does require a certain level of literacy in your prompts and questions. It also (at this point) doesn’t replace human creativity. People connect with stories, empathy and authenticity, something that AI does not have the capabilities to do yet, and even if it did human touchpoints and critical thinking based on lived experiences are always going to outshine an AI-generated campaign.
So if you work in marketing how should you be utilizing AI in 2025? Consider it a tool, along with Slack, Asana and Canva. Utilize it to pick out holes in a crisis communications document, provide you with additional research on audience segments for a campaign strategy or use it to help you with worldbuilding around your brand, working off the foundation and storylines you have already established with your audiences. Use it as a tool to assist you with your campaigns, not create the entire campaign for you — using it with caution and a critical lens to ensure the answers it’s giving you are indeed correct.
Internal and external communications are beginning to align, and with that shift comes a powerful opportunity for many brands: employee advocacy. When employees share their stories, insights, and behind the scenes content, it creates a sense of authenticity and community that we’re noticing audiences gravitating toward - 8 times more in fact. Answering those burning questions while showcasing your company’s culture, values, and day to day activities, you’re not just sharing content, you’re telling the story of your brand in a way that connects on a human level. After all, who better to tell the story of the company than those who live it every day?
For those who went into marketing and not PR so you never had to look at a crisis communications plan, we’ll apologize in advance.
Never has it been more important to be armed with a crisis communications plan and think with your crisis hat on when you’re creating content and coming up with a creative campaign. Social media works fast and it works even faster when there’s a message that’s been miscommunicated or simply misunderstood. The great thing is that in three days it’s likely there will be a larger controversial wildfire that will bury yours, but the size it can get in merely a few hours can be overwhelming, harmful and often detrimental to your brand long term.
This requires marketers to have their crisis hats on from the very beginning. This means researching the origin of a trend if you’re thinking about adapting it to your brand, thinking twice before jumping on a bandwagon or simply giving your content a critical eye to ensure it can’t be misunderstood or come across as unintentionally tone deaf. It’s not just about putting out fires, rather it’s predicting potential fires and knowing your brand well enough to position it strategically — often this means sitting out on trends or conversations that don’t align with the values of your brand. It’s ok, brands don’t get FOMO only people do.
In the event you do end up with a crisis on your hands, it’s always better to be prepared, but remember audiences will respect and connect better with your brand if you communicate openly, authentically and empathetically.
Today’s audiences (especially Gen Z and millennials) are gravitating toward brands that feel human, honest, and mission-driven. They want brands to be more relatable and accountable. They want to see the humans behind the brand and connect with values that align with their own.
Alongside being relatable also comes accountability. As a brand, if you make a mistake, own it, get in front of it, and make a statement before you’re called out. When you’re doing something great, aim to share it in a way that connects with your audience, rather than framing it as a sales pitch. Audiences want transparency, and they want to see your values reflected consistently in your content and communications. Building trust with your audience with posts that show the realness and purpose of your brand will go way further with audiences this year than something carefully curated or aesthetic.
Social media has always been about storytelling, there’s no surprise there. However, in a world where we’re bombarded with sameness, repurposed trends and similar narratives over and over, the only thing making your brand stand out is your story and your ability to tell it.
Moods, emotions, ideas, and dare we say it trends, can change by the end of the day, but a good story communicated effectively always captures hearts and lingers in our minds. There’s no stronger connection with your audience than an emotional connection and that’s where your story comes in — but remember show don’t tell!
Anyone can come up with a product or service, but the real depth and magic is created within its story and how you choose to tell it. A good story gives context, provides meaning, motivates others, inspires communities, and allows you to communicate complex messages that are easily digestible and relatable. Think Nike versus Walmart or the Formula One Racing Documentary (Drive to Survive), learning the story behind the athletes and the league automatically makes you more invested once the season restarts. Viral trends may be tempting to jump on, but they lack depth and are only a short-term strategy.
Make sure your communications plan always incorporates a healthy mix of posts that tell the story behind your brand, people and product, while incorporating trends, personality and key messaging that your audience needs to know in order to engage or make a purchase.
Have you noticed a trend with your audience in 2025 that we haven't mentioned? Shoot us a note and let us know!
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