The industry’s changed again. Not in some seismic, sci-fi way – just… gradually. Quietly.
More pressure. Less attention. More tools. Less time. Welcome to marketing in 2025.
This isn’t another ‘AI! AR! VR! SEO!’ trend list (well…our first point is on AI!). But you know the drill by now. This is what we’re actually seeing – in our work, in our scrolls, in our brains.
AI is no longer the story – what you do with it is
Yes, AI’s still everywhere. Yes, it’s doing clever things. But in 2025, ‘we used AI for this’ won’t be impressive, it’ll be expected. The real question is: did it help you make something worth seeing?
This year, the standout marketing isn’t AI-led, it’s AI-aware. You can feel the human hand shaping the raw material. Editing, rewriting, playing. And audiences? They’re catching on. They can smell a lazy AI caption from a mile away.
Your move: Don’t post screenshots of ChatGPT prompts and call it strategy. Use AI to move faster – then make it feel like you didn’t.
Brands are getting bored of social (but not brave enough to quit it)
Everyone’s tired. Reach is tanking. Algorithms are moody. Engagement is unpredictable.
And still – we keep showing up. Why? Because we haven’t worked out what replaces it yet.
But you’ll notice a shift in 2025:
- More brands experimenting outside the feed.
- More newsletters, more Notion docs, more events, more podcasts.
- More “talk to us like a human” instead of “please engage with this trending sound.”
Your move: Keep showing up on socials, but don’t build your whole house there. Diversify. Create things people seek out, not just scroll past.
Short-form video: the chaos continues
TikTok isn’t going anywhere (maybe so if you’re in the US!). Reels still rule. Shorts are trying their best. But we’ve moved past ‘just be ON video”’and into ‘figure out what you’re FOR on video’.
Are you funny? Thoughtful? Unhinged? Because generic voiceovers and endless b-roll aren’t cutting through anymore.
Creators are winning by being specific. Bizarre. Lo-fi. The best content in 2025 will feel like it wasn’t meant to be seen – which is why we love it.
Your move: Don’t make it look like marketing. Make it look like someone filmed it by accident, then happened to say something brilliant.
Content is calming down
The content deluge of the past few years created a kind of collective nausea. Too much. Too fast. Too ‘value-packed’. In 2025, we’re seeing a swing back towards slower, more intentional marketing.
Think:
- Thoughtful, essay-style LinkedIn posts
- Subdued design
- One strong message per post, not five
- Room to breathe, literally and emotionally
Calm is the new clever.
Your move: Treat attention as a gift, not a guarantee. If you get someone to pause – reward them with something that feels good to read.
Micro-influencers are now just…influencers
We’ve stopped pretending that reach = value. The best partnerships in 2025 will be with people who actually care about what they’re promoting – and whose audiences know it.
No more awkward #ad energy. No more shiny teeth holding a product no one uses.
The new influence is:
- Niche, weird, specific
- Under 20k followers and full of in-jokes
- Smart, warm, or just wonderfully strange
Your move: Don’t pick influencers for their audience size. Pick them for the comment section. That’s where the gold is.
Messaging is everything again
A beautiful brand with boring copy still feels boring. An average brand with brilliant copy? Suddenly magnetic.
In 2025, words are doing the heavy lifting – especially in places where you can’t be visually flashy (LinkedIn, email, voice search, product pages). And the best writing? It’s not trying to sound clever. It just makes you feel understood.
Your move: If you don’t have a copywriter, get one. If you are one, charge more (it’s almost as if a copywriter is writing this…). If you’re writing your own stuff, ask yourself: would you keep reading?
Everyone’s talking about ethics – properly
After years of purpose-washing and green-tinted marketing, brands are finally being held to higher standards – by their audience, their teams, and their own internal values.
People want receipts. They don’t want a perfectly worded CSR statement – they want to see the work.
This year’s best ethical marketing is less ‘look how good we are’ and more ‘here’s what we’re working on (and where we’re behind)’.
Your move: If your ethics are solid, show the process. If they’re not…focus on that before you write the post.
Final thoughts: Still creative. Still chaotic. Still worth it.
2025 isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about remembering what made the wheel roll in the first place: clarity, connection, and a bit of magic.
So no, you don’t need to panic about AI, or chase every trend. You just need to think – really think – about what you’re saying, who it’s for, and why it matters.
And if you’re stuck in the noise? We know the way out.
Try out one of our BeyondHorizon audits – it’s where this stuff starts making sense.