As we look at what digital marketing trends we can expect to see in 2025, one thing is clear – we can expect to see significant transformation in terms of technologies and consumer attitudes.
This article explores the key trends that will shape digital marketing in the coming year, from the expansion of artificial intelligence to the growing influence of community-focussed social media platforms like Bluesky and Threads. By understanding these trends, businesses can better navigate the evolving digital ecosystem and create more effective, personalised marketing strategies.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will progress
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are set to play an even more significant role in digital marketing. These technologies will optimise customer segmentation, content creation, and personalised user interactions. AI-driven tools like chatbots and virtual assistants will provide more human-like interactions, enhancing customer experience.
Marketers, as with pretty much any industry, will face continued pressure to adopt AI technology to become more efficient and productive, doing more with less. It will be vital that marketers know how to use AI tools effectively, while still maintaining a human-centred approach to content. At the end of the day, AI still cannot think like a marketer, it lacks the creativity, and it lacks the ‘art heart’ that creative individuals have.
In 2025, Microsoft will be expanding its ‘AI agents’, which will handle tasks categorised by various roles, such as admin, debt chasing, note taking, translation etc. The idea is that this will free up staff to focus on their high-level tasks which require human input and creativity.
Instead of advertising platforms where the user must control every aspect, AI will use data to test different strategies and measure campaign effectiveness, but it will also eventually be possible have a conversation with the ad platform to ask it to tweak strategies.
Bluesky and Threads users will continue to grow
We are spending more and more time on social media, with Datareportal estimating that we could be spending 14% of our waking lives scrolling!
In 2025 we can expect to see more people continuing to leave X (previously Twitter), due to several reasons spanning from politics to poor content, low engagement and moderation issues, in favour of other real-time platforms such as BlueSky and Meta’s Threads.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralised social media platform created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. It aims to provide a more user-controlled and transparent social media experience. Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol, which decentralises data hosting across independent servers. This means no single company controls the platform, enhancing user privacy and control.
Bluesky also allows users more control over their feeds and is based on engagement such as likes and “re-skeets” (similar to Twitter’s retweets). As of December 2024, the platform had over 24 million users and we would anticipate this to grow in 2025.
Bluesky’s decentralised nature means that no single entity controls the platform, which appeals to users because there is less chance of data being centralised in a way that makes it vulnerable to breaches. It’s also appealing because it doesn’t rely on algorithms to serve content, and it emphasises privacy and ethical data practices.
Users are increasingly seeking alternatives to traditional social media platforms that prioritise privacy, transparency, and user control.
If no single entity controls Bluesky, who will be responsible when something goes wrong?
Bluesky has a moderation team responsible for enforcing community guidelines and addressing issues such as harassment, misinformation, and illegal content. The platform also has self-moderation tools where users can block, mute, and report other users.
The AT Protocol, which Bluesky is built on, includes mechanisms for governance and decision-making. This can involve community input and decentralised decision-making processes to address larger issues.
As Bluesky grows, it will be interesting to see how it scales its moderation efforts to accommodate its growth.
How does Bluesky compare with Meta’s Threads?
Meanwhile, Threads has 275 million users as it attracts more and more content creators. Meta has been working very hard to make Threads a competitor to X and is planning to monetise the platform through ads further down the line, once it attracts a billion users. Threads is great for posting text-only funny or educational content.
Threads supports text posts up to 500 characters, as well as multiple images, videos, and links. The platform emphasises visual content, maintaining Instagram’s aesthetic. Bluesky’s interface is reminiscent of early Twitter, with a straightforward, text-focused design. Posts, known as “skeets,” can be up to 300 characters.
There will continue to be privacy concerns over user data and AI
This leads us on to the issue of privacy. AI and algorithms rely heavily on collecting vast amounts of user data to personalise content and advertisements. This extensive data collection has led to concerns about how personal information is stored, used, and potentially misused.
So how can we offer a personalised experience without crossing the line in terms of privacy? Platforms are looking to use anonymised and aggregated data to understand shopping trends without tracking individual customers.
AI can generate user personas based on pockets of data, creating generalised profiles that represent segments of the audience rather than individuals. For example, an e-commerce platform might use AI to create personas like “Tech-Savvy Shoppers” or “Eco-Conscious Consumers” based on aggregated data. These personas help tailor marketing strategies without needing detailed personal information.
We can expect more emphasis on employee-generated content (EGC) and user-generated content (UGC) over influencers
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is seeing sustained growth every year, predicted to surpass 800 million users in 2025. It’s a great platform for employee-generated content (EGC), which helps to establish brand trust and attract more employees.
LinkedIn is the best platform for standing out in the B2B space and although it is expensive to advertise on, you can still reach a lot of users with organic content. Plus, LinkedIn newsletters attract many more subscribers than traditional e-newsletters where people subscribe via a website.
In 2025, across all platforms we will continue to see more demand for genuine people sharing relatable content. Brands will be seeking to build more communities to engage their customers and use more customer created content, rather than investing as much in big influencers.
Social search and AI overviews will expand
More people, especially Gen Z, tend to use TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to research things they are considering purchasing. Blending your SEO keyword strategy to keywords used in quality social media content will help to grow your brand awareness.
Then there’s generative engine optimisation (GEO), which is the process of ensuring your website’s content is suitable for AI-driven search results from Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Copilot, etc. Unlike Featured Snippets, which pull information from a single web page to answer a specific query, AI Overviews read information from multiple web pages and provide a summary of the findings.
In 2025, people will expect more stimulating content, which includes imagery, infographics, video content, survey results, and supporting research to accompany blog articles. This will also help with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.
Conclusion
The digital marketing landscape in 2025 will be heavily influenced by the integration of AI-driven technologies and the increasing demand for privacy and ethical data practices.
AI-driven content creation will play a pivotal role in generating personalised content that resonates with user personas, ensuring relevance without compromising privacy.
As consumers become more protective of their personal information, marketers and platforms will need to adopt innovative approaches, such as using anonymised and aggregated data, to deliver tailored experiences. Additionally, the rise of decentralised platforms like Bluesky and the continued growth of Meta’s Threads highlight a shift towards more user-controlled social media experiences.
About the author
Kirsty Nelms is the Director of award-winning Staffordshire-based creative marketing agency, Peacock Digital Marketing. The agency grows businesses through proactive, creative, insightful marketing – helping brands to strut their stuff 🦚.
Kirsty holds a first-class honours degree in Journalism and Editorial Design, has six years of experience as a qualified senior journalist, seven years of experience working at senior level in marketing, holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute, and a number of other advanced-level SEO qualifications.
Connect with her on LinkedIn, sign up for Peacock Digital Marketing’s email newsletter for free marketing tips and goodies, or follow her blog.
