You know what’s wild about marketing? Just when you get comfortable and see success with tactics and platforms, everything changes. It’s one of the main things I love about marketing: it requires a growth mindset and curiosity to see sustained success. In that vein, I’ve pulled together 9 trends that I believe will help shape marketing.

1. AI as Your Creative Co-Pilot

We have to talk about AI – not just as another tool in your toolkit, but as your creative partner. I’ve found that tools like Claude aren’t good enough yet for cranking out truly unique content but can be useful thought partners when given proper context about your goals and audience. They can act as a critical eye, helping spot holes and flaws to strengthen your work.

Marketers seem to be all in: 85% of B-B marketers are using generative AI according to Pipeline360. AI-first search tools such as Perplexity offer concise, AI-generated summaries from multiple sources, saving time during research. 

2. Voice and Visual Search Take Over

Still typing out searches? That’s so quaint. We’re seeing a considerable shift toward voice commands and visual searches, and the numbers back this up. 30% of internet users worldwide are already using voice assistants weekly (Datareportal), and Synup predicts that 80% of voice searches will be conversational (Synup). What does this mean for us marketers? We need to rethink our content strategy. Think about how people actually talk – they don’t say ‘best coffee shop in Des Moines,’ they ask ‘where can I get a great cup of coffee near me?’ That natural language needs to be baked into our content.

3. First-Party Data for Smarter Ads

First-party data is where the real magic happens. I’m talking about the gold mine of information you get directly from your customers – their email signups, purchase histories, how they interact with your site/app. Think With Google and Boston Consulting Group found something pretty incredible: companies using first-party data saw nearly 3x revenue lift and 1.5x cost savings. 

4. Authentically Connect with User-Generated Content

We know intuitively that people trust other people way more than they trust brands but the numbers reinforce this: 79% say user-generated content impacts their buying decisions (HubSpot). When was the last time you bought something without checking reviews first? UGC value doesn’t stop there though; UGC-based ads get 4x higher click-through rates than traditional ads (EveryoneSocial). If you’re not highlighting customers’ testimonials and using it in your creatives to stand out and build community, you’ll likely be outpaced by a competitor who does.

5. Social Media Becomes the One-Stop Shop

Social media isn’t just for entertainment fix – it now wants to be the ultimate one-stop shop (as in commerce). The data back up this strategy: 44% of Gen Z and 33% of Millennials are getting their product info straight from social platforms (Statista). By 2025, we’re looking at $2 trillion in social commerce spending (Deloitte). If you’re in ecommerce, you need to be looking at social integrations. While not a social platform, Perplexity’s new shopping assistant builds on its search roots to streamline product research, comparisons, and checkout—showing how integrated commerce is shaping the future.

6. Micro-Influencers Make a Big Impact

Let’s be honest; most of us don’t have the budget for big time influencer marketing. But there’s good news: we’re seeing micro-influencers absolutely crush it with their super niche audiences. The engagement rates tell the story: they’re getting up to 60% higher engagement than the big names (Adweek). And here’s what really matters: 82% of consumers are ‘highly likely’ to follow their recommendations. Why? Because they feel real, relatable, and trustworthy.

7. Short-Form Video Still Supreme

Short-form video continues to dominate. Short-form videos get 2.5 times more engagement than long-form (Firework), and video content overall gets shared 1200% more than text and images combined (G2). We can’t just stick to one format. Like with UGC, we need to integrate video into all stages of the funnel and consider adjacent options like podcasts and streaming content to keep our audience interested.

8. Ethics and Sustainability Matter More Than Ever

A whopping 82% of consumers want brands that align with their beliefs, and 75% have actually stopped supporting brands over values conflicts (Consumer Goods Technology). The issues that are top of mind are ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, social responsibility, ethical branding, transparent data handling, and even content creation. Brands that want to thrive with the next generation of customers need to walk the talk when it comes to their values and practices.

9. Marketing Teams Expand through Partnerships

Here’s what I’m seeing for the future of marketing teams: smarter, leaner, more efficient. With AI handling more tasks and budgets getting tighter, most small to mid-sized businesses are keeping a core team of marketing pros and partnering with specialists (contractors, freelancers, and nimble agencies who can act as extensions of their team). The numbers back this up – 60% of technology managers plan to increase their use of contract professionals (Robert Half). It’s not about having every specialist in-house anymore – it’s about having the right partners at the right time.

So, how do you adapt?

Pick one or two of these trends that most speak to your brand, industry, and audience, and start learning and experimenting.

Want help making these trends work for your business? Let’s talk. We love helping brands find their sweet spot in this ever-changing landscape.

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