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Discover the marketing landscape of 2026, with insights into AI integration, short-form video popularity, UGC strategies, and the importance of authentic branding.
Because marketing is so closely tied to consumer behavior, no matter what area of marketing you specialize in, the effectiveness of your campaigns is susceptible to cultural ebbs and flows. To optimize your marketing plan for the modern consumer, it can be important to incorporate some trendier elements into your marketing strategy alongside the more tried-and-true efforts.
In this article, we’ll discuss 2025's top marketing trends, which span social media marketing, digital marketing, brand marketing, and more. As you read through these trends, remember to keep your unique consumer base in mind because not all trends will necessarily translate across all audiences.
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To identify the top marketing trends, we researched a range of marketing reports and studies across several areas of marketing. Trends worth keeping in mind as you develop your marketing plans are:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is boosting effectiveness and efficiency.
Short-form video content, like TikTok, is driving social strategy.
User-generated content (UGC) is increasing brand awareness.
Community efforts and genuine branding encourage consumer trust.
Quality editorial content persists.
Case studies continue to drive brand recognition and sales lead generation.
Search engine changes are shifting search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
AI-powered chatbots are expanding conversational capabilities.
Personalization is enhancing the user experience.
Let’s take a closer look at these trends and the data that informs them.
AI advancements have made a big impact on marketing. According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report 2025, 92 percent of marketers stated that AI has already had an impact on their role, with one in five marketers planning to use AI agents to automate their marketing strategies [1]. What’s more, consulting firm Gartner predicts that 80 percent of advanced creative roles in marketing will be tasked with using GenAI to enhance their marketing efforts by 2026 [2].
Two areas where AI frequently appears in marketing workflows are content production and marketing analytics.
Many marketers use generative AI (GenAI) across different stages of content creation. According to Adobe’s 2025 AI and Digital Trends report, 42 percent of marketing professionals prioritize using AI for content creation and ideation, with 64 percent of organizations that use genAI reporting faster and higher volumes of content production[3].
You can use GenAI tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to generate content ideas, build briefs and outlines, draft content, or even write complete pieces.
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Data-driven marketing isn’t a new trend, but the way marketers get their data is changing, thanks to AI. According to The Work Innovation Lab and Anthropic’s 2024 report, The State of AI at Work, 30 percent of workers use generative AI for data analysis [4].
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As marketers increasingly target digital-first generations, they’re meeting them where they are: scrolling short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. According to the 2025 HubSpot report, 21 percent of marketers state that short-form video is the content type with the highest return on investment (ROI), with TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram emerging as top social channels in 2025 [1].
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User-generated content (UGC) is any type of content that users post about your product on their social media profiles. The content itself may be similar to the type of content you’d see influencers or affiliate partners posting, but unlike those posts, businesses don’t work directly with the users to sponsor or produce the content. It’s more like word-of-mouth marketing, where users create content and share it with their audiences, and then businesses can leverage that content through tactics like social sharing or giveaways.
Traditional influencer marketing and affiliate marketing programs continue to have a place in marketing strategy, but marketing professionals are also increasingly relying on UGC as a cost-effective way of promoting brand awareness in a way that feels organic to the typical viewer. According to Gartner, over 80 percent of consumers believe that UGC improves product discovery, brand trust, and experience [2].
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According to Gartner [2], authenticity is the third-highest value US consumers identify with, and nurturing a genuine brand voice will become increasingly important as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent in online spaces.
The modern marketer’s response: lean into emotional connections with community-building efforts. A 2024 report from marketing platform TINT found that 70 percent of marketers agree that community building is key for customer retention and that 82 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase new products from a company with an engaging online community [5].
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Marketers will continue to invest in editorial content, like blog posts and podcasts, to generate engagement, support conversions, and promote thought leadership. According to the 2025 HubSpot report, 91 percent of marketers surveyed plan to increase or maintain their investment in podcasts and audio content in 2025 [1].
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More traditional content marketing, like case studies, is typically used to increase brand recognition and drive lead generation, particularly for B2B marketing. In 2025, case studies will continue to show up in marketing strategies. In a 2024 MarketingProfs study, 78 percent of B2B marketers reported using case studies and customer stories in the past 12 months, with 53 percent stating that customer stories helped them get effective results [6].
With AI-powered enhancements to popular search engines, Gartner predicts that brands will see a 50 percent decrease in organic search traffic to their websites by 2028 [2]. Despite the shifting landscape, a survey by Conductor found that 91 percent of respondents reported that SEO adoption had a positive impact on their website performance and marketing initiatives in 2024 [7].
In addition to evolving historical strategies, SEO teams are increasingly expanding into video, image, and, in some cases, audio search content, aiming to prioritize a delightful customer experience while capitalizing on all aspects of Google and Bing’s latest developments.
Learn about the importance of SEO with the University of California, Davis’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization. By the end of the program, you’ll understand SEO fundamentals, how to optimize your website, and some advanced tactics.
Chatbots and virtual assistants are providing consumers with high-quality answers to common or easily answered questions. With advancements in AI and natural language processing (NLP) technologies, it’s becoming easier for marketers to program and use these tools to increase efficiency without disrupting customer satisfaction. Grand View Research projects that the global chatbot market will grow at a CAGR of 23.3 percent from 2025 to 2030, driven by the increased adoption of AI and machine learning [8].
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AI is also enabling personalized experiences, which 96 percent of marketers say lead to increased sales [1]. Machine learning product recommendations or immersive experiences, like augmented reality (AR) features that allow users to “view” physical products in their space, tap into individual consumer preferences to unlock data-driven purchase decisions and increase customer satisfaction.
Still, this is an emerging digital marketing trend. Adobe notes that while 47 percent of respondents used predictive analytics to inform their personalization strategy, only 39 percent routinely offered personalized website experiences, and only 31 percent personalized offers to align with customers’ purchasing behaviors [3].
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Alongside the interest in personalization, digital marketers are keenly aware of changing data collection and privacy policies that stand to change the way they learn about their audience. As Apple and Google phase out third-party cookies, businesses are exploring first-party data collection methods.
Learn more about data privacy with Northeastern University’s Data Privacy Fundamentals course.
To stay up-to-date with the latest marketing trends, consider following online and print news and media sources relevant to marketing, such as Apple News and Forbes. Reading journal and magazine publications, such as those by the American Marketing Association and Ad Age, can also be a great way to identify new perspectives in the marketing industry and understand the latest trends in depth. Blogs and discussion boards on Reddit or LinkedIn also provide easily accessible options for discovering new marketing trends and gaining insights from a consumer’s perspective. You can also change your Google Alerts settings to receive notifications whenever new content related to a topic of your choice becomes available.
Learn how to keep up with the latest marketing trends on Coursera. Advance your skills with the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate, you’ll learn the fundamentals of digital marketing and e-commerce, develop insights with marketing analytics, and use marketing tactics across various channels to grow customer loyalty.
HubSpot. “The State of Marketing 2025, https://www.hubspot.com/hubfs/2025%20State%20of%20Marketing%20from%20HubSpot.pdf” Accessed June 26, 2025.
Gartner. “Gartner Marketing Predictions 2024, https://emt.gartnerweb.com/ngw/globalassets/en/marketing/documents/marketing-predictions-for-2024.pdf.” Accessed June 26, 2025.
Adobe, “Adobe 2025 AI and Digital Trends report, https://business.adobe.com/resources/digital-trends-report.html#generative-ai-expands-from-efficiency-to-engagement” Accessed June 26, 2025.
Anthropic and The Work Innovation Lab by Asana. “The State of AI at Work, https://assets.asana.biz/m/25388d9dbeadd06e/original/FY25_Q2_State-of-AI-at-Work-Anthropic.pdf” Accessed June 26, 2025.
TINT. “State of Community Powered Marketing, https://www.go.tintup.com/hubfs/Downloads/TINT%20-%20State%20of%20Community%20Powered%20Marketing%20-%202024.pdf.” Accessed June 26, 2025.
MarketingProfs. “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2024, https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2024/50567/b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-trends-outlook-2024-research” Accessed June 26, 2025.
Conductor. “The State of SEO in 2025, https://www.conductor.com/academy/state-of-organic-marketing/” Accessed June 26, 2025.
Grand View Research. “Chatbot Market Size, Share & Growth, Industry Report, 2030, https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/chatbot-market” Accessed June 26, 2025.
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