Can’t miss expert insights into 2025 Marketing Trends

Marketing never stands still. To thrive in 2025, marketers must stay ahead of trends and continuously refine best practices to get results. We interviewed a few of our team experts on what they expect in 2025. Dive into our Q&A for a glimpse into the future of marketing.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Megan Heater, Senior Account Executive:

Do you foresee video being included in pitches to help set you apart?

As the media landscape becomes more saturated, incorporating multimedia into pitches is becoming not just a differentiator but a necessity. Including elements such as videos, graphics, logos, or compelling imagery can make your pitch more engaging and provide journalists with ready-made assets to use in their stories. These additions not only help your pitch stand out but also demonstrate that you understand the fast-paced demands of modern journalism, where having accessible, high-quality materials can make the difference between a story being picked up or overlooked.

How important are relationships in PR?

Building relationships is absolutely crucial in public relations. This field thrives on connections, so dedicating significant time to fostering genuine relationships with journalists is important. Before pitching, knowing who you’re reaching out to, what topics they cover, and familiarizing yourself with their work are key. It makes sense to contact journalists without making an ask—such as emailing to compliment a recent article and making an introduction. This approach ensures that a future pitch is not a cold outreach. When journalists see a pitch tailored to their interests from a familiar name, they’re far more likely to show interest.

Do you think AI will continue to play a big role this year in PR?

Absolutely. AI is not just here to stay—it’s becoming an integral part of the PR industry. 2025 will show greater adoption of AI-driven platforms, both generative and cognitive, to streamline day-to-day operations. Recent advancements in AI tools have demonstrated the ability to create content with, as PRSA noted, a finesse that rivals human creativity. However, using these tools effectively can be challenging, particularly in ensuring they serve as a support mechanism rather than a substitute for critical thinking. Professionals must approach AI outputs thoughtfully, refining and building upon them to maintain the human creativity and strategic insight that make PR impactful. This year will be pivotal for PR professionals to educate themselves on these tools to ensure they use AI ethically, practically, and creatively, ensuring these tools enhance rather than compromise the quality of our work and maintain the high standards of integrity our industry relies on.

DIGITAL

Aaron Harris, Digital Marketing Strategist:

Do you foresee an increase in video ads vs static images?

Absolutely. Video ads have been much better at engaging viewers for some time and will continue to be more engaging than static images in 2025. In late 2024, video ads proved to garner better results for our clients. Since every social media platform now includes video and social media usage continues to grow, using videos for advertising will increase as well.

How do you see AI positively or negatively impacting digital ads?

AI has and will continue to positively impact digital marketing because it has made it easier to experiment and get a feel for which digital ads will perform the best. Over the past few months, a more significant shift has begun towards performance max ads. These are video and SEO-friendly ads that utilize AI to determine what will help an ad perform best. Up until the last few years, creating and optimizing digital ads had to be done manually for every piece of content. Now, something as simple as creating alt tags (descriptions) for hero images can be done via AI. Overall, this saves digital marketers time, which is a positive.

What do you predict as the top trend in search in 2025?

Becoming hyper-local is going to be critical for search in 2025. Search has become more difficult with broader topics, so it’s important to focus on narrow search terms to maximize the impact. Using geotags, when possible, is also recommended for a hyper-local focus in 2025. When it comes to utilizing mobile versions of webpages versus webpages on the computer, there is a push towards the mobile version. Google has been pushing businesses to take advantage of mobile versions, as most customers are searching on their phone versus laptop or desktop.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

Chuck Norman, APR, Owner & Principal:

How do you see reputation management evolving in 2025?

Reputation management in 2025 is set to become more proactive, data-driven, and personalized. With the rise of AI and real-time analytics, organizations will have the tools, or be able to leverage their PR agency’s tools, to monitor public sentiment across various channels more accurately and respond swiftly to emerging issues. Social media platforms will continue to be a focal point, but the increasing use of decentralized and niche digital spaces will require brands to diversify their reputation strategies. Transparency, authenticity, and ethical practices will be essential, as consumers and stakeholders place greater value on accountability and purpose-driven actions. Reputation management will also extend beyond crisis response to ongoing narrative building, ensuring that organizations continuously foster trust and credibility. Companies that embrace predictive tools and maintain open communication will be better positioned to manage their reputations effectively as things continue to evolve around us.

How critical are relationships when it comes to reputation management?

Relationships are at the core of effective reputation management, as trust and loyalty are built through meaningful connections with stakeholders. Maintaining strong relationships enables organizations to weather crises and sustain long-term success, whether it’s customers, employees, investors, or media outlets. Trust is earned, and relationships built on trust are much easier to salvage or repair.  In today’s digital landscape, where information travels instantly, companies must engage authentically and transparently with their audiences to build credibility, and more importantly, trust. Strong relationships allow organizations to gather insights, address concerns early, and amplify positive narratives. Additionally, trusted relationships with key influencers and partners can serve as valuable allies in defending a brand during a crisis or reputational issue. In essence, reputation management is not just about managing perceptions but about fostering genuine connections that reinforce trust, resilience, and brand loyalty over time.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Jordan Vansiclen, Social Media Manager/Account Executive:

What platform(s) do you anticipate leading the way in 2025?

Instagram has added a lot of AI tools that they’ve been testing to help with image creation and caption development. They have even rolled out a neat opportunity to communicate with an AI version of your favorite celebrity. With X, formerly known as Twitter, seeing a 23% decrease in daily users since 2022 and trending downhill, threads may strengthen. Threads was rolled out in 2023 to be a text-based platform within Instagram. If Threads can add the ability for businesses to advertise, there’s no reason it can’t take off in 2025. Finally, TikTok may not go away as it’s too valuable of a platform. If TikTok is shut down, Instagram will experience a higher influx of users.

Do you anticipate paid or organic social media being more effective?

The short answer is both are extremely effective and will continue to be this year. Depending on a company’s goals, utilizing both paid and organic social media will be most fruitful in tandem. Paid social media can be a great way to increase brand awareness, especially for brands in crowded spaces or industries. It helps differentiate them with new audiences and gives full control over the narrative they’re choosing to amplify with their marketing dollars. Organic social media allows brands to be a little more authentic and relatable – traits that will continue to be important for a company’s social media presence. Toward that end, we can also expect an increase in brands participating in fun trends to build effective engagement.

Will User Generated Content continue to be utilized?

Yes. 100%. User generated content, or UGC, lets a brand’s fans help market for them and helps build an authentic, relatable community. UGC builds interactions between a brand and its consumers and in turn, strengthens their connection. This trend will strengthen in 2025.

CREATIVE

Lane Singletary, Graphic Designer:

Is there a certain style you anticipate businesses moving towards?

Expect the trend of “minimalist maximalism” to be a prominent style in 2025. It blends bold, statement-making elements with a clean, structured, minimal approach. Bold type over soft gradients will also be trending. Regardless of trends, designers should first develop creative that is on-brand for their clients and engaging for their audiences.

What do you expect to see in 2025 brand mark creative?

Logo styles are expected to use minimal design with a focus on simplification, organic shapes, and bold playful type with 3D elements.

What do you think of our team’s insights for 2025? Let us know! If your organization could benefit from a team of marketers that stays ahead of the trends, send an email to dbhardwaj@sacommunications.com