Top 5 digital marketing trends for 2025

Leveraging LLM, zero-click marketing, GEO, and more—explore 2025's key digital marketing trends and how to stay ahead of them with cutting-edge strategies.

With 2024 behind us, we look towards another year of digital marketing evolution, offering both challenges and opportunities for brands. From the constant creeping influence of generative AI to changing user behaviours, the methods marketers use to appeal to a broader audience will need to adjust dramatically this year. Here's a closer look at the key trends shaping digital marketing in 2025, alongside actionable steps to implement into your marketing strategy.

1. Leverage LLM traffic for content discovery

Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude, are constantly discussed in the media for good reason. They're now becoming essential tools for information discovery, and this change looks set to accelerate. Last year, OpenAI launched SearchGPT, combining traditional search engine functionality with generative AI. Users rely on these AI tools for quick, accurate answers, and brands that optimise their content to be included in these outputs can see significant traffic boosts.

What marketers can do:

Create content that is concise, factually accurate, and highly relevant to industry-specific queries.
Use conversational tones and question-answer formats that LLMs favour in their outputs.
Update your content regularly to reflect the most recent data and insights so it remains relevant to AI-generated answers.
Optimise your content with structured metadata to make it easier for LLMs to navigate your pages.

2. Focus on zero-click marketing

Last year, 60 percent of Google searches resulted in no clicks. As clicks directly affect SEO rank, there needs to be some serious thought to reconfigure how we use SEO. Zero-click marketing addresses this by transforming the way users consume information. Instead of relying solely on clicks to measure success, brands must focus on building brand awareness and authority through valuable short-form content that can stand on its own without the user needing to click for more information. This is particularly important as Google integrated generative AI into its search results last year, offering answers directly within AI overviews rather than leading users to external websites, giving way to generative search optimisation (GEO). The AI overview, Google's featured snippets, and knowledge panels give users the succinct information they need without clicking further.

What marketers can do:

Develop high-quality content that answers user queries concisely and builds trust in your brand.
Create a GEO strategy involving long-form, high-value content written in a human tone more likely to be picked up by AI algorithms.
Invest in PR campaigns and thought leadership that showcase your expertise and increase visibility without relying on clicks. Maintain brand authority by publishing original research, white papers, and case studies that set you apart from competitors.
Use infographics, videos, and snippets that are highly shareable and digestible, even outside of your website.
Audit your existing content to ensure it is detailed, reliable, and addresses user intent comprehensively.
Track brand mentions, impressions, and sentiment as alternative metrics to evaluate your efforts.

3. Adapt to social media search

SEO isn't just losing ground to GEO; social media platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram are fast becoming primary tools for discovery instead of traditional search engines. Users are actively looking for inspiration, insights, reviews, and recommendations within social media networks, and certainly before they navigate off-site to a search engine. This behavioural shift is reshaping how users engage with content and how marketers approach social strategies throughout the entire marketing funnel.

What marketers can do:

Invest in platform-specific SEO to improve the discoverability of your posts and profiles within social search tools.
Create visually engaging, informative, and interactive content that captures attention on platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok.
Monitor trending hashtags and keywords within your niche to align your content with what users are searching for. Trends move quickly, so it's critical to be responsive quickly, so you don't get lost in the pack of late-coming trend hoppers.
Collaborate with thought leaders, active community members, and your customers to expand your reach organically.

4. Engage with niche forums

This might contrast the point above, but stay with us: companies spent less on social media last year, the lowest amount in seven years. This can be explained by dwindling return on investments—people are spending less time on their social networks, with social media fatigue and a perceived decline in content across these platforms cited as top reasons. However, e-commerce is estimated to continue to grow year-on-year. As users are more selective with their time on traditional social media, many are turning to niche forums and online communities, such as Reddit and Quora, for authentic advice and recommendations. These spaces present an opportunity for brands to connect with their audience in more meaningful and authentic ways, rather than the ever-increasing cost of unsolicited paid social ads.

What marketers can do:

Identify forums, industry-specific communities, and Q&A platforms where your target audience is active.
Engage authentically by offering valuable insights and answering questions rather than pushing sales messages.
Monitor discussions to identify common pain points and use these insights to inform your content and product strategies.
Consider creating your own branded community or forum to foster deeper connections with your audience.

5. Optimise for voice search

The growing use of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant is changing how users search for information and make purchases. Voice search should already be a vital consideration for marketers, and it's unsurprisingly estimated to increase this year. Multimodal search is when AI or search engines consider a range of different inputs (such as text, images, and voice) to produce more accurate results. Last year, OpenAI launched a multimodal ChatGPT to better virtual assistants' capabilities, underscoring the increasing value of voice search optimisation.

What marketers can do:

Optimise your website and content for conversational queries that users are likely to say rather than type.
Ensure your product descriptions and service pages are detailed and voice-friendly.
Create FAQ sections that address common voice search queries.
Consider voice-enabled integrations with smart assistants to make purchasing easier for users.
76% of voice searches use the phrase "near me", so consider integrating local SEO practices into your voice search strategy.

In 2025, B2B marketers face an exciting yet challenging environment shaped by shifting user preferences and how shiny newer tech is deployed. Gone are the classic reliable SEO and social marketing of days gone. Success will require a combination of innovation and honesty. Yes, leveraging AI is a key part of squeezing more success out of your marketing plans and budgets, but people are increasingly experiencing AI fatigue with too many brands producing masses of low-effort, unreliable, and inauthentic content. The solution is to maintain a human and creative touch, optimise for new search behaviours and user needs, and build trust through meaningful, helpful interactions—alongside smart AI use. The brands that thrive will be those that prioritise strategic planning, embrace these trends early, and put their audience at the centre of everything they do.

How good is your marketing?

Get a free digital marketing review from Brew Digital and learn how to optimise your marketing spend and performance.

Get your free marketing review