Advertising is evolving at file speeds.
Synthetic intelligence is reshaping how we create, optimize, and personalize campaigns. Cookies are disappearing. And group is turning into extra precious than ever.
That will help you keep forward, we surveyed two dozen advertising leaders from high manufacturers about what’s working now and what’s coming subsequent.
We’ve mixed these insights with insights from our personal advertising methods at Semrush to create this information.
Listed here are the highest advertising tendencies to observe in 2025—and capitalize on them.
1. AI-Powered Advertising Continues to Surge
Each single marketer we surveyed mentioned they’re both already utilizing AI or automation of their advertising or have plans to.
HubSpot’s 2025 State of Advertising report helps this, with 92% of ballot respondents saying AI has impacted their position already.
The excellent news?
Solely 47% of entrepreneurs perceive use AI successfully. Which implies that for those who study to make use of AI in your advertising now, you’ll be forward of the curve.
Right here is get began with AI-driven advertising:
- Create content material quicker. Instruments like ChatGPT and Jasper assist groups brainstorm, draft, and edit weblog posts, e-mail copy, and social content material at file speeds.
- Optimize advert focusing on. AI in Google Adverts and different platforms adjusts bidding and focusing on methods based mostly on conduct knowledge.
- Improve buyer assist. Chatbots like ManyChat reply FAQs and qualify leads, liberating up gross sales reps to deal with higher-value conversations.
- Personalize outreach. Instruments like ActiveCampaign’s Predictive Sending tailor e-mail campaigns and touchdown pages based mostly on consumer conduct, business, and lifecycle stage.
Bear in mind, AI can nonetheless hallucinate (make issues up).
And the standard of output for easy prompts possible gained’t be as much as your requirements.
To counter this, use AI for first drafts and have a human editor fact-check and refine the content material for tone and voice.
Able to get began?
Attempt Semrush’s Content material Toolkit to generate full Web optimization-friendly articles utilizing AI.
Once more, you’ll want to have a human overview and edit the article. This can be a start line to make the method quicker.
2. Web optimization Makes Approach for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
To remain seen in AI-powered search, manufacturers are shifting from conventional Web optimization to generative engine optimization (GEO) by structuring content material for AI readability, prioritizing consumer intent, and showcasing belief and experience.
Right here’s why:
BrightEdge experiences that Google’s natural search clicks dropped by 30% up to now 12 months—largely as a result of some customers now get on the spot solutions from AI instruments like Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot.
Zero-click outcomes imply your content material must be structured, trusted, and readable by AI if you wish to be featured.
To optimize for AI-powered search:
- Construction your content material for scanning. Use clear headings, quick solutions, and Q&A codecs.
- Write nicely. Concise phrasing, bulleted lists, and well-attributed claims enhance the prospect of showing in AI-generated summaries.
- Implement schema markup. Use FAQ, HowTo, and different markup to make content material simple for AI to parse.
- Showcase E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Embrace authentic insights, consumer examples, or firsthand ends in your content material.
- Prioritize intent. Give attention to intent and matter protection over exact-match key phrases.
Monitor your outcomes utilizing Semrush’s Place Monitoring software to watch how your content material seems in generative search.
Additional studying: 10 Methods to Use AI for Web optimization
3. Cookies Are Being Changed By Privateness-First Advertising
Third-party cookies—which entrepreneurs have relied on to trace consumer conduct, personalize experiences, and ship focused adverts—are being phased out.
Safari and Firefox now block cookies by default, and Chrome might not be far behind.
That’s not all:
Based on Cisco, 86% of U.S. adults assist privateness laws—which makes third-party monitoring a possible belief difficulty with nearly all of the U.S. inhabitants.
This implies entrepreneurs might want to begin accumulating first-party knowledge and shift from behavioral focusing on to contextual promoting.
Right here’s put together for a cookieless future:
- Gather your individual knowledge. Supply worth to your guests in trade for e-mail signups and survey responses. For example, cellular video games typically give in-game foreign money in trade for survey responses.
- Monitor web site analytics. Use Google Analytics to watch viewers conduct in your web site, together with web page views, click-through charges, and consumer journeys.
- Use contextual promoting. Give attention to inserting adverts based mostly on the content material of the web page, not consumer conduct. For instance, place adverts for climbing boots on weblog posts about climbing trails relatively than focusing on customers based mostly on their shopping historical past.
- Audit your martech stack. Determine instruments that depend on third-party cookies and discover alternate options that prioritize consumer privateness.
- Leverage privacy-compliant instruments. Discover options like Google’s Subjects API, which ship related adverts with out compromising privateness.
The long run could also be cookieless, and the most effective entrepreneurs will adapt by accumulating their very own knowledge.
4. Quick-Kind Video Continues to Dominate
Quick-form video content material like TikToks, Reels, and YouTube Shorts drive among the highest engagement and return on funding (ROI) throughout advertising channels.
Based on HubSpot, 21% of entrepreneurs mentioned that short-form video is their #1 content material format for ROI, adopted by photos at 19% and live-streamed movies at 16%.
Right here’s use short-form video advertising:
- Select the fitting platform. Use LinkedIn or YouTube Shorts for skilled content material. TikTok or Instagram are higher in case your viewers is early-stage founders, creatives, or Gen Z patrons.
- Repurpose present content material. Slice lengthy webinars or interviews into 30-60 second clips.
- Preserve it actual. Genuine, unscripted content material builds belief and performs higher.
Let’s have a look at a number of examples.
Nice podcasters clip probably the most attention-grabbing bits of their podcast and switch these into shorts, like this one by The Alpha Thoughts podcast, which received over 2.7 million views:
Quick-form content material is a pattern you gained’t wish to skip in 2025.
They’re a simple solution to prolong and repurpose your present content material to achieve extra attain and hook new guests into your funnel with minimal effort.
5. Entrepreneurs Are Turning to Micro-Influencers
Some entrepreneurs are shifting towards micro-influencers for greater engagement, authenticity, and ROI—favoring long-term, area of interest creator partnerships over celeb endorsements.
Based on Influencer Advertising Hub, 53.8 % of manufacturers interact nano‑influencers and 21.6 % use micro‑influencers.
Our personal survey backs this up, discovering {that a} quarter of the entrepreneurs we polled are investing closely in micro-influencers and creator partnerships this 12 months.
Right here’s what to know if you wish to hop on this pattern:
- Construct long-term relationships. Ongoing partnerships really feel extra genuine than one-off promotions.
- Discover various platforms. For B2B, have a look at LinkedIn influencers, YouTube channels, newsletters, or area of interest Slack/Discord communities.
- Use inner advocates. Your crew might have already got some nano-influencers (1k-10k followers). Encourage them to share your content material and converse publicly about your model.
- Keep compliant. Guarantee influencers disclose sponsorships per FTC tips.
One wonderful instance of using micro-influencers is HubSpot’s partnership with Tina Huang in her video information to the basics of AI brokers:
Not solely did this video carry out extraordinarily nicely with over 1.2 million views, however HubSpot took it a step additional.
They labored along with Tina to create this AI immediate information to show that video engagement into e-mail subscribers:
And that’s not all.
Tina speaks nicely of HubSpot all through the video, and her appreciation of them sounds honest. There’s clearly a great relationship between them.
Additionally, HubSpot didn’t simply pay her for a easy point out.
They invested within the relationship by constructing out a whole lead funnel selling Tina’s title and movies alongside the HubSpot information.
Additional studying: Tips on how to Discover Influencers for Your Model
6. Entrepreneurs Are Capitalizing on Consumer-Generated Content material (UGC)
Entrepreneurs are leaning into user-generated content material (UGC) as a result of it builds belief, drives purchases, and outperforms brand-created content material
A examine by EnTribe discovered that 84% of shoppers usually tend to belief a model’s advertising marketing campaign if it options user-generated content material.
This belief interprets into motion—77% of customers usually tend to purchase a product they discovered by UGC.
Understand that UGC can take many varieties: product evaluations, buyer testimonials, pictures or movies the place your model is tagged, group discussions, and even unprompted social mentions.
Right here’s capitalize on all this free content material:
- Encourage UGC. Run campaigns, use branded hashtags, or ask joyful prospects to share their story or go away a overview in trade for an opportunity to win a prize or be highlighted in your social media web page.
- Repurpose UGC. Curate UGC throughout your web site, social media, and gross sales decks. Simply you’ll want to all the time credit score the creator.
- Average for high quality. Not all UGC is on-brand. Set clear tips and spotlight what nice content material appears to be like like.
- Use overview platforms. B2B software program manufacturers can showcase evaluations from G2, Capterra, or TrustRadius immediately on touchdown pages and even in nurture emails.
Already getting talked about by prospects?
Use Semrush’s Model Monitoring software to trace these mentions, discover UGC value resharing, and be a part of the dialog whereas it’s nonetheless contemporary.
7. Entrepreneurs Are Utilizing AI to Personalize at Scale
AI permits hyper-personalized content material at scale. Personalization as we speak goes past “Hello [First Name]” and contains delivering the fitting message based mostly on actual consumer conduct.
It’s nonetheless early, however it can possible quickly be the norm.
How so?
Michal Stín, Strategic Advisor for Trackdesk, advised us he believes that “Digital adverts will grow to be extra native.”
The instance he gave is astonishing—Netflix introduced that, in 2026, they are going to launch AI adverts that match the model and tone of the content material you’re watching.
Right here’s how you need to use AI personalization (with out having the funds of Netflix):
- Use dynamic content material blocks. Present completely different CTAs, case research, or headlines based mostly on the customer’s business, position, or conduct (which you purchase by first-party knowledge).
- Deploy account-based personalization. Customise touchdown pages or e-mail flows based mostly on firm measurement, funnel stage, or firmographics.
- Let customers set their preferences. Choice facilities let your guests management content material sort, frequency, and format—which is effective free knowledge you need to use to tell your advertising.
- Stability privateness with relevance. Be clear about how you utilize knowledge, and provide simple methods for customers to choose in or out.
We’re not in a spot the place anybody can use AI for hyper-personalization at scale—however we’re shut, and it’s value keeping track of it.
8. Entrepreneurs Are Investing Closely in Constructing Communities
Entrepreneurs that construct thriving communities are incomes extra belief, deeper engagement, and long-term loyalty.
Why?
As a result of even with AI and superior focusing on, patrons nonetheless flip to their friends for suggestions.
“Neighborhood is the final untapped community impact,” says Kevin Kirkpatrick, CMO of Sunsama.
The info backs it up:
Based on a 2024 report by Larger Logic, 76% of manufacturers with energetic communities say they enhance buyer retention, and 61% say they enhance model notion.
And our survey discovered that community-led advertising ranked fourth among the many most closely invested in advertising tendencies of 2025:
That’s not all.
Trade leaders like Tony Robbins and Alex Hormozi are investing closely in group platforms like GoKollab and Skool.
They’ve gone all-in on community-led advertising as a result of they see the facility in it.
Fortunately for you, making a group is simple.
You can begin with a free Slack or WhatsApp group to attach along with your followers and get members speaking.
Or, if you need one thing extra official, think about making a Fb, Skool, or GoKollab group of your individual.
For instance:
Salesforce created the Trailblazer Neighborhood—a forum-style part on their web site the place customers can assist one another and submit product suggestions.
On a smaller scale, there are free Skool communities like Focus Founders, the place enterprise founders collect to assist one another and get accountability and training.
Take this put up by Reema, for instance. She requested for assist selecting an e-mail advertising software program:
Communities like these are so highly effective as a result of they serve many functions:
They could be a lead funnel, an area for lead nurturing, a solution to retain present shoppers, and a manner of gathering first-party knowledge.
9. High quality Content material & Thought Management Nonetheless Matter
Unique, high-quality content material and thought management stay important for constructing belief, driving site visitors, and standing out as a reputable authority.
Actually:
Entrepreneurs we surveyed ranked thought management by content material advertising as their primary most closely invested technique for 2025, stating:
“In a world flooded with AI-generated textual content, content material grounded in real expertise and private perspective would be the solely solution to rise above the noise.” – Gal Orian Harel, Co-Founding father of Blix
So what are you able to do to face out?
Listed here are a number of tricks to create high quality content material and win thought management:
- Refresh previous content material. Replace top-performing posts with new stats, examples, and experiences to spice up rankings and preserve authority—each with Google and AI-generated search.
- Run authentic surveys. Use proprietary knowledge to again your claims, identical to we did for this put up. You’ll be seen as an authority and will even get extra backlinks and shares from others citing your insights.
- Repurpose the whole lot. Flip a weblog put up right into a video, podcast episode, carousel, or e-mail sequence to succeed in extra individuals with much less effort.
Able to get began?
Use the Matter Finder function within the Content material Toolkit to seek out attention-grabbing content material concepts. Simply enter a subject like “AI” and click on “Get content material concepts”.
After getting an attention-grabbing thought, use the Content material Toolkit to draft and polish concepts quicker.
Put These Advertising Traits into Motion
The way forward for advertising belongs to those that adapt quick, assume long-term, and leverage the fitting instruments.
That will help you get began, strive a few of Semrush’s strongest advertising instruments:
- Attempt the Content material Toolkit to immediately give you matter concepts, Web optimization briefs, and AI-generated weblog put up drafts
- Arrange Place Monitoring to watch the way you rank in each basic and generative search outcomes
- Use Model Monitoring to note when your model is talked about on social media and generate UGC
