State of Marketing 2025: These 5 trends are important this year

The year 2025 marks another milestone in marketing. Artificial intelligence, authentic content and data-driven marketing are dominating the scene - companies that miss out on these developments risk being left behind.
To help you understand what's important this year, we have summarized the most important insights and trends from HubSpot's State of Marketing 2025.

Trend 1: AI remains the driving force

It's been just over two years since the introduction of ChatGPT and life without artificial intelligence (AI) is already hard to imagine. AI tools have made massive inroads in both the personal and professional spheres.
Among other things, generative AI has long since become a popular helper for creating content. In 2025, your goal should be to integrate AI even more meaningfully into your marketing strategy. Artificial intelligence should, for example, convert text-based content into multimedia campaigns and automate marketing workflows.

Recommendation for marketers:

• Use tools such as HubSpot Breeze to convert content from text into multimedia formats (e.g. video or audio).
• Use AI to develop automated workflows that help you reduce repetitive tasks and make room for creative processes.
• Remember to train your team in the use of AI tools. This will not only make your teams more efficient, but also ensure greater safety.

Tip: Start with small experiments, such as analyzing customer data with AI to test relevant target group approaches.

Trend 2: Focus on authenticity and visual storytelling

Content will continue to play a central role in numerous marketing strategies this year. In 2025, however, it will be even more important to develop content that is appealing and authentic. The most popular format is short videos, closely followed by images and live stream videos. They achieve the highest ROI and make it possible to tell authentic stories. Marketers are therefore planning to invest more in these channels in 2025. When it comes to the distribution of this content, LinkedIn is leading the way for B2B brands and YouTube, Instagram and TikTok for B2C marketing teams.
However, podcasts and audio content are also becoming increasingly popular. They have become an influential format for people of all ages and stages of life. The unique blend of education, inspiration and relaxed listening is reason enough for 91% of marketing professionals to maintain or even increase their investment in audio content in 2025.

Recommendation for marketers:

• Use short videos or live streams for visual storytelling.
• Collaborate with influencers from your niche to create authentic connections with your target group.
• Try out new formats such as podcasts or interactive content to engage your target group in the long term.

Tip: Invest in the production of high-quality videos. According to the HubSpot report, they are extremely popular with users and deliver the best ROI.

Trend 3: Data-driven marketing is becoming the norm

The biggest changes in marketing in recent years have to do with data. Marketing teams want to be more data-driven in 2025. Important key points of this development are the sharing of personal data, the often poor quality of data and stricter data protection regulations, such as the abolition of third-party cookies.

Especially with the phasing out of third-party cookies, the use of first-party data is gaining enormously in importance. They are considered particularly valuable and reliable, as you collect them directly and with full control over the data collection itself. At the same time, however, this also means that you need to take a closer look at the applicable data protection regulations when using this type of data collection.

Recommendation for marketers:

• Develop a clear procedure for collecting and using first-party data.
• Use AI tools to ensure high data quality and generate important insights that you can use to create personalized customer experiences.
• Ensure maximum data security and transparency towards your customers to build trust.

Tip: Gradually establish a data strategy for your marketing. For example, start with analytics dashboards to monitor the performance of your campaigns in real time.

Trend 4: Millennials and Generation Z as main target groups

Millennials and Generation Z may have grown up online, but they are one of the most difficult target groups for B2B and B2C to reach. Millennials in particular will be the largest target group of decision-makers in 2025. If you want to reach them, you need to know their needs and values.
What is important to them: brand values, environmental awareness, social responsibility and authenticity. Brands that cannot offer sustainable products or practices, for example, will be left out for a quarter of millennials or Gen Z.

Recommendation for marketers:

• Communicate your company values publicly and transparently.
• Integrate social responsibility into your marketing campaigns.
• Develop content and concepts that show how your company makes a positive contribution to the environment.

Trend 5: Personalization as the key to understanding target groups

96 percent of marketers report that personalized customer experiences increase sales. This is mainly due to the fact that the focus on customers and their experience with the brand has become more important.
Translated, this means that if you are able to guess exactly what tasks need to be done and then find the content that helps that person, then you are creating truly personalized experiences. Conversely, this means higher conversion rates, better open rates and increased click-through rates.

Recommendation for marketers:

• Use chatbots and automated tools to enable personalized communication in real time.
• Develop landing pages that address specific target group segments.
• Create content that is geared towards different needs in order to reach as many potential customers as possible.

Take off in 2025 with HubSpot

The year 2025 offers enormous opportunities for marketers who are ready to break new ground. Still at the very beginning? No problem. HubSpot creates the necessary basis for you to take your marketing to a new level. Our ebook HubSpot for SMEs will tell you everything you need to know about how the platform can support you.