Small Businesses Need To Know These 5 Important Marketing Trends For 2025

Marketing is constantly changing with technology, social trends, and consumer preferences. Here at The Seasoned Marketer we understand that it can be difficult for small business owners to stay up to date with all the latest marketing trends, so we did the work for you. For 2025, we suspect small businesses (and businesses in general) should shift their marketing focus to the following marketing trends: AI, video content, social commerce, personalization, and experiential shopping.

1. Marketing Trends: What’s New in Marketing with AI?

AI (artificial intelligence) is not going away. If anything, it will continue to grow and businesses will find new ways to use it within their marketing. There has been an increase in AI use to “try on” or view products in the intended setting so that consumers can make an educated decision before purchasing a product. Pinterest has already begun to do this within their app, and Maybelline is one of the many skincare/makeup brands who are using this technology.

There is also continued growth in the world of chatbots, specifically systems that small businesses can use on their websites. Chatbots are becoming more and more complex, allowing your customers to have their questions answered 24/7.

What exactly is a chatbot?

While Chat GPT is technically a chatbot, we are specifically talking about website plugins. Those dialog boxes that pop up when you visit a website is a “chatbot” that allows you to receive answers to your questions even when there is no one actively monitoring the chat. Right now most chatbots are set up so specific keywords or phrases will trigger a specific response, but in the future they may be intelligent enough to answer more complex questions. 

2. Video Content Will Continue to Grow

Video marketing is already a huge part of most marketing strategies, but it’s only going to continue to grow. According to a recent SocialMediaToday article, all of the recent engagement gains on Facebook have been related to video posts. Meta is increasingly pushing video content on their platforms (Facebook and Instagram), likely because of the popularity of TikTok.

What does this mean for small businesses?

If you are utilizing social media marketing – you will have to include video content. Video content is pushed out the most by these social media platforms, and it is the most engaging for audiences. 

If you are uncomfortable with being in front of the camera, there are some ways you can integrate video content without being on camera yourself. You can create B-roll content (i.e. video of you packing an order) to then place voiceovers on top of. Videos of your products or services are also a great way to share interesting video content with your target audience without having to get in front of the camera.

Beauty by Mary Grace regularly shares videos of “before and after” content with her Instagram followers. While she is not on camera, it still highlights her skills and abilities.

As a small business, it can be great to get in front of the camera! Your audience wants to connect with YOU, as a person. Being able to see the person behind the brand helps build a stronger relationship. If you are uncomfortable with it, start off small. Try sharing videos of you interacting with your audience on stories first. They are only up for 24 hours before disappearing. This can be a great way to ease you into the video content world.

3. Social Commerce: Are people really buying off of social media platforms?

The short answer, yes. Social commerce has exploded in recent years and is continuing to ramp up. There are many TikTok profiles that solely focus on selling products on TikTok Shop. There are entire 24/7 channels that run like QVC – pitching products to sell to viewers. 

As a small business owner, it may be a good idea to create shops on social media platforms. However, it really depends on your small business. It could be that creating the shop is more work than it is worth, or that you do not agree with the policies of these platforms and how they sell merchandise. Yes, social commerce will continue to grow, but that does not mean you absolutely have to participate if it does not align with your goals or branding.

We suggest looking back at what your goals are for social media marketing. For example, our goal for Instagram is to create a community of S.O.B.s that we can bring into our circle and share resources with. We do have products. We are not going to create an Instagram store. Our focus for Instagram is not sales, but community. We do not have to waste time trying to set up the store, and it would not align with the “vibe” we are trying to create on our profile.

4. Personalization

When we talk about personalization, we no longer mean the “Hi [name]” at the beginning of emails. Creating targeted ads and sending out personalized communication is the new standard, and is easier to do than it sounds.

Side story: Twice in Chelsea’s professional career, people have sent her an email without actually inserting her name at the beginning of the email. They instead sent, “Hi name”. This is a great way to ruin a relationship without even starting it. Always double check emails before sending them off, especially if you are going to be asking something of the intended recipient.

Data is power. It allows you to better understand your customers, and therefore interact with them in a way they actually are interested in. An easy way to do this is by segmenting your email list.

Here at The Seasoned Marketer we offer a wide array of resources for small businesses. We have a course called Rock Your Fair to help businesses who participate in craft fairs or markets. Not every small business is interested in this type of information, and we don’t want to bother already busy business owners with information they don’t want. So we segmented our audience.

Anyone who shows interest in information relating to craft fairs or markets (i.e. our Are You Ready To Participate in a Craft Fair quiz) are placed in a group or bucket. This bucket or segment are the people who will get emails explaining our Rock Your Fair course – because they have expressed interest in this type of content.

Another example: Let’s say you own a boutique that sells homegoods and jewelry. If someone comes in and only buys jewelry, then you should send them communication about any jewelry sales you may have, because this is the type of products they have shown interest in.

5. Experiential Marketing: What is it?

People want an experience when it comes to shopping. This is part of the reason why vinyl records and thrifting have become so popular. The hunt is exciting, and many consumers experience a rush when they find something they enjoy.

How exactly are small businesses creating experiences for their consumers? Many boutiques have begun to offer classes in their stores, relating to what they offer. Cotton Down South in downtown Summerville offers candle making classes for their staple Sweet Tea candles.

Another great example is The Design Demon’s charm bar. Her customers can design their own necklaces and earrings, then watch in real time as she assembles them. Not only do her customers get the exact designs they want, but they also get the fun experience of designing their own jewelry.

While there are so many other marketing trends that will likely emerge in 2025, we believe that small businesses should focus their marketing on these 5 trends. If you feel lost with your marketing or on how to incorporate these marketing strategies into your plan – reach out to us! You can send us an email at Help@TheSeasonedMarketer.com. 

Want to stay up to date with the latest marketing trends, and how your small business can stand out? Join our S.O.B. community! Each week we have an hour long zoom call with community members where we discuss marketing trends, strategies to look into, and answer any questions community members may have. Learn more information here.