Marketing Trends We’re Leaving in 2025
Discover the marketing trends to leave in 2025 and the winning strategies for 2026, from personalized experiences to authentic influencer partnerships.
Inauthentic influencer partnerships
The same-old marketing strategy
As marketers, we often spend months leading up to a new year planning content strategies. 2026 is officially here, and as we embrace the new number and all that comes with it, we’re also sharing everything we’re leaving behind.
These marketing trends, while they may have been right in the moment, can stay in 2025 where we left them. And we’re not talking about the TikTok trends that made their way into our feeds and hearts; we’re focusing on the “wrongs” that marketers need to fix in order to have successful campaigns this year.
Without further ado, here are the trends we’re leaving behind and the tactics we’re replacing them with in 2026:
General marketing experiences
Gone are the days of lumping all of your customers into the same category. Don’t forget that your collective “audience” is made up of individuals with different demographics, mindsets, and pain points. When you’re speaking to them as a whole, the same message won’t always produce the same results.
The proof is in the pudding. Hubspot asked business leaders “How does offering customers a personalized experience impact your company’s sales?” In response, 44% say it increases sales significantly and 44% say moderately, meaning that 88% of business leaders saw growth from creating personalized experiences.
In 2026, we’re finding ways to segment audiences to better speak to them, even getting onto the individual level in certain circumstances. The more personalization, the better. Here are a few ways to incorporate individual experiences into your marketing strategy:
- Segment contacts in your customer relationship management (CRM) platform to send promotional messages and email blasts to specific groups of customers.
- Use dynamic content on your website that changes baked on visitor behavior, location, or past interactions with your brand.
- Leverage purchase history and browsing data to recommend products or services tailored to each customer’s interests and needs.
- Implement marketing automation workflows that trigger personalized messages based on customer actions, such as abandoned carts, milestone dates, or engagement levels.
Quantity over quality
In the past, pumping out content was a popular strategy, making sure your customers saw as many touchpoints as possible. While creating a significant amount of content might be valuable to some brands, it’s important to prioritize quality over quantity. If your frequent content is high quality, full speed ahead, but if it’s a struggle to reach your goal of five posts a week, it might be time to take a step back and reevaluate.
Slow down and be intentional with your content creation. Build campaigns that will speak to your audience, and create strong content within them. See how you can implement cascading content strategies and content pillars as opposed to one-off posts that don’t speak to any strategy.
Text-heavy content
We all know that short-form video content is at the height of its fame. In fact, the content formats marketers say deliver the highest return-on-investment are short-form video (21%), images (19%), and live streamed videos (16%). It’s proven that users are drawn to visual content. This doesn’t mean written content doesn’t have its place; you need to take a new approach to incorporate visuals into narrative work to break it down and catch the attention of your audience. We came up with a few ways to do so:
- Add graphics and images throughout blog posts and website copy to draw the eye where you need it to go.
- Let your photo or video do most of the talking on social media, and write a valuable caption to supplement it.
- Make a budget for professional photography and videography of your staff, customers, and community. The more people see familiar faces in your content, the better.
Inauthentic influencer partnerships
How often do you come across influencer ads that feel disingenuous? Sometimes, brands choose to work with influencers with the highest popularity over how aligned they are with a campaign. But, in 2024, 24% of marketers reported using influencer marketing, and both B2B and B2C brands found the most success with micro influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers. We know this information, now it’s time to run with it.
In 2026, we’re encouraging you to focus on influencers with niche audiences that match your brand. Do your background research on a variety of creators, making sure their reputation, content aesthetic, and values stay true to the campaign you created.
The same-old marketing strategy
Remember this: what worked for your marketing last year won’t cut it this year. You likely started planning your 2026 marketing strategy months ago. If you haven’t, there’s no time like the present to start.
Consider ways to incorporate brand authenticity into every facet of your marketing this year, building a marketing ecosystem that truly works together. Figure out what sets you apart from the competition and run with it.
As we move through 2026, the marketing landscape continues to evolve, and so should our strategies. The trends we’re leaving behind are stepping stones that taught us valuable lessons about what truly resonates with today’s audiences. The thread connecting all of these shifts is simple: authenticity and intentionality win. Work on personalizing customer experiences, partnering with the right influencers, and refreshing your overall strategy to continue building genuine connections with your audience.
We hope you have an incredible 2026!
Take your marketing strategy to the next level. Start a conversation with us today.