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# A Look Back … and a Look Forward
December 6, 2024
We’ve been doing marketing for a long time … long enough to recognize trends as they’re forming. At the start of 2024, we made some predictions about what would happen in 2024.
Let’s take a look at how we did … and what we can see coming in 2025.
## Our 2024 Predictions
If you didn’t read our original trends article for 2024, it’s worth . We broke down what we were seeing in the marketing world, because it looked like it was going to be a sea change. And it has been.
The whole marketing world is in uncharted territory. Google is no longer the reliable source of referral traffic it once was; social is expanding; AI is encroaching everywhere. Let’s see how we did.
### Trend: Social media and Google are fighting for search supremacy.
This happened, and is happening still. Social media is a powerful driver of traffic, and for high-intent queries (where to eat, what to make for dinner, beauty and workout how-tos) TikTok has a  usage rate in the United States. YouTube and Facebook are  too. Gen Z and Millennials are leaning on socials for more of their “how-to” knowledge, where Google used to fill that space.
However, Google is still dominant. Yes, usage is down a bit (especially on desktop), but “down” still means  across all platforms and 80% on desktop. Google knows it needs to change, and it’s working on it. The “10 blue links” SERP model is dead; instead, Google is emphasizing more diversity of results with Google My Business, Maps, Shopping, Videos, and other non-SERP recommendations. The new AI Overview feature is leading the way, offering one-click answers to searchers compiled from Google’s best sources on the subject.
Social search is growing, but you can’t count Google out.
### Trend: Artificial Intelligence is commoditizing creative production — but adding value to insight and unique voices.
This was undeniably true in 2024 … and getting truer in ways we might not have foreseen.
Most of the focus in the last year has been on AI as a content creator. But one of the more interesting things that has happened is the growth of AI in functional areas like search.
Many of the current issues with AI (for example, generated slop flooding the Internet) may actually be solved by AI-based filtration creating better search tech.
Insight and unique voices have always mattered, and more now than ever before. AI search models don’t look for keywords, keyword frequency, backlinks … they look for search terms in close proximity to each other. So if you can get mentions of your brand in relation to things that you do, you succeed.
### Trend: Short-form video is becoming everyone’s favorite content format.
True … with a caveat.
Short-form video is strong. On average, people spend  watching short-form videos *every day*, and short-form interactive videos can increase sales and conversions by up to 80%. This makes them an ideal way to reach an audience … but not the best way to keep them.
We saw a bit of a format/purpose split in video in 2024. Shorts and regular videos are performing different tasks; many creators say they use short video to drive awareness and leads, but turn to long-form content for engagement.Long-form still has its place, even if short-form is more popular overall.
### Trend: Right message, right channel, right time matters more than ever.
We called out a couple of specific channels that would grow in 2024. One very important one was permission-based marketing. We’ve seen more emphasis on email and SMS lists — in addition, many creators are taking to Substack and Patreon for their community-building tools. These are permission-based marketing tools as well. Substack has cracked ; Patreon is .
Google My Business and industry directories continue to be important as well.
We also warned not to get caught up in the latest platform or channel. Mastodon in particular got a fair bit of buzz in 2022 and 2023, but it’s been replaced with Threads and Bluesky for many users seeking to replace Twitter/X.
As we wrote, “Good marketers use the channels that have the best chance to reach their target audience with an appealing message.” That’s been proven true over and over again in 2024.
## Trends We’re Watching in 2025
If there was a theme for 2024, it was *change*. A fundamental change in the way marketing works. We expect those changes to expand, institutionalize, and deepen in 2025.
### Trend: Social commerce (sCommerce) becomes a primary focus of social media.
eCommerce has been part of the Internet for decades, but it revolves around sending people to a website. Social media apps will change that. TikTok and Instagram in particular are incorporating social commerce features to try to convert users into shoppers. Even  is finding a way to get in the action.
Social is no longer just about awareness. In 2025, social will drive sales. If you want to build eCommerce success, don’t ignore it. Add store links on your social media, and add social links in your store. Embrace social media in your transactions.
### Trend: *Meaningful* long-form content will surge.
Long-form content has seen a dip in the last several years, but we expect a resurgence — particularly with video essays and podcasts. This kind of content will continue growing in popularity, especially as channels like YouTube incentivize it with watch time metrics.
With more people  like *The Joe Rogan Experience* than multiple cable news network shows *combined*, the “mainstream media” isn’t mainstream anymore. Videos, vlogs and podcasts *are* mainstream media. And many of them are pretty meaty.
Long form will be the new destination for marketing — but it won’t be text. If you want to differentiate yourself in 2025, blogs will generate less ROI than podcasts or vlogs.
### Trend: Governments will enforce antitrust laws against powerful tech giants.
Google is embroiled in  right now. Meta is facing . The honeymoon is over for big tech, and as AI becomes more prominent, lawmakers will find other antitrust angles to attack — most of the big AI players are the same names we’ve heard for years.
It is unlikely that we see , but it’s possible.
We’re likely to see a lot of reactionary decisions as legislation continues to clamp down. We’ve already seen some; Google’s whole plan to remove cookies (and the walkback of that plan) was lawsuit-driven. Changes to providers’ email security (including SPF and DKIM) were driven by user protection. Data deletion standards came from EU legislative pressure. Many of the Big Tech decisions of the last few years were driven by fear of legislation or directly mandated by law. This will only accelerate in 2025 as other jurisdictions join the effort and force the industry to react (and pay for it.)
Stay informed. Follow best practices; don’t get caught out by things like the SPF/DKIM change that Google implemented in February 2024. And be honest with the market.
### Trend: Websites will become LESS a “discoverability tool” and MORE the hub for business building, content marketing efforts, and culture definition.
The old “build a blog and people will come” model of the website has been dead for a while, but the thinking has lingered as long as Google continued  as the main traffic referrer.
With recent algorithm changes making Google rankings and traffic unreliable, the last nail is finally in the coffin. Most people can’t rely on referrals to the website as their primary source of traffic. Your content needs to be more holistic — social media is more important than ever, and publishing there has major benefits.
Does that mean the website is dead? No. Quite the contrary. But the priority will shift from “driving traffic via blogs” to archiving your content, building and keeping a mailing list, showcasing your work in a gallery, etc. These are all tasks that social platforms do badly … and tasks that you SHOULD be doing on your website so you own the end product.
“Brochure” sites haven’t been worth it for years. 2025 will bury the brochure sites behind sites that keep their content updated. Keep your site up to date and use it as your marketing hub, even if you’re not writing blog after blog to drive traffic from Google.
## The Hits Just Keep Coming
2024 was a year of huge changes for marketers, and 2025 looks like more of the same. Don’t get caught out — we’ll keep you in the know and give you the help you need to get through. And if you feel like you need a more direct hand with your marketing, we’re here to help. 
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services
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