12 C-level executives share the trends we’ll see in 2025 in digital marketing

What are the trends for content marketing in 2025?

"Authenticity and the smart utilization of artificial intelligence will dominate content production in 2025."
Panos Alefragkis, Head of Digital & 360 Advertising at The Newtons, focused on content production, stating that 2025 will be another year where content remains at the forefront. The emerging trends share a common element: they focus on the real needs and desires of the audience. Content needs to become even more human, authentic, and inspiring. The audience wants to connect with the brand, and storytelling continues to reign as the king of content.

What Is snackable content?

Snackable content refers to short-form content, typically a 15–20 second video that quickly grabs the audience's attention in an engaging way. For it to be effective, it should be interactive, encouraging users to engage with the brand. This means that users need to be empowered to like the video, share it, comment or in fact create UGC (User Generated Content). In simpler terms, users create their own videos designed with the original material from the brand at their disposal.

Content production & AI

Panos also discussed artificial intelligence in content production—the way we create and manage content. AI tools help brands understand their audience, predict what content they want to consume, and, of course, generate that content. The development of personalized content through AI is expected to grow over time as AI tools continue to evolve. 

What are the trends for social media marketing in 2025?

"2025 will be the year of personalization, transparency, and sustainability."
Angela Katseni, Head of Communications at Orange Click Media, stated that in 2025, we are going to witness a blend between technology and human connection. Brands will focus on creating experiences around personalization, transparency, and sustainability, striving to balance innovation with human value.
Interactive content on social media will continue to grow. We will see more quizzes, polls, and live streams as users no longer just want to consume content; they want to be a part of its creation.

The role of AI in social media marketing

Angelos Perlegas, CEO of Apearl, highlighted that generative AI and AI agents will play a significant role in social media. We are in an era where AI has become part of our daily lives, and almost everyone is using it.

What is generative AI?

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that generates new content based on models that have been trained on text, images, and audio data. These data makes it learn and output new solutions. For example, generative AI can learn English words and compose a poem using them. Businesses can use generative AI for various purposes, such as chatbots on their websites or content generation, etc.

What are AI agents?

AI agents are practical applications of artificial intelligence that automate intelligent processes.
For example, instead of a person manually scheduling social media posts, an AI agent can handle it automatically. In 2025, companies must understand what AI can achieve and how AI agents can streamline daily tasks.
To stay competitive, professionals need to build complete AI-powered workflows—letting AI handle content production while focusing on distribution, something AI cannot yet effectively manage.
According to Statista, the AI market is expected to grow to $62.72 billion by 2025, marking a 41% increase.
"On social media, we will see more AI-generated content."

Sustainability marketing

Consumers expect brands to take real action on sustainability and responsible practices. It’s no longer enough for brands to just market sustainability—they must genuinely implement and showcase their commitment through real-world initiatives.

What are the trends for artificial intelligence in 2025?

"Marketers will invest in AI tools due to their low cost, increased productivity, and time-saving benefits."
By 2025, marketing will truly be AI-driven. Artificial intelligence will no longer be just a tool—it will be an integral part of every marketer's workflow, assisting in both content creation and data analysis, as well as predicting consumer behavior.
AI will accelerate decision-making processes, making marketing campaigns more precise and highly targeted based on user needs.
Angela Katseni highlighted the role of augmented reality (AR) in e-commerce, which will grow significantly. Consumers will be able to try products virtually instead of just viewing them, enhancing user experience with products and brands, while also reducing product returns.
Eleanna Tavlikou, Digital Creator at Human Minds, emphasized the increasing use of AI-powered content creation tools. Marketers will invest in AI tools for their cost-efficiency, productivity boost, and time-saving capabilities.
A rising trend will be the surge in fake out-of-home (OOH) videos, which use CGI (computer-generated imagery) and video effects to create highly engaging and visually impressive content.
Generative AI will continue to evolve in 2025, enabling high-quality video production and effects through platforms like Pika Labs and Runway, without requiring advanced technical expertise.

What are the trends for influencer marketing in 2025?

"2025 will be the year of micro-influencers."
Angelos Perlegas predicts that due to the rapid growth of AI tools and AI-generated content, audiences will seek more authentic content in 2025.
Micro-influencers will play a key role in this shift, as they achieve higher engagement rates compared to larger influencers. Since they connect with their audience in a more personal and genuine way, brands will prioritize collaborations with micro-influencers to enhance brand awareness in a way that feels more relatable and direct to their target audience.

What are the trends for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2025?

Voice search optimization

"We need to adapt content using more natural language."
Christina Dechola (CEO of Content Studio), Nano Papaioannou (CEO of Copyartist), and Angela Katseni discussed the increasing use of voice search on devices like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. As this trend continues to grow, content creation and optimization must adapt to voice-based searches by using more conversational, long-tail keywords that reflect how people naturally speak.
Local SEO will also become more critical—especially for Google My Business Profiles, website content, and blog articles. Keywords will need to be more location-specific to increase visibility in voice searches. However, a challenge remains: current SEO tools do not yet provide highly targeted data for voice search, meaning marketers will need to develop strategies manually.

AI-powered SEO

Search queries are no longer limited to traditional search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Baidu. Increasingly, people are searching via AI-powered large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Claude, where queries tend to be more conversational and detailed.
As a result, brands must rethink their SEO strategies to ensure they appear in AI-generated search results and recommendations within these chatbots. This means focusing on high-quality, contextually relevant, and AI-optimized content to maintain visibility in emerging AI-driven search ecosystems.

What are the trends for performance marketing in 2025?

Georgia Zacharaki, Digital Strategy & Innovation Director at Tempo OMD, discussed the phase-out of cookies and the growing influence of AI-driven personalization. AI will further enhance the ability to reach the right user at the right moment with highly personalized messaging, improving conversion rates.
The Shift from Impressions to Attention-Based Metrics
A major shift in branding and performance marketing is the focus on attention rather than impressions or viewability. Previously, marketers measured ad success by how often an ad was displayed (impressions) or whether the ad loaded fully on the user’s screen (viewability).
Now, major tech providers like Lumen are introducing "attention metrics," which measure whether a user actually saw and engaged with an ad.
Key Factors in Attention Measurement:
•    The Medium – Different platforms generate different levels of user attention.
•    Creative Format – Videos, images, and interactive ads capture varying degrees of engagement.
•    Ad Placement – Where the ad appears on the screen affects whether users notice it.
•    Etc.

"Attention is the New Click: Redefining Media Buying in the Age of Engagement." by Afroditi Vogdanou at All Things Performance Marketing Conference 2025

Marketers will increasingly optimize for engagement and attention-based metrics rather than just impressions or click-through rates (CTR), ensuring that ads are not just seen, but actually absorbed and acted upon.

What are the trends for websites & landing pages in 2025?

Yiannis Elpidis emphasized the importance of personalization in websites. In 2025, visitors will expect more from their online experience—they want:
•    Personalized content tailored to their preferences.
•    Instant communication with brands through chatbots and AI agents.
•    Smart, fast, and seamless navigation based on collected user data.
Websites that fail to offer an optimized, user-centric experience will struggle to retain visitors.

What are the trends for affiliate marketing in 2025?

Dimitris Giokas, CEO of Atropos Digital, stated that SEO-based affiliate marketing is declining. Relying on Google-driven organic traffic for affiliate sales is no longer a recommended strategy unless one has extensive experience in the field.
Instead, affiliate marketing will thrive through other channels, such as:
•    YouTube content creation, where products are promoted through video content rather than traditional affiliate websites.
•    Influencer partnerships, leveraging social media platforms for direct product recommendations.
Brands and marketers will need to adapt to newer, more engaging affiliate strategies rather than relying solely on SEO-driven traffic.

What are the trends for data analysis in 2025?

"In 2025, businesses will analyze customer data and behavior more deeply, including CRM-level insights."
George Arapogiannis, CEO of Human Minds, highlighted the growth of data analysis, both within advertising platforms (via tags & pixels) and websites, to better understand user behavior and feed AI algorithms with relevant data.
Yiannis Elpidis (CEO of Dark Pony) pointed out that customer-brand relationships will become more personalized, as companies shift to:
•    Event-based tracking, due to the decline of third-party cookies.
•    First-party data collection, where businesses gather and own their own customer data.
•    Zero-party data strategies, where users voluntarily share their information to build trust and transparency in marketing campaigns.
Angela Katseni emphasized that privacy concerns will push businesses to collect and manage their own data, making data more valuable than ever for strategic decision-making.

How will artificial intelligence (AI) impact jobs in 2025?

By 2025, employees will need both theoretical and practical knowledge of AI tools to stay competitive in the job market. AI will be a standard tool in workplaces, helping to:
•    Automate repetitive tasks, saving time and resources.
•    Improve decision-making and productivity.
For junior professionals entering the workforce, AI literacy will be a major advantage when applying for jobs.
Employers will actively seek candidates who can leverage AI to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Those who master AI tools will become more valuable assets to companies.

How to stay updated & skilled in AI & digital marketing?

For those looking to stay ahead in the digital marketing industry, Knowcrunch offers:
•    Self-paced e-learning: The Midjourney Platform Course, available as 100% online video-on-demand.
•    In-person training: The Masterclass in Digital Marketing, held every quarter in Athens & Thessaloniki.
Keeping up with AI-driven marketing and data trends will be essential for career growth in 2025 and beyond.