by Google
The new year is almost here, and with it comes new trends for influencer marketing and strategies for brands. In 2025, some established trends will strengthen, but there will also be a number of changes that will define the way brands and influencers reach their audiences. From deep authenticity and long-term partnerships to technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated influencers (CGI). These trends will create new opportunities for more effective and sustainable marketing and can move you to a new level. If you want to stay on top and be ready for 2025, read on and find out which trends will play a major role.
Emphasis on authenticity
Authenticity has been important until now, but the year 2025 will bring to influencer marketing an even stronger emphasis on authenticity, which is a key factor for successful campaigns.
Watchers also find it easier to discover collaborations that are superficial and motivated purely by financial gain.
Therefore, if you are a creator, we recommend you share real experiences, lifestyle and don't be afraid to share your problems. In addition, authenticity also means transparent product reviews. The audience will appreciate it if you tell how the product really works and point out some negatives, or at least tell which group of people you recommend the product to. After all, no product is universal and perfect.
Authentic content also leads to higher interaction rates and better follower engagement. The challenge for both brands and influencers will be to find a balance between being natural and maintaining quality. Authenticity leads to good and long-term relationships between customers and brands, but also between influencers and brands.
Long-term relationships
Long-term partnerships between brands and influencers have proven to be an extremely effective way to build audience loyalty and deepen relationships with customers. This trend is a response to a change in the behavior of the audience, which no longer trusts one-off collaborations. For people, "quick ads" seem artificial or insincere.
In long-term collaborations, the audience sees that the influencer uses products or services repeatedly, which creates trust and proves that the influencer stands behind what he promotes and that the products are really part of his life. For that influencer's audience, it can also feel like an unfolding story that they are a part of.
Long-term cooperation should last several months, even years. Long-term collaborations can also include joint events, exclusive collaborations, or some collabs and limited edition products. In addition, long-term campaigns provide more time to analyze and get to know the audience, which allows for better targeting and customization of the campaign.
Diversity and Equality
Diversity and equality will be even more in the foreground and part of influencer marketing in 2025. Such an inclusive approach can help brands gain a broad spectrum of customers from different communities. To achieve this, brands seek out and connect with diverse influencers from different cultures, ages, ethnicities, etc.
People are much more likely to identify with content in which they see someone similar to them - whether based on age, race, physical characteristics, or lifestyle. Additionally, an approach that embraces multiple voices and perspectives shows that the brand understands and supports the values of inclusion and equality.
The Growth of Video Content
TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts and their videos lasting a few seconds are becoming more and more popular, so this trend of short video content will continue to strengthen in 2025. Why do short videos dominate social networks?
People have shorter attention spans as they go further, which is why the length of content they watch is constantly getting shorter. Short content is easy to consume, does not require long concentration and can be watched anytime, anywhere. The algorithms of the platforms have also adapted to this trend, and that is why shorter videos come to the fore.
If you are a creator, short video content allows you to easily show the product in practice - tutorials, reviews, unboxing. If you add short videos regularly, it is very likely that the platform will support you and push your content to the forefront. And don't be afraid to experiment!
Which formats will be top in 2025? Tutorials and "How-to" videos, because people are looking for practical content that will help them learn something or solve a problem. Short videos can also be created very authentically, in some unexpected current situation, they don't have to be perfectly set up, or they can be behind the scenes videos. The last format is live streams or interactive formats which um
Boom AI and CGI in influencer marketing
In 2025, we expect artificial intelligence and computer-generated influencers to revolutionize influencer marketing. Artificial intelligence is a key tool that can accelerate the analysis of influencers for brands and help them choose the right one based on demographic data.
Whether you are a brand or an influencer, if you learn to effectively implement AI in your work, it can save you a lot of time. Use AI to analyze the audience or content and find out how you can better target, improve and advance your work. Automate simple tasks that would take you a lot of time manually, but with the help of AI you will get them done once or twice. This includes, for example, the creation of captions, which you can create, for example, using the Captions application in a few seconds.
CGI, i.e. virtual characters, are gaining popularity especially in the fashion, game or technology industry and marketing. CGI influencers are advantageous in that they can be designed to match a brand's target audience. The use of CGI can attract the young generation, which is more open to technological innovations, at the same time it gives brands the opportunity to implement more creative, futuristic or even surreal campaigns that are impossible for ordinary people and traditional influencers.
Nano and micro influencers
We expect that in 2025, brands will look more for nano and micro influencers and they will become an integral part of influencer marketing. These influencers with fewer followers - nano influencers up to 10,000 and micro influencers up to 100,000 - bring many benefits to brands.
Nano and micro influencers have a loyal and active audience because they can engage with it more and more personally. The audience may feel that they know the influencer better due to more frequent interactions, build a stronger relationship with them, trust them, and this increases the likelihood of buying the product they are promoting.
These influencers are more affordable for brands, which means that the brand can work with several small influencers and get their product to different target groups. Because smaller influencers are under less pressure than big influencers, their reviews are more honest and brands can naturally communicate their values and messages. At the same time, these influencers can be a great way to test products due to their authenticity.
The year 2025 will bring fundamental changes to influencer marketing and will strengthen the emerging trends. Emphasis on authenticity, long-term partnerships, diversity and equality, or the use of innovative technologies such as AI and CGI are just some of the key elements that will shape successful campaigns. If you want to be on top, now is the time to start planning and adapting your strategy to this new direction.