3 of the most important marketing tips for 2025 (with actionable guidelines)

Marketing In 2025

2025 is here and it’s got me reflecting on the ins and outs that I see coming up this year.

As someone who has worked in marketing for 10 years, I’ve seen it all! The trends and topics that we’ve seen covered over the past decade have been vast, and with social media pumping out new creators here, there and everywhere, there’s never been a better time to start creating content and showing up.

Whether you have a brand or just want to create, marketing can help you engage an audience and grow your following.

Here’s 3 tips for 2025 that will help you secure audience engagement and grow your personal or professional brand.

1. Define your audience

One of the most important marketing initiatives you can take is to write down and solidify who you are creating for.

Ultimately, most people fail at marketing because they don’t know who they’re talking to. Marketing should serve your people, reach your audience and make them say “yes, that’s me!”

By knowing your audience, you can craft messages that speak directly to their needs, interests, and pain points. 

Questions to ask to define your target audience in marketing

Here’s my go-to list of questions I get clients to answer when I’m working with them to define their target audience.

From here, I encourage the exploration of personas which allocate a name and specific age, job, behaviours and interests of the type of person we are targeting. One brand may have 3-6 of these “personas” or “avatars”.

For example, if I’m selling marketing courses, I might have a persona called “Career Change Carly”. Example facts about Career Change Carly could be:

Name: Career change Carly

Age: 27

Gender: Cishet Female

Occupation: Works as a nurse but has started a hair scrunchie brand on the side

Income: Affluent parents and private school background, currently in a low income bracket

Behaviours: Sociable, active online, up to date with trends, well educated, takes an interest in politics, likes fashion, follows sports, 

Interests: Self-development, charity work, environment

Pain points: Needs to learn about marketing to sell her scrunchies

Every brand should ask themselves the questions below and come up with a range of target personas that they can speak to.

Demographics:

1. What is the age range of my audience?

• Are they teenagers, young adults, middle-aged, or seniors?

2. What is the gender distribution?

• Are they predominantly male, female, or diverse in gender?

3. Where are they located geographically?

• Are they local, national, or international?

• Do they belong to specific cities, regions, or countries?

4. What is their level of education?

• Are they high school students, college graduates, or professionals with advanced degrees?

5. What is their income level?

• Are they students, working professionals, or high-net-worth individuals?

6. What is their marital or family status?

• Are they single, married, or parents?

7. What is their occupation or industry?

• Are they in tech, healthcare, education, marketing, etc.?

Psychographics:

1. What are their values, beliefs, or interests?

• Do they care about sustainability, community, innovation, or luxury?

2. What are their hobbies or lifestyle choices?

• Are they fitness enthusiasts, tech lovers, travel addicts, or readers?

3. What motivates them?

• Are they driven by financial gain, career advancement, personal growth, or leisure?

4. What are their pain points or challenges?

• Are they looking for solutions to specific problems (e.g., time management, stress reduction, health issues)?

5. What are their aspirations or goals?

• Do they want to advance in their careers, maintain a healthy lifestyle, or find financial freedom?

6. What media do they consume?

• Do they prefer blogs, podcasts, social media, or YouTube?

7. What is their personality like?

• Are they extroverted, introverted, or somewhere in between? Do they prefer socializing in groups or one-on-one?

Behavior:

1. Where do they typically spend their time online?

• Are they on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn?

2. What type of content do they engage with?

• Do they prefer articles, videos, infographics, or podcasts?

3. How do they typically make purchasing decisions?

• Do they rely on reviews, recommendations from friends, or direct advertisements?

4. What tools, apps, or websites do they use regularly?

• Are they on productivity apps, shopping platforms, or entertainment sites?

5. What kind of brands do they support?

• Are they loyal to certain brands or do they prefer exploring new ones?

Contextual and Situational:

1. What problem am I solving for my audience?

• What are their immediate or long-term needs that my product/service can address?

2. What stage of the customer journey are they in?

• Are they just becoming aware of their problem, looking for solutions, or ready to buy?

3. How do they prefer to engage with brands?

• Do they prefer email newsletters, live chats, or face-to-face interactions?

4. What other brands or influencers do they follow?

• Are there specific industry leaders, celebrities, or influencers they trust?

5. What season, time of day, or event impacts their decisions?

• Are there specific times of year when they are more likely to make decisions (e.g., holidays, back-to-school season)?

Competitive Insight:

• Who are my direct competitors?

• Which brands or individuals are providing similar solutions to my audience?

• What differentiates my offering from competitors?

• What makes my product, service, or content stand out in a crowded market?

• What gaps exist in the market that I can fill?

• Are there unaddressed needs or niches that my competitors aren't focusing on?

2. Optimise your website

Maybe you don’t have a website yet or maybe it’s something you’re working on. Either way, you need to ensure your site is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and has clear calls to action.

The main reasons that people don’t convert or make the sale is because of clunky websites that make you want to scream and exit the page. Slow load times, complex navigation and random messaging can leave your audience confused and ready to walk out the door.

Here are the key things to AVOID to ensure your website is optimised:

• Complex Navigation: If users can't easily find what they are looking for, they will leave the site. Complicated menus, too many options, or a cluttered layout can frustrate visitors.

• Slow Loading Speed: Websites that take too long to load (more than 3 seconds) tend to have higher bounce rates and lower conversion rates.

• Unresponsive Design: If your website doesn’t display well on mobile devices or tablets, you risk losing a significant portion of traffic. Mobile responsiveness is a must.

• Confusing Checkout Process: A lengthy or confusing checkout process can lead to cart abandonment. Users might drop off if they’re required to create an account, enter too many details, or experience unexpected fees during checkout.

• Difficult Forms: Long or complicated forms, especially ones asking for unnecessary information, can deter users from completing conversions.

3. Start an email list 

Email marketing remains one of the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses, offering a direct line of communication with customers. 

Many small businesses use social media as a way to grow their community. This is fine, but ultimately you don’t own the data. This means that if you lost your social media accounts tomorrow, you’d lose all your potential customers and clients too.

Building an email list should be a priority, as it provides a valuable asset for nurturing leads and maintaining relationships with existing customers. Start by creating compelling lead magnets, such as exclusive discounts, downloadable resources, or informative newsletters, to encourage sign-ups.

By building an email list, you own the data. In 2025, your main goal should be getting your customers and clients off your social media platforms and onto your email list.

Once you have a robust email list, you can segment your audience based on their preferences, behaviors, and demographics. For example sending targeted promotions to loyal customers can encourage repeat purchases, while informative content can educate new subscribers about your business.

Those are my 3 marketing tips to have your eyes on for 2025. Do you agree?

What would you add?