Don’t get left behind: The digital marketing changes reshaping 2025

The last 2 weeks have seen cataclysmic changes in the realms of search engines, AI and social media – Katrina Bell reveals everything you need to know to get up to speed.

No business can afford to ignore what has happened over the past week or so and how it will affect your digital marketing management.

Here are 4 key updates:

1 - Threads v Twitter
Threads is claiming the text-based app crown just as it turns 2 years old. It’s about to overtake X-Twitter in the number of its daily mobile users – it is sitting at around 115m DMU with the arrow facing upwards. X-Twitter is down to 132m and is in a downward pattern.

So if you’ve been snoozing on the app, this is the moment to get familiarised with its features.

Threads continues to add new functions – last week the direct messaging element now includes the ability to share images. This means 2 things for businesses.

Firstly, you need to reevaluate your settings to filter out Not Safe For Office content. As an employer, there is a duty of care to ensure your social media management is set up in the safest mode possible.

Secondly, this will enhance your ability to help customers who reach out on the app for advice or complaints.

Adding services on DMs in Threads could be a sign that Meta now concedes the app is an entity of its own, not just an Instagram offshoot. Previously, Threads sent you to Instagram if you wanted to read your DMs.

2 - AI vs websites 
ChatGPT is no longer a chatbot. Figures show that the general disenchantment with Google has seen increasing numbers using the AI as a search app. It can now act as a personal agent. For instance, it can book flights, after reading reviews and comparing prices, without you ever opening a travel website or app. And it will then add the flight details directly to your calendar.

What that means is another erosion of the importance of websites, affecting every business moving forward, as traffic is pivoted through ChatGPT rather than direct to your site, where you can manage the interaction. It’s a bold, foundational attempt to offload Google as the Internet’s default results platform. How digital marketers take back control is unclear. What you know about SEO is fast becoming defunct.  

3 - Instagram loves Google now 
You may have recently got a notification that your Instagram account is now being indexed by Google. Eligible accounts, which are professional, over 18 and set to public will have their reels, stories, highlights and posts discoverable by the search engine.

The downside is that we are going to be seeing an avalanche of posts crammed full of bad search engine optimisation and a measles-like infestation of hashtags. This is an impulse you absolutely must avoid. Meta is seemingly steadfast in a drive for high-quality content over clickbait.

It is also a sign that as a brand you have to be prepared to have absolutely everything you post on The ‘Gram to be searchable and findable in perpetuity. Which is why forward-thinking digital marketing includes a process by which you ask yourselves, ‘How will this age?’

4 - A word from Facebook        
Semi-confirmation has come from Facebook that they now want all put external links to be put in the comments rather in the body of the post. This is in order to encourage engagement on the app but doesn't really service the user, because it’s annoying. Posts that include this new directive will inevitably benefit from better exposure. Facebook's algorithm prioritises content that keeps users on the platform longer – with the ultimate goal to turn into a video-heavy platform.