What 2024 Taught Us: 3 Key Trends for Digital Destination Marketing in 2025

Don’t let anyone tell you different: 2024 has been an absolute roller coaster. Remember the Baltimore bridge collapse? It seems like a lifetime ago after the total solar eclipse, the Olympics, the astronauts stuck in space, brat summer, and all the wild events surrounding the election. And where did we each go to find out how to feel about those big events? We all headed to our favorite social media platforms, of course.

In terms of digital marketing, one of the biggest takeaways from 2024 is the power of communities. Just take a look at the astronomical rise of Chappell Roan this year. Her surge in popularity was bolstered by positive sentiment from fans online. Developing a community that fights for you, vouches for you, and, most importantly, engages with you consistently, is what made the difference is many destinations’ digital presence this year. Just consider one of Sault Ste. Marie’s freighter videos — don’t you want organic posts getting 10K+ likes easily? Well, it’s the result of hard work: developing a following that will amplify your destination’s voice and help you be heard by even more people. Based on our experiences this year, that’s going to be even more imperative in 2025.

Another big trend is the absolute dominance of vertical videos. Specifically, those that feel unpolished and authentic. And that isn’t expected to change. So, if you haven’t started to lean into a vertical video strategy and development of a video library, hop to it. They’re just one piece of the puzzle, but they’re a huge one. Start telling stories and using narration — paired with captions, of course. Users won’t always have their sound on, but they’ll always want text to read.

As an aside, those telling your AR (augmented reality) or VR (virtual reality) is the big thing for 2025 are just flat-out wrong. Do you have a VR headset? Didn’t think so. And the only time I use AR is when trying to see if a couch will fit in my living room. Plus, I turned off Pokémon Go’s AR function a long time ago. Like hybrid and electric cars, it’ll probably catch on eventually — just not next year.

The last trend to look out for is the negative reaction to AI-produced content. We all know what the “AI tone” reads like at this point — and it generally turns people off. Instead of leveraging it as a replacement, use it as a supplement. Train it on your own voice. Watch out for photos that look too good to be true, whether they’re over-saturated or have a weird composition. Users will pounce. And you better hope you have a strong community to back you up at that point!