What Do Audiences Value in 2025?
Consumer behaviour is always evolving, and what an audience valued two years ago may be totally different in 2025. Keeping on top of customer values and what they’re looking for is absolutely vital for brands that want to grow and connect with new audiences. They can also be the difference in a successful marketing campaign.
Audience research tools like Google Analytics can help brands keep on top of how customer behaviour and values are shifting, while working with influencers connects them directly with targeted audiences whose values and interests align with their own.
But what do audiences value in 2025? We’ve done the research. Here’s what we’ve found:
Customer Values in 2025
1. Authenticity
What does it mean?
More than ever, audiences crave realness. They want content creation that they can connect to and engage with on a genuine, human level. To a certain extent, that’s always been true.
A 2017 survey found that 86% of consumers said authenticity was important when choosing what brands they support. It’s even more true today. A 2023 Sprout Social study found that authenticity tops the list of consumer values and what they want more of from brands.
When it comes to generative AI, there’s no doubt that consumers can recognize it in content, and it can impact their perception of its authenticity.
Why does it matter?
Audience research has shown that 50% of users can spot AI-generated content and that two-thirds of those people prefer that it be explicitly revealed. Even for consumers who are using AI in their own daily lives, there is a built-in level of distrust that can be a turn-off.
Realness and authenticity can take all sorts of forms, though. Videos that show behind-the-scenes looks at your brand or collaborations with trusted influencers who are honest about your products and services build trust and connections with consumers.
How can you incorporate it?
The point here isn’t to say that anyone should stop using AI. It’s a useful tool and has emerged quickly as a fact of life in everyday business. But your marketing strategy should focus on finding a balance. The more real it is and the more true it feels, the more audiences will connect and engage with your content creation.
According to Sprout Social, 70% of consumers feel more connected to brand’s whose CEOS are active on social, while 72% feel similarly when other employees share information about the brand online.
Working with influencers is an amazing way to show authenticity, too, as they have a built-in audience that trusts and follows them for a reason.
2. To Be Heard & Seen
What does it mean?
When consumers are choosing what brands they want to buy from, they want to see their own values and identities reflected. On some level, they want to feel like they matter to the brand. A personal connection matters, especially when there are 5.42 billion social media users in 2025.
That creates both challenges and opportunities for marketers. On the one hand, it means that audience research becomes even more important as you look to connect with specific demographics. On the other, it means you can celebrate your consumers' backgrounds, interests, and values and create meaningful, lasting connections with them.
Why does it matter?
The goal of a marketing strategy doesn’t need to be appealing to the most people possible. Consumers expect a more personalized connection, making it vital to find your audience and engage them.
How can you incorporate it?
There are lots of audience research tools on the market, and using social listening will help you better identify what people are saying about your brand and find useful social media trends.
Partnering with the right influencers who align with your brand is a great way of connecting audiences that are specifically interested in what your brand offers, and MatchMade by MODERNSPEAK simplifies that process. Once you’ve found the group you’re looking to connect with, audience alignment ensures your messaging and content are consistent with what they’re looking for.
3. To Be Part of a Community
What does it mean?
Building a brand community should be a part of any company’s brand strategy. It forms relationships and connections with loyal customers and can lead to advocacy within the community and user-generated content promoting your product.
Consumers want to be a part of those communities, too. A Sprout Social survey found that 78% of consumers want brands to use social to bring people together. Communities create shared moments, and audiences build lasting and meaningful relationships through their shared passions and interests.
Why does it matter?
Everybody wants to be part of something larger than themselves. While the modern, digital world means fewer experiences feel like they’re shared by everyone in our culture, many of us are still seeking shared moments and community.
Brands that are able to create a sense of community will benefit from the loyalty it brings as audiences relish connection, shared values, and a sense of identity.
How can you incorporate it?
Creating a community platform and engaging with it regularly will help customers and audiences feel like they’re part of something bigger, but that’s just the start. There are endless ways to foster that community, including sharing user-generated content and hosting in-person events for loyal customers.
Connecting with their community can be challenging for brands, but working with MODERNSPEAK to partner with influencers is a fast track to building your own. Whether it’s a macro influencer with a huge following or a micro influencer with a specific niche, brands that partner with influencers don’t just connect with any follower; they connect with the right ones.
4. Fun, Playful Content
What does it mean?
The world can feel like a scary place sometimes, and audiences are increasingly craving content that makes them smile or entertains them.
Having fun matters, plain and simple, and brands that show off their playful side are attracting followers. According to Hootsuite’s 2025 Social Media Trends Survey, over 60% of social content from brands aims to entertain and educate instead of directly promoting a product.
Why does it matter?
Everybody needs a little fun in their life, right? Tapping into that and showing off your brand’s playful side is a great way of building a connection with your audience.
If it brings a smile to someone’s face when they think of your brand, that can only be a good thing. Embracing the lighter side of your brand is a great way to build an audience and increase brand loyalty.
How can you incorporate it?
Whether it’s sharing memes, participating in the latest goofy social media trends, or just incorporating some playfulness into your marketing strategy, there’s no shortage of ways to have fun with your target audience.
Working with influencers can be a great way to let loose and have a little fun, too, especially in niches like travel and lifestyle. Influencers are experts in showing personality and connecting with audiences, and aligning with the right influencers can result in fun and engaging content creation that resonates with their followers.
Connect with Your Audience & Watch Your Brand Grow
Working with an influencer management agency like MODERNSPEAK doesn’t just help brands access content creators with huge social media followings; it connects your brand with its ideal audience.
Our careful vetting process ensures that when brands and influencers collaborate, their campaigns resonate with followers and build engagement, visibility, and trust.
Influencer marketing is one of the most proven ways for brands to keep up with consumer values, too. The total influencer market size is valued at $ 32.55 billion in 2025, and that represents substantial year-over-year growth. Nearly half of all consumers make purchases on a monthly basis because of influencer content, too.
If you want your brand to be more responsive to consumer values, contact us online or call us at (403)991-4988.
