Digital Marketing Update June 2025

Here’s your digital marketing updates for June 2025. Spoiler alert: A lot happened.

Social Media Updates from June 2025

Instagram reels just got longer…

You can now upload reels up to 20 minutes long. In a world obsessed with shorts, this one’s surprising (It was only 5 months ago that they expanded reels to 3 minutes in length). Although you can already upload Tik Tok’s up to 30 minutes in length, so maybe not so surprising. (We know how they like to copy each other).

Tik Tok’s latest algorithm update brought 3 big changes:

1. The window where TiK Tok decides whether to push your content has shortened. You’ve now got 6-12 hours for your content to fly – after that, it’s bye. (It’s all about the hook).

2. The algorithm now prioritises videos with high watch-through rates, even if engagement is low. (You need to find ways to keep people intrigued, keep people watching).

3. The algorithm is paying attention to who is liking your content. A like from someone in your niche is worth more than a like from a random user (Align your videos to micro communities – niche is nice!).

Search Marketing Updates from June 2025

Google wants original content

They’ve rolled out an update that prioritises original content over reused AI information. So if you’re using AI to write your website content (no judgement here but my goodness how I fear a world where all the content is the same), make sure you’re adding in your personal thoughts and opinions and finding ways to differentiate it from content that already exists. (There’s also a fairly major Google algorithm update being rolled out over the next 3 weeks – more on that next month).

YouTube Shorts are being integrated into search results

So make sure you’re including keywords in captions, descriptions and hashtags for better discoverability. It seems vertical video is no longer just about engagement, it should be considered as part of your discovery strategy too.

Google AI search is getting chattier

You can now have real-time voice conversations when searching in Google’s AI mode in the US. As a quick reminder, AI Mode is Google’s version of ChatGPT. AI mode appears as a separate tab in Google so users have the option of when to use it. Whilst this is specific to the US for now, I think it’s a good indicator as to what we should expect here in the UK soon. If this isn’t the green flag you’ve been waiting for to make your website content more conversational in tone, I don’t know what is.

Privacy-first search engines are quietly growing

As AI driven search continues to evolve, so do user concerns about privacy. As a result we’re seeing increases in market share for privacy-first search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Kagi and BraveSearch. Don’t get me wrong, their market share is still teeny tiny compared to the giant that is Google. But their growth represents a trend toward ethical tech – which I for one, am excited to follow.

Google’s introducing structured data mark-up for loyalty programmes

(Structured data is a standarised format for providing information about a web page). This means if you’ve added ‘MemberProgram’ structured data to your site, Google can use this information to display member benefits in search results. Tip for devs: Only mark it up on one page of your site under the “Organisation” schema. Here’s the Google guide: Loyalty Program Structured Data (MemberProgram) | Google Search Central  |  Documentation  |  Google for Developers

Digital Advertising Updates from June 2025

Google Maps now has promoted pins

These are paid ads that appear at the top of the search results on Google Maps. They are marked with a red square pin and include the business name, address, phone number and website. This is a really interesting feature for anyone with a visitor attraction offer looking to drive footfall.

Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns get a goal-setting glow up

I’m excited by this one. It feels like Meta’s giving an element of control back to the advertiser. Advantage+ campaigns (a type of Meta advertising campaign automated by AI) are still AI led, but you’ll be able to tell Meta what success looks like for you (do you want the ads to prioritise video views, clicks or conversions?).

WhatsApp ads are happening

You can now advertise to WhatsApp’s 2 billion users. (More monetisation for Meta.) Can you tell I’m less excited about this one? As one of those users, this move (although unsurprising) feels kind of annoying. I don’t want ads on a messaging platform. For now the ads will only be in the status tab (WhatsApp’s version of stories). I don’t know about you, but I never touch the status tab – my life’s in the chat. Phew!

That’s all the digital marketing updates from June you NEED to know about.

Come back next month for more digital marketing updates from The Marketing Den 😊