Marketing in the Last 5 Years: A Wild Ride Through Trends, Tricks & TikTok

Marketing over the last five years has been like riding a high-speed rollercoaster—thrilling, unpredictable, and occasionally nausea-inducing. We've seen trends rise and fall faster than a viral TikTok challenge, and marketers have had to pivot (yes, that word again) at breakneck speed. From AI-powered everything to the great short-form video takeover, let’s take a witty, slightly sarcastic, but mostly insightful look at how marketing has evolved since 2019.

2019: The Calm Before the Storm

Ah, 2019—back when Facebook ads still worked without requiring a master’s degree in digital strategy, and influencers were just starting to take over the world. Marketing was all about polished Instagram aesthetics, high-production video ads, and the occasional viral Twitter moment.

Some key highlights:

✅ SEO was king—blog posts and long-form content ruled Google search.

✅ Instagram engagement mattered—brands were still obsessed with follower counts.

✅ Influencer marketing was growing, but micro-influencers weren’t quite the hot commodity yet.

✅ The biggest challenge? Keeping up with social media algorithm changes (little did we know how much worse it would get).

Then, 2020 arrived, and suddenly, everything changed.

2020: The Year of “Unprecedented” Everything

If marketers had a dollar for every time we heard the phrase “unprecedented times” in 2020, we’d all be sipping margaritas on a private island by now. COVID-19 flipped the world (and marketing strategies) upside down. Brands that relied on in-person experiences scrambled to go digital, and suddenly, every commercial had the same formula:

🎶 Soft piano music 🎶“In these uncertain times, we’re here for you.”

(Cue emotional montage of empty streets and masked grocery shoppers.)

While traditional advertising took a nosedive, e-commerce skyrocketed. Businesses had no choice but to go digital-first, leading to:

📈 A surge in online shopping (hello, Shopify boom!).

📉 The decline of in-person retail and events

.📢 The explosion of TikTok—because what else was there to do during lockdown?

Marketers had to get scrappy. Budget cuts forced creativity, and brands that thrived were the ones that embraced humor (remember all those relatable quarantine memes?). Meanwhile, influencer marketing became even more powerful, as people turned to social media personalities for product recommendations instead of wandering into stores.

2021: The Year of the Influencer Takeover

By 2021, traditional advertising was gasping for air, while influencer marketing was living its best life. The rise of micro and nano-influencers meant that even brands with small budgets could get in on the action. Instead of relying on celebrities, brands realized that a relatable,

everyday person recommending their product could be just as (if not more) effective.

Some key shifts in marketing:

🔥 Instagram Reels was born—to compete with TikTok, of course.

🔥 Brands started getting bold on Twitter (Wendy’s continued its savage streak).

🔥 Short-form video became the most powerful content type.

Also, remember when Facebook rebranded to Meta and told us the metaverse was the future of marketing? (Yeah, we’re still waiting on that one.)

2022: AI, Personalization, and the Great Twitter Meltdown

If 2021 was all about influencers, 2022 was the year AI entered the chat (literally). Suddenly, every marketer had to learn about AI-powered chatbots, predictive analytics, and machine-generated content.

Some major shake-ups:🤖 AI tools like ChatGPT started creeping into marketing workflows.🛒 Hyper-personalization became a buzzword (because “Dear [First Name]” wasn’t cutting it anymore).🐦 Twitter (sorry, X) became a soap opera, and brand managers had to navigate that chaos.

Meanwhile, Google’s algorithm updates made SEO even harder, and email marketing had to get way more strategic to cut through the noise. The biggest takeaway? If you weren’t using AI to enhance your marketing, you were already behind.

2023: Short-Form Video or Bust

By 2023, attention spans had officially hit an all-time low (goldfish everywhere felt relieved). If your content wasn’t short, engaging, and straight to the point, no one cared.

What worked in 2023:🎥 TikTok reigned supreme, and brands had to embrace casual, authentic content.📢 Social media became more about entertainment than hard-selling.🚀 LinkedIn tried to be fun (A for effort).📉 Google Search changed AGAIN, making SEO more about answering real questions.

Meanwhile, influencer marketing continued to evolve, with user-generated content (UGC) becoming a major marketing strategy. Instead of polished ad campaigns, brands leaned into raw, real, and unfiltered content—because that’s what resonated most.

2024 & Beyond: Where Are We Headed?

So, where do we go from here? If the last five years have taught us anything, it’s that marketing will continue to evolve at lightning speed. AI is getting smarter, brands are getting bolder, and customers have zero patience for anything fake.

Some key trends shaping the future:

🔮 AI-driven content & automation (but brands still need a human touch).

📱 Short-form video dominance (again—seriously, just make a TikTok).

👀 Hyper-personalization & interactive content.

💡 A shift toward genuine storytelling and community-driven marketing.

The golden rule? Stay creative, stay flexible, and always be ready to adapt. Because if there’s one thing we know for sure—it’s that marketing will never stop changing.

So, if all else fails… just post a meme.

What do you think? Want to add specific industry examples or predictions? 😊🚀