Looking back at 2025. What we’ve learned about marketing.

Article Highlights:

1. Voice search is shaping the future of local marketing
2. A robust digital presence is necessary for multi-location businesses to succeed
3. Measuring brand equity at the local level is tricky, but very doable
4. Any brand can apply marketing insights from the most successful franchises
5. Mastering entity-based SEO can help your brand stand out in the age of AI

It’s been another whirlwind of a year in marketing! And, while there have been countless new technologies and tools popping up all the time, we’ve learned something very important this year: the fundamentals remain crucial. As we look to 2026, it’s all about embracing innovation and authenticity, leveraging new technologies while never losing sight of the human connections that drive loyalty, advocacy, and long-term business growth. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we learned about marketing in 2025. To kick us off, we’re reviewing MDG’s five most impactful blogs from 2025. 

Why voice search is shaping the future of local marketing

With 145 million Americans using voice search in 2024, this article outlined the shift in consumer behavior towards the speed and convenience of voice search. After all, getting an answer in 4.6 seconds gives voice search a boost over traditional search. However, what works to rank in traditional search requires a few tweaks to optimize for voice search, including emphasizing conversational language and including long-tail phrases and “near me” triggers. Next year, make sure your brand is optimized for voice search (and AI results) because they aren’t really optional. 

How to Implement voice search for maximum impact in 2026: 

• Incorporate long-tail conversational phrases into content, like those people use when speaking. 
• Optimize for each location with neighborhood-specific content, such as “near me” and other identifying landmarks, streets, and parts of town. 
• Create comprehensive FAQ pages addressing common questions, and be sure to include the appropriate FAQ schema markup.
• Implement speakable schema markup (still in beta). 
• Don’t put all your eggs into one basket when it comes to voice search. Instead, register on multiple platforms: Apple Maps, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Facebook, and any others that might be relevant to your audience.

Why your online presence can make or break your multi-location business

Consumers expert more from brands than ever before. Purpose-conscious consumers are driving a shift towards brands that align with their values and build authentic communities. Consequently, your brand’s online presence is key to fostering connection and scaling, and that goes far beyond just a website. Today’s brands have to invest in the right digital platforms, clearly articulate their values, and actively engage with customers. Some of the most relevant brand examples include Aerie, Crocs, and Patagonia. For multi-location businesses, that might mean launching a purpose-driven ecosystem or creating a multi-channel digital community. Check out the article for more concrete action items.

Measuring brand equity at the local level

Brand equity is the loyalty, recognition, and emotional connection a brand evokes, and it is a critical element for multi-location businesses to get right. However, it can be challenging to measure at the local level. Since it’s made up of multiple factors, including brand awareness, loyalty, associations, and total brand value, sometimes local measurements may differ significantly from national performance. This article outlines multiple ways to make it easier for each location or business to start capturing brand equity by looking at metrics like audience awareness mapping, customer sentiment analysis, community engagement, and competitive positioning. This can be accomplished with tools like surveys, review monitoring, social listening, loyalty programs, first-party CRM data, event registrations, and much more.

• Tip to strengthen your brand’s local equity: Create a structured community engagement program requiring each location to participate in minimum monthly local activities (events, sponsorships, partnerships) and document these on social media and location websites. Consider having them appoint different staff members to become community brand ambassadors to give people in the community faces to connect with. To make the impact trackable, you can use QR codes for special offers or referrals, easily tracking the ROI when they are utilized. 

 

What top franchise brands get right in marketing (and how to copy them)

Top franchises have huge budgets, talented marketing teams, and the ability to innovate and fail quickly, making them largely successful. However, with a little bit of investigation, this article proves that other brands (with much smaller budgets) can copy some of these proven tactics and also see results. At their core, big franchises remain true to a few core marketing principles: brand consistency, strong brand identity, local activation, regional customization, and empowered teams. So, how does that translate to actionable items for the rest of us? Try these tips to copy franchise success: 

• Centralize strategy but localize tactics, giving locations freedom to execute within brand guidelines while making content more relevant to their audience. This helps locations engage directly with their unique community, but still gives them brand recognition.
• Avoid bottlenecks by automating processes and streamlining approvals.
• Train and empower local teams to make decisions without micromanagement!
• Use tools (AI, schedulers, data aggregators) to do more with limited resources
• Provide templates and style guides while allowing personalization.
• Invest in email marketing for personalized content and targeted traffic as it is still one of the most powerful marketing tools in your toolbox.

Mastering entity-based SEO and standing out in the age of AI

A list of the most popular blogs would not be complete without a mention of AI, and especially AI search. As we move into 2026, it will be vital for brands to continue ranking high on SEO metrics to show up in AI-generated summaries, first-page results, and SERP features. Entity-based SEO is a great way to make that happen. It focuses on the relationships and structure between elements, such as locations, people, businesses, and products and services, rather than a general keyword list. This article explains how entity-SEO helps search engines understand content context and relevance, making businesses more likely to appear in AI-generated summaries and first-page results. To master entity-SEO requirements, brands can get started on the following: 

• Implementing structured data and ensuring all profiles and listings are up-to-date and accurate
• Building authority through internal linking, providing relevant content on valuable SEO topics, and organizing everything into entity segments for ease of analysis
• Completing location-specific optimizations, including creating webpages for each business location and clearly differentiating each by services and products ,or providers.
• Performing a website audit to identify all possible entities and map the relationship between them. 

Overall, 2025 has shown us that the businesses thriving today are those that embrace evolution without losing their core identity. We can’t wait to see what we learn in 2026!