Digital advertising continues to grow at a remarkable pace, but the latest research suggests that successful marketing still depends on something technology cannot manufacture: a genuine relationship with the customer.
According to a July 2026 resource compiled by the Association of National Advertisers’ ASK Research Service, U.S. digital advertising revenue reached a record $294.6 billion in 2025. That represented a 13.9% increase from the previous year, driven by continued growth in search, video, social media and creator advertising.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating campaign development. Creators are helping brands enter new conversations. Social platforms are influencing how consumers discover products, research businesses and decide what to purchase.
Yet the ANA’s collection of research and case studies repeatedly returns to trust, human connection and relevant storytelling. Those principles apply just as strongly to a small business in Logan, Tremonton or Preston as they do to the national brands featured in the report.
Here are five lessons local businesses in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho can take from the ANA’s findings.
1. Relationships Matter More Than Constant Selling
Social media can generate leads and sales, but businesses risk losing their audiences when every post becomes a promotion.
Zara Carbonell-Near, co-founder and managing director of social media at the marketing agency STOCK, offered this advice.
“Social media is a great platform for sales,” Carbonell-Near stated, “but don’t let it distract from creating a relationship with your audience.”
Carbonell-Near encouraged marketers to stop using their digital space to “sell every five seconds” and instead tell stories that reflect consumers’ real experiences.
That is particularly important for local businesses.
Customers may follow a business to learn about products, services and special offers, but they also want useful and engaging content. A heating contractor might explain how homeowners can reduce energy costs. A restaurant could introduce the people preparing the food. A retailer could feature a longtime customer, demonstrate a new product or show how employees participate in the community.
Educational posts, employee profiles, customer stories, short videos and behind-the-scenes content give people a reason to continue paying attention between purchases.
The objective is not to avoid selling. It is to earn enough trust and familiarity that customers think of your business when they are ready to buy.
2. The Best Marketing Earns “Courtside Seats”
One of the most memorable phrases in the ANA resource came from Carbonell-Near, describing the challenge facing businesses on social media:
“The goal is to figure out how to get courtside seats in your target audience’s algorithm.”
Earning that position begins with knowing whom the business is trying to reach. Once marketers understand their customers’ interests, needs and everyday experiences, they can produce content that feels relevant rather than intrusive.
That is the difference between posting content and building a strategy.
A business does not need every social media user in Cache Valley to see its message. It needs to consistently reach the people most likely to need its products or services.
Targeted digital products can help businesses focus campaigns by geography, interests, demographics and online behavior. A company serving homeowners does not need to spend its entire budget reaching college students. A restaurant promoting a lunch special may benefit from reaching people who work nearby. A business expanding into Southern Idaho can direct part of its campaign toward communities in Franklin or Bear Lake counties.
Effective targeting marketing reduces wasted impressions while helping relevant messages reach the right consumers.
But targeting alone is not enough. The advertising and content still need to offer something useful, memorable or emotionally relevant. Data can help a business find the audience; strong creative gives that audience a reason to respond.
3. AI Should Improve Human Marketing, Not Replace It
Artificial intelligence has already become a standard part of digital campaign development.
The ANA cited Smartly’s “2026 Digital Advertising Trends Report,” which found that 95% of 450 surveyed marketers use generative AI for asset creation or optimization. Forty percent were also more likely to use AI for quality assurance when setting up campaigns.
AI can help businesses generate ideas, resize creative assets, analyze results, draft variations of advertising copy and complete routine work more efficiently. It can reduce production timelines that once stretched for weeks.
However, faster production does not automatically produce stronger customer relationships.
Carbonell-Near pointed to research showing that more than 80% of consumers are more likely to remain loyal to brands that prioritize human customer service.
That finding should encourage local businesses.
Businesses in Logan and throughout Cache Valley often possess an advantage that national companies struggle to replicate: customers can speak to real people who understand the community. Employees know the local market. Owners may see customers at school activities, community events or high school sporting events. That familiarity creates credibility.
AI can help a business work more efficiently, but it should support—not erase—the people and personality behind the brand.
The strongest uses of AI will allow marketers to spend less time completing repetitive tasks and more time developing ideas, serving customers and telling authentic stories.
4. Creators and Local Personalities Expand Trust
Creator and influencer marketing has become a substantial part of the advertising economy.
According to research cited by the ANA, 54% of companies now dedicate part of their budgets to creator or influencer spending. Creator advertising reached $37 billion in 2025 and was projected to climb to $44 billion in 2026. Average annual influencer marketing budgets increased 171% from 2024 to 2025, while 85% of enterprise brands planned additional increases during the next five years.
Those figures demonstrate that brands increasingly value trusted people who can introduce messages to established audiences.
For a local business, creator marketing does not necessarily mean hiring a celebrity or someone with millions of followers. The most persuasive voices may already live and work in the community.
Local radio personalities, coaches, business owners, community leaders and satisfied customers can all help a company tell its story. Their value comes from familiarity and credibility, not simply the size of their social media following.
The ANA highlighted Heinz’s “Mustard x Mustard” partnership with hip-hop producer DJ Mustard as an example of a brand joining an existing cultural conversation. Heinz used a timely connection to music and internet culture to make mustard part of a much larger discussion.
Businesses in Northern Utah do not need a celebrity partnership or a Super Bowl campaign to apply that lesson. They can connect their brands to conversations that already matter locally: high school sports, Utah State athletics, seasonal activities, community celebrations, family traditions and local news.
Cache Valley Media Group’s on-air personalities offer businesses a way to participate in those conversations through trusted voices across multiple radio formats. Those partnerships can then extend online through social media, streaming, video and Cache Valley Daily.
5. Every Marketing Channel Should Work Together
Consumers do not experience marketing through a single platform.
A potential customer may first hear about a business during a morning radio program, see one of its social media videos later that day, search for reviews, visit its website and finally respond to a targeted digital advertisement.
The ANA’s examples show how national brands coordinate several channels around a single idea.
KitchenAid transformed a customer’s five-star review into a song and promoted the campaign through YouTube Shorts, Spotify, Meta, TikTok and Peacock. The company used one authentic customer story across several platforms rather than creating unrelated messages for each channel.
7UP carried its “Be Uptimistic” campaign across outdoor advertising, social media, in-store displays, seasonal posts and giveaways.
Fidelity used a video podcast featuring everyday people, then built additional connections through YouTube and email newsletters. In its first year, the program exceeded audience and engagement goals by more than 3,500%, according to the ANA summary.
The lesson is not that every local business needs to appear on every platform. It is that the selected platforms should support the same strategy.
A radio campaign can create awareness and familiarity. Social media can demonstrate personality and encourage interaction. Cache Valley Daily can provide online visibility alongside trusted local journalism. Streaming audio, video, display advertising and other digital products can reinforce the message and reach defined audiences.
When those elements use consistent language, offers and creative direction, customers encounter one recognizable brand throughout the day.
Resonance Is Becoming More Valuable Than Virality
Several of the trends collected by the ANA point toward a broader change in social media marketing.
Sprout Social’s projected trends for 2026 include continued growth in video and AI-generated content, but they also predict that brands will emphasize “resonance and community over virality.” Authentic, human-led storytelling and audience engagement are expected to become increasingly important.
That distinction matters.
A viral post may produce an impressive number of views without generating customers. A useful video seen by several hundred highly relevant local consumers may create considerably more business.
Local marketers should evaluate content according to its purpose. Did people watch it? Did they visit the website? Did they ask a question? Did they request directions, make a call, complete a form or visit the business?
Reach matters, but meaningful response matters more.
Trust Remains the Competitive Advantage
The technology surrounding digital marketing will continue to evolve. More consumers will use AI tools to find product recommendations. Video will remain central to social media. Creators will influence purchasing decisions, and advertisers will gain access to increasingly sophisticated targeting and measurement tools.
The ANA reports that nearly 60% of shoppers are already using AI as part of the shopping process. Fifty-eight percent say they use platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini instead of traditional search engines to find recommendations.
That shift makes a clear and consistent digital presence even more important. Businesses need accurate websites, strong reviews, useful content and recognizable brands so that both consumers and emerging search tools can understand who they are and what they offer.
However, the newest technology does not replace the fundamentals of marketing. It amplifies them.
Businesses that tell authentic stories, provide meaningful customer service and remain visible in their communities will continue to hold an advantage. They will be known and loved before they are needed and sought.
For local businesses in Cache Valley, that means combining modern digital tools with the trust that comes from local voices, local content and genuine community involvement.
Source: Association of National Advertisers, “Digital Marketing and Social Media,” an ANA ASK Research Service resource last updated in July 2026. The resource compiles findings and examples from the ANA, IAB, PwC, CreatorIQ, Smartly, Sprout Social, Deloitte and other marketing research organizations.
Build a More Connected Marketing Strategy
Cache Valley Media Group can help businesses put these principles into practice through a coordinated mix of trusted local radio, Cache Valley Daily, social media, streaming audio, video and a host of targeted digital products.
Our marketing consultants help businesses identify the right audiences, develop relevant messages and create integrated campaigns across Cache Valley, Logan, Northern Utah and Southern Idaho.
Contact one of our marketing consultants to begin building a strategy designed to earn attention, strengthen trust and turn engagement into measurable business growth.
