Social Media Trends for 2025

Social media has never stood still, ever since I signed up for MySpace as a kid, every year has brought new trends, updates, and even new platforms entirely. I expect 2025 to be no different. From the USA blocking TikTok to improvements in social commerce such as the TikTok shop, all the way to AI-generated video – there are many social trends to be aware of in the upcoming year. The key is to be prepared and stay ahead of the game, so take a look at this list and think about your social strategy for the upcoming year.

Social Commerce Expansion

Social commerce is the combined function of e-commerce and social platforms. Consumer purchasing on social media has been growing over recent years, and in 2025 it is set to grow even further. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are not only places to build awareness and engage an audience but also encourage users to make purchases without ever leaving the app (less friction in the buyer’s journey leads to more successful conversions).

For example, consumer spending on TikTok has exceeded $2.5 billion globally making it the number one social commerce channel. Think about how many times you have come across in-app checkout options, shoppable posts, and live-streamed sales events; these features are designed to create a one-stop shopping experience that feels organic, conversational, and convenient.

This is an incredible opportunity for both small and large businesses to generate sales, focusing on actual customer interaction to guide them to purchase. Adding social commerce to your strategy does more than just simplify the buying process; it actively encourages spontaneous purchases. Instead of browsing, bouncing to a separate site, and then returning to the platform, consumers can now engage, shop, and complete their transactions in much fewer steps.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Optimize Your Product Catalog: Ensure your in-app product listings are eye-catching, accurate, and optimized for the platform’s user base.
• Run Live Commerce Events: Host live-streamed shopping events for special deals or to answer questions in real time and encourage purchases.
• Optimize the Checkout Experience: Focus on reducing friction, from seamless payment integrations to quick loading times, to keep shoppers engaged.
• Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with trusted creators whose audiences align with your target market to drive sales and boost credibility.

AI-Generated Content

Of course, it wouldn’t be a 2025 trends list without talking about AI. Currently, brands are using AI to support social content creation and planning, but I expect this to increase in 2025. Not only will brands start to automate the process even further, but with the introduction of SORA (AI video generator) I think we will start to see AI-generated videos enter the social scene more frequently. Brands are already increasingly turning to AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and MidJourney to generate visuals and hyper-personalized content, after all, it saves time and money.

Currently, 42% of marketing managers who use AI for daily tasks say that generating social media captions is one of the main use cases. However, implementing AI into social media strategies allows businesses to create content at triple the pace a human can, to plan content at 10x the normal speed, and to even automate scheduling to the best times to post based on AI analysis of past data. Combining this with increased personalization and scaling opportunities, it makes sense for more brands to start implementing AI into their social processes.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Choose the Right Tools: Explore AI platforms that fit your content needs, whether that’s text generation, image creation, or video.
• Maintain Brand Consistency: Train AI models with brand guidelines to maintain voice, tone, and aesthetics.
• Add Human Input: Use AI as a starting point, then have human creatives refine the output for authenticity.
• Test and Update Frequently: Run A/B tests on AI-generated content to quickly identify which elements work most and improve future output.
• Scale Up Strategically: Start small, measure results, and gradually expand AI involvement to confidently grow your content library without sacrificing quality.

Micro-Influencer Marketing

You may already be aware, but influencer marketing has been growing year-on-year. They are such a vital part of marketing these days that over 90% of marketers in a survey claim they prefer working with micro-influencers. When talking about Micro-influencers, generally have between 10,000–100,000 followers. Although it doesn’t sound like a lot by today’s standards, audience engagement is actually higher on the lower end of the influencer scale; therefore, fewer followers / more engagement = more effective marketing performance.

Micro-influencers still focus on community building and authenticity. They earn good money but don’t overdo it by selling themselves out to huge brands that don’t align with their audience. This focus on their followers – their community – drives engagement and makes them more valuable than Mega influencers or Celebrities for example. Actually, 82% of consumers mentioned that they are more likely to listen to a micro-influencer recommendation than more prominent influencers. That’s why I expect to see a trend towards micro-influencer partnerships in the upcoming year.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Focus on Authenticity: Seek influencers who genuinely use and believe in your product, as their enthusiasm will come across to the audience.
• Prioritize Niche Alignment: Match influencers’ content themes, values, and audience interests closely with your brand’s unique selling points.
• Collaborate on Creative Concepts: Involve influencers in co-creating content that feels natural and relates with their followers.
• Track Performance Metrics: Monitor engagement rates, referral codes, and UTM parameters to measure the real impact of micro-influencer campaigns.
• Build Long-Term Partnerships: Develop ongoing relationships rather than one-off promotions to build trust, loyalty, and recurring customer conversions.

Zero-Click Content

Talking about community building and value, zero-click content is another trend I expect to see increasing throughout 2025. Zero-click content is content where users don’t have to click, the social post provides all the value in one post and they don’t have to leave the platform. Not only is this great for users who get full value without having to take several steps – but it’s also great for content performance as algorithms don’t like external links (keeping users on their platform is the goal).

To clarify, that doesn’t mean you can’t add a CTA to your post, it just means you shouldn’t make the user work (click) to find the information; such as posting half a recipe and telling the user to click to go the website to learn the rest where they have to sign up to an email to get access… and so on. With so much information and digital overload, no one appreciates having to do so much work for little value.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Focus on High-Value Takeaways: Ensure your content is genuinely helpful, so users feel fully satisfied.
• Format for Readability: Break content into sections or bullet points for easy consumption and sharing.
• Keep it Platform-Native: Use each platform’s strengths, short videos on TikTok, threads on X (formerly Twitter), or long-form posts on LinkedIn, to optimize engagement.
• Engage in the Comments: Encourage questions or further discussion to enrich the conversation right where the content lives.
• Still Include a CTA: You can still add a CTA in case the user wants to take more action – just don’t force them to.

Purpose-Driven Marketing

Purpose-driven marketing is a strategy where brands align their messaging and actions with a larger mission or social cause to build authentic connections with their audience. It’s already a key consideration in 2024, but I am certain it will become a defining trend in 2025. Audiences are driven toward brands that stand for something and show it, for example, companies like Patagonia, which prioritizes environmental responsibility, or Ben & Jerry’s, known for advocating social justice.

So purpose-driven marketing helps to build and maintain brand reputation, but it also directly impacts business performance. Studies show that 82% of consumers want brands to take a stand on social issues, and 76% say they’re more likely to purchase from a company that aligns with their beliefs. Heading into 2025, companies will need to prioritize transparency and accountability, ensuring their actions match their messaging.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Align with Core Values: Choose causes that genuinely reflect your brand’s identity and long-term mission, rather than chasing trending topics.
• Be Transparent: Show your audience the steps you’re taking, the challenges you face, and the impact you create.
• Involve Your Community: Give customers a voice in your initiatives, get feedback, share stories, and invite participation.
• Partner Wisely: Collaborate with credible organizations and people who bring expertise, authenticity, and reach to your campaigns.
• Keep it Consistent: Treat purpose-driven efforts as ongoing commitments rather than one-off stunts.

Focus on Authentic Content

Contradicting the whole ‘increase in AI content’ I expect to see more of a focus on authentic content. Whether it’s funny and risky content or raw unedited videos that show the human side of brands, audiences value authenticity and trust a brand more when they can see it for themselves. For example, brands like Oatly, known for its comedic ads:

Or even RyanAir, which adopts humor by attacking its bad reviews in a light-hearted way:

This all demonstrates that less “perfect” content can actually drive more connection.

There is a line in authentic content though, and brands need to be careful of sensitive socioeconomic factors that could cause harm to the brand. Nevertheless, I think in 2025 we will see an increase in these types of authentic content.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Show Real Faces: Highlight employees, customers, and community members to humanize your brand and build trust.
• Share Behind-the-Scenes Moments: Reveal the process behind your products or campaigns to give audiences a sense of inclusion and authenticity.
• Embrace Imperfections: Don’t shy away from less-polished photos, unscripted videos, or honest commentary that makes your brand feel approachable.
• Encourage User Stories: Invite your audience to share their own experiences with your brand, reinforcing that their voices matter.
• Be Funny: Use humor in your content to steer away from ‘serious’ or ‘corporate’ style posts that can come across as boring to audiences.

Decentralized Social Networks

In short, a decentralized social network is not owned by a major company, it’s run by a single company with a handful of users; it comes with increased privacy and reduced censorship. As data privacy is becoming more concerning users are sceptical of traditional platforms’ centralized control. This has led to a new wave of decentralized social networks gaining ground. Platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky put greater ownership in the hands of the community, allowing users to join or create servers that reflect their values, content preferences, and moderation standards. In these ecosystems, control is more distributed and privacy is prioritized.

While still in their early stages, these decentralized platforms have the potential to impact social media as we know it, placing power back into the hands of users and reducing the gatekeeping role of big tech. For brands, adapting to this means embracing a more community-centric approach, respecting user autonomy, and engaging on terms that reflect transparency and trust.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses:

• Do Your Homework: Understand the ethos and user base of each decentralized network before diving in.
• Engage with Community Leaders: Connect with prominent voices or moderators to learn platform norms and gain credibility.
• Respect User Autonomy: Refrain from aggressive selling; prioritize authentic conversation, insights, and value-based engagement.
• Focus on Transparency: Be open about brand intentions, data usage, and community guidelines.
• Be Adaptive and Nimble: Stay ready to adjust as decentralized platforms evolve, updating your strategy in response to community feedback and platform changes.

AI-Driven Video Content

I did already mention this in the AI content section, but video content specifically deserves its own mention. Now that SORA has become publically available, I expect to see these video creations used more in ads and social videos. Of course, other AI platforms and models will start to emerge too, which will likely increase video usage in social media. Not only does AI video generation save time and money, but think about the personalization opportunities.

Brands will now have the opportunity to create hyper-personalized videos based on AI analysis of data, which can significantly influence engagement. Brands like Nike and Netflix have dabbled in using algorithmically generated content to keep audiences engaged, serving up experiences that feel like they were designed just for the individual. However, I believe it’s going to become more prominent over the 2025 and beyond.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses

• Start Small: Don’t dive in headfirst and create full-blown videos. Start by testing short 5-10-second clips and see how they perform.
• Review Videos Intensly: AI can create strange and unrealistic parts in videos, get multiple people to review and catch any abnormalities before publishing.
• Check Legal Policies: You may have to credit someone or something for the video – depending on how the AI works and the laws surrounding it.
• Optimize Video for Platforms: Adapt your videos to platform-specific formats, such as vertical for TikTok.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

If you don’t know, UGC is brand-focused content that is created by customers or someone who doesn’t work for the brand. This content is free marketing for brands and is more powerful than paid campaigns that are created in-house. Although as few as 16% of brands have a strategy with user-generated content, I think this is going to increase over the next few years. With people searching for the value in in-authentic content, honest – UGC will become more powerful than ever. Not to mention the performance and power of influencers, which is a similar focus.

The numbers speak for themselves, for example, one report by Stackla found that 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. Additionally, roughly 13% of Gen Z shoppers who purchased directly from a social media platform say that user-generated content (UGC) was the biggest influence. Social media is the main channel to share UGC as it directly reaches the audience and has the ability to make a powerful impact.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses:

• Offer Clear Prompts: Provide simple, creative guidelines (like a branded hashtag) that make it easy for fans to share their content.
• Recognize Contributors: Spotlight exceptional UGC in your feed or Stories to acknowledge loyal customers and inspire others.
• Run Contests or Challenges: Incentivize participation with the chance to win products, discounts, or featured spots on your main profile.
• Make Submission Easy: Use platform features, dedicated landing pages, or clear CTAs that simplify the sharing process.
• Engage Authentically: Respond to user-generated posts with genuine appreciation and conversation, showing that you value their contributions and care about their experiences.

Advanced Social Listening

Social listening is where you actively monitor social media content for content about your brand. This information is generally used to inform marketing strategies, product development, customer experience, and many others. With social media being so powerful these days, both positive and negative, brands need to be ahead of the game when it comes to social listening. That’s why I think in 2025, more brands are going to adopt tools or even use AI in some form to assist with this.

Tools to support this include Brandwatch, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite which focus on analysing sentiment in multiple languages, detecting subtle mood shifts, and tracking how your competitors are with similar audiences, plus a whole lot more. Understanding this information can help brands refine messaging, develop new product features, manage negative feedback/reputation, and develop new customer engagement techniques.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses:

• Set Clear Objectives: Identify what you want to measure (e.g., sentiment, keywords, competitor mentions) before selecting a tool or approach.
• Monitor Regularly: Consistent tracking allows you to catch trends early and make timely strategic adjustments.
• Analyze Context, Not Just Keywords: Look into the sentiment and tone of mentions to understand the reasons behind audience opinions.
• Use Insights to Guide Action: Translate social listening findings into tangible changes, whether that’s refining your content strategy, updating product features, or adjusting your outreach.
• Share Insights Across Teams: Ensure your teams (customer service, product, PR) benefit from these data discoveries.

Social Media as a News Source

For the younger generations mainly, social media has become their primary news source – hence why many major media companies started TikTok channels in an attempt to reach the demographic. However, it’s not just the actual news outlets, people are seeking news from influencers – be it news influencers such as Dylan Page (13.8 million followers) or their favourite regular influencer.

Currently, just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media. While it comes with many benefits – such as authenticity and no political agendas, just raw news – it also comes with challenges such as misinformation and inaccuracies which can be dangerous.

I expect to this trend grow more and more over the coming years. Although it’s not quite aimed at marketing and there are no actionable tips – it’s still something a trend that is useful to know.

Live Streaming Growth

Live streaming is huge across social media whether it’s on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, etc. However, I do expect it to grow even further in the coming year – especially when combined with social commerce. On TikTok for example, users can go live to sell products and share information/links directly. But even without the commerce aspect, going on a live stream is a great way to build follower counts which is a common tactic on TikTok. On other platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, it’s a great way to engage an audience and build awareness.

When talking about the need for more authenticity, there’s no better way than directly appealing to your audience and interacting with them. This is especially true and effective with AMA (ask me anything) or Q&A (question and answer) style live streams. These types of streams make the audience feel directly connected to the brand and like they are valued – which brings numerous benefits.

Tips for Marketers & Businesses:

• Plan and Promote Ahead: Schedule your live sessions in advance and promote them across all your channels to maximize attendance and build anticipation.
• Engage Actively with Viewers: Encourage questions, respond to comments in real-time, and acknowledge viewers by name to create an interactive and inclusive atmosphere.
• Invest in Quality Production: Make sure you have clear audio and video, stable connections, and good lighting.
• Provide Valuable Content: Focus on delivering content that is informative, entertaining, or exclusive.
• Analyze and Iterate: After each live session, review metrics such as viewer count, engagement rates, and feedback to identify areas for improvement and refine your future live streaming strategies.