Social Media Marketing Trends in 2025

The term “social media trends” describes well-liked or new patterns, behaviors, features, and kinds of material that become very popular. You can sustain or increase the success of your channels by keeping up with social media trends. Certain social media trends, like memes, can change fast, but other trends are more permanent, and you can use them to guide your content schedule and overall social media marketing plan.

Here are some important social media trends to keep an eye on if you want to stay ahead of the curve. So, let’s discover more about the most popular social media trends expected in 2025. As you read it, keep in mind that not every element on this list may be necessary for your social media strategy. It’s crucial to think about how well these trends fit your company’s objectives and social media marketing plan.

Top Social Media Trends in 2025

Changes in user behavior (such as a preference for video over still photographs) and platform functionality (such as social media businesses implementing on-platform commerce options) are common examples of social media trends. Currently, the most significant social media trends are:

1. AI is essential for content production

AIPRM performed a survey which found that 75% of workers use generative AI (GenAI). ChatGPT and Google Gemini are examples of GenAI applications that can help marketing professionals with their daily duties and operations. Eighty percent of marketers feel AI has improved their work, with 78 percent saying they have more time for creativity and 73 percent saying they are more efficient, according to a 2023 Sprout Social study.

For a long time, social media marketers have been using marketing analytics, such as engagement metrics, to guide their content calendar. AI can now improve your analysis skills, yielding more solid insights and accurate trend forecasts.

You may begin integrating AI into your marketing analytics in a few different ways. While some popular social networking platforms, such as Sprout Social, have AI-powered capabilities built into their interface, you may also ask ChatGPT to analyze your data.

2. Video is the most effective medium

The second social media trend on our list is, of course, video. New video formats on LinkedIn and Threads, such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, have established feature parity and prioritized video content across networks. Additionally, TikTok will continue to be a fixture in other markets even though its future in the US is unknown.

As we already know, one of the greatest methods to engage your audience and gain new followers is through short-form video. However, long-form video is making a comeback. In recent years, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube have all extended their durations. For instance, YouTube Shorts can now last up to three minutes as of October 2024. Additionally, YouTube is among the top three platforms where users have social media profiles, according to the 2025 Index.

The duration of an Instagram Reel is between 15 and 90 seconds. Videos on TikTok range in duration from three seconds to ten minutes.

3. Social Listening Will Influence Marketing Choices

Social media is an invaluable source of insightful information in addition to being a platform for content posting. More businesses will use social listening techniques in 2025 to analyze consumer sentiment regarding their sector, rivals, and products.

Brands may improve their marketing efforts by knowing the emotion of their audience. To remain ahead of client preferences, businesses will monitor developing hashtags, customer complaints, and popular themes. With this strategy, brands will be able to respond quickly and grab viral opportunities before they pass.

“Micro-virality” will be another emerging trend. Brands will concentrate on smaller, more specialized viral moments rather than aiming for huge viral blockbusters. More devoted clients and higher conversion rates can result from these focused efforts’ ability to promote greater engagement within particular communities.

4. More Content Experiments by Brands

For years, businesses have concentrated on preserving a consistent brand identity across all channels. Consistency is still important, but more brands are going to challenge tradition in 2025 to stand apart. To stand out in jam-packed feeds, social media teams will try various formats, styles, and tones.

There will be more instances of humor, unexpected substance, and daring visual choices. Companies will stop using a “one-size-fits-all” strategy and modify their messaging to match various audiences and channels. To engage users, they will take more imaginative chances rather than depending on standardized templates.

Brands will also communicate with consumers in real time more and more. An intelligent strategy to increase visibility is to jump into the comment sections of well-known posts and influencers. Brands will go where conversations are taking place, rather than waiting for users to approach them.

5. Influencer marketing will be surpassed by user-generated content

Although influencer marketing has been popular for years, consumer trust will shift in 2025. Genuine user-generated content (UGC) is becoming more and more in demand as consumers grow skeptical of sponsored influencer marketing.

In addition to depending on influencers, brands will also urge actual customers to share their stories. Traditional influencer endorsements will not be as important as reviews, feedback, and customer-produced videos.

Want to know some tactics of influencer marketing and how to choose the right influencer for your brand? Here’s our guide!

Companies will come up with innovative strategies to encourage people to produce and distribute content. To encourage users to share their experiences online, there will be contests, interactive challenges, and exclusive rewards. Potential customers will become more engaged naturally as a result of this change, and their trust will grow.

6. Social commerce boosted by consumer shopping behaviors

Nowadays, a growing percentage of social network users buy products straight from their apps. In 2023, there were 106.8 million social purchasers in the United States, according to Statista. They predict that this number will increase by more than 10 percent to 118 million by 2027.

Simultaneously, social media businesses are facilitating shopping on their platforms, such as the launch of the TikTok shop, which may promote in-app purchasing habits.

Here’s how you can boost your e-commerce sales during the holiday season!

7. Social media sites are functioning as search engines

The world of social media has grown beyond newsfeeds. More people are now using the platforms as search engines for advice, product recommendations, and other stuff. According to Prabhakar Raghavan, a senior vice president at Google, 40 percent of youth use Instagram or TikTok as search engines. This user trend highlights how crucial it is to comprehend your social media channels’ search and discovery capabilities and customize your content accordingly.

8. Followers want more genuine connections

Authenticity should be your first priority when considering how to interact with your social media customers. According to Hootesuite’s Social Media Trends 2025 research, brands are spending more money on content that informs and educates their consumers without attempting to sell or promote anything in order to satisfy that requirement.

And it matters who spreads those messages. According to the Content Benchmark Report from Sprout Social, users primarily desired to see regular people in social media posts: genuine customers (42 percent), social media teams (42 percent), and front-line staff (48 percent). Executive leadership, on the other hand, was less popular, as just 15% of respondents said they wanted it.

Want to set-up your e-commerce store from scratch but don’t know the basics? Here’s how you can ace it!

When evaluating how to stay relevant on your brand’s social media accounts, it’s important to think about how you may interact with your target audience in an authentic way.
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Conclusion

Businesses must adjust to social media’s ongoing change, and in 2025, success will depend heavily on interaction, creativity, and authenticity. In this cutthroat digital market, brands that embrace experimentation, social listening, AI-driven tactics, short-form films, and user-generated content will probably have an advantage.

With this information, you can develop a more effective plan that engages your audience and outperforms the competition. 

Stay tuned for more insights on the future of social media!