The time has come again for marketers and chronically online social media users to predict trends for the year to come. I don’t have to explain the importance of staying ahead of the social media curve, you already know it and is most likely why you clicked on this blog. With the holidays and the New Year right around the corner, let’s get into it. Here is our forecast of 2025 social media trends.
Culture = Relevance
We hear a lot today about the “attention economy,” but what does that really mean? Essentially, it just means content aimed at capturing and maintaining our collective limited attention. Our periods of focus are so short and oftentimes split between multiple tasks, or even multiple screens, so anything that can keep us from turning away is winning the race.
So, while it may seem silly to see some brands hopping on trends, it’s actually strategic because it keeps the brand relevant and top of mind. Think about it – the companies and organizations that are seen as “in the know” are the ones that regularly follow the internet’s viral moments.
And boy, did 2024 give us some iconic viral moments like Moo Deng, “very demure, very mindful,” and “in da clerb, we all fam.” To leverage future moments like these in 2025, try stepping outside of your organization’s comfort zone and incorporate your own content into trends to test out how they perform.
This is your reminder to hydrate when working in the heat. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/8XBeZeW36R
— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) September 20, 2024
Comments = Conversation
Gone is the time when brands just monitor the comment sections of creators, influencers, and other brands rather than participating in the conversation. A big trend we’ve witnessed this year that will only expand in 2025 is brands and companies getting into the action by posting responses in the comments, e.g., Adidas responding to a funny video where the creator happens to be putting on Adidas, or brands humorously responding to a TikTok that lightly teases the stereotype of the social media department.
You’ve heard of newsjacking and trendjacking. Think of this as comment-jacking. Open up the comments section of any influencer or celebrity and you’ll see a slew of popular brands engaging in a very human way, oftentimes speaking in the current lingo and social media trending language.
This feeds into the idea of humanizing your brand in general because people want to connect with other people, not brands. Plus, utilizing the latest internet slang increases your brand’s relevance, while getting in the conversation expands overall brand visibility. Train your team to actively participate in comment sections, not just monitor them. Find creators and videos who align with your mission and engage with their followers. You’ll be surprised how many people want to interact with a brand on social media when they feel like they’re talking to an actual person.
Pick the creators and content your organization engages with thoughtfully– some interactions can have bigger impact for your brand. Hootsuite’s 2025 Social Media Trends report states, “engagements are 1.6x higher when the original creator replies to your comment. So, it’s important to be intentional about who you’re targeting to increase your chances of getting those golden creator responses.” Additionally, the agency Social Element conducted a study that shows that “nano- and micro-influencers (those with between 1k and 50k followers) are the most responsive.” Hootsuite’s report also shows that brands get more love on their TikTok and Instagram comments when they post them relatively soon after the original post goes live, with the greatest number of engagements happening if the brand comments 1-2 hours or 6-12 hours after the post went live. Similarly, the length of the comment also correlated to the amount of engagement it received with mid-length comments getting the most engagement.
AI = Innovation
AI isn’t just a tool for automation anymore; it’s a co-creator for content strategy, personalization, and campaign efficiency. The drive to stay competitive is accelerating AI adoption across industries. In a previous blog, we explained that no, AI won’t take your jobs, but a person who uses AI will.
AI at its core is meant to expand what you’re already doing by making you faster, more efficient, and overall, more innovative. So, all that time spent on mundane and tedious tasks such as keyword research and trend monitoring can be sped up, so you have more time to be creative.
That being said, Spotify is facing so much backlash for how they chose to incorporate AI in this year’s “Spotify Wrapped.” Rather than enhancing the campaign with AI to provide deeper, more personalized insights or a more creative experience, their approach felt lazy and uninspired, experts said. They used AI to automate tasks but failed to add human oversight or creativity, resulting in a lackluster product. Beloved features like top genres or albums were removed, replaced by a vague and impersonal “music evolution” narrative that read like a string of unrelated words generated by AI. Even worse, an AI-generated podcast about users’ listening habits was riddled with inaccuracies and, at times, insensitive commentary. This highlights a crucial lesson: AI should be used to complement human creativity, not replace it entirely.
Let Spotify’s missteps be your organization’s sign to use AI the right way in 2025, as a creative partner that can help your team do more rather than less. Utilize it to allow your employees to experiment and take creative risks, but not to the detriment of quality content.
As we look ahead, these 2025 social media trends offer exciting opportunities for organizations to innovate, connect, and stay relevant in an ever-changing digital landscape. From embracing AI as a creative partner to engaging authentically with audiences in comments and trending conversations, the year ahead will challenge brands to be bolder and more human in their approaches. Staying ahead of these trends will not only amplify your organization’s voice and visibility but also help foster deeper connections with your audience and potential new relationships with creators.
