10 Social Media Trends for 2025
Candy Kittens on TikTok Shop
🛍️ 1. TikTok Shop will be BIG
TikTok is really pushing TikTok Shop—and for good reason. While TikTok made $8.3B from in-app spending in 2023, its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, raked in $500B, thanks to live shopping.
UK brands are hopping onto the brand wagon, like Candy Kittens, Zara, and Luxe Collective are thriving, with Luxe pulling 20-30% of its £11M revenue from TikTok sales—selling Hermès and Chanel, not 99p dresses. 👀
Our 2025 prediction? TikTok Shop will keep growing as more brands and creators jump on board.
📸 2. Your Employees are the Next Big Influencers
You might be sitting on a goldmine which could be your employees. Content shared by employees has 561% more reach and 8x more engagement than posts from your brand account. They also have networks 10x larger than your company’s, meaning their reach is massive—and often more authentic.
Not to mention, 76% of people trust content from “normal people” (a.k.a. your employees) more than anything that comes from your official company channels.
The kicker? Employees generate 7x better leads than paid ads. That’s right—your team is not just influencing your audience, they’re driving sales. 🔥
Want some inspo? Well, check out Marks and Spencer, Coach and Sheerluxe TikTok’s to see how they’re using employee generated content.
💻 3. AI isn’t just a “nice-to-have” anymore – it’s a non-negotiable.
In 2025, generative AI is set to supercharge video content like never before, (if it's not part of your brand’s social strategy, you genuinely might be missing out).
Platforms like TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio and Meta AI are already leading the charge, making AI-driven tools more accessible than ever.
In fact, 54% of Australian online creators are already using AI to fuel their content, according to Social Soup. 🤯
The days of fearing AI are long gone.
Now, not embracing AI feels almost…out of touch.
🗣️ 4. Voice-optimised content will become the new SEO
Chances are you’ve used Alexa, Siri, or Google Home—because who doesn’t love quick, hands-free answers?
By 2025, we predict social platforms will jump on the voice optimisation trend. Creators are already embracing voiceovers, and brands should follow suit.
To stay ahead, optimise your content for sound. Simplify your messaging, add captions, and fine-tune your metadata to make it easy for users to find you through voice search.
Duolingo, unhinged
👀 5: It might be time to make your brand...unhinged
Gone are the days of strict brand guidelines holding you back.
In 2025, it’s all about embracing the unfiltered 👏 raw 👏and authentic content 👏 that truly connects with your audience.
It’s time to let your brand’s personality shine, create content that feels real, and stop worrying about being picture-perfect.
Look at Duolingo, where they've created content that is well, at times, completely unhinged AND it's entertaining, it feels freeing to watch and the shock factor is definitely there (making the content more memorable).
Be free brands, be free 🕊️
🔥 6. Private convos are in
Social media isn't about shouting about your brand from the rooftops anymore.
It's all about the power of private conversations.
We've already started to see this shift - think Instagram's broadcast channels, Snapchat private stories and Linkedin groups! EVEN in-person community groups 👀
Just a reminder it's not always about the hard sell.
Focus on real interactions and watch your brand ambassadors grow.
⭐️ 7. Statics are making a major comeback
It might seem like consumers only want videos, especially with platforms prioritising video content.
But that’s not necessarily the case.
Statics (also known as photo dumps, to our fellow Gen Z's) are going to make a major comeback in 2025.
We’ve seen TikTok’s Photo Mode posts rise in popularity, delivering “2.9x more comments,” “1.9x more likes,” and “2.6x more shares on average” than video posts.
It’s clear that this trend isn’t confined to TikTok – we’ll see similar success on Instagram and other video-heavy platforms too.
Puresport’s run club community
🤝 8. Communities are here to stay
In 2025, community-driven strategies will level up from being just a trend—they’ll become essential.
Audiences aren’t just craving online connections through Discord or WhatsApp groups; they’re looking for real-life meetups that bring people together IRL. And why are brands jumping on this? Because the benefits are huge, from creating next-level loyalty to sparking authentic UGC that does the marketing for you.
It’s time to ask yourself: where would your audience want to hang out? What kind of space could you create that feels so natural they can’t resist connecting—and snapping content while they’re at it? For inspiration, check out Puresport’s running club. They’ve nailed how to bring a community vibe to life.
💌 9. Community management is the new way to pick up customers/clients
Brands are sliding into creators’ comments to snag new audiences, but it’s not as easy as it looks. Outbound engagement—commenting on other people’s posts—is booming, and the smartest brands are using it to build community and visibility.
The rules? Timing and length matter. Comment within 24 hours and keep it between 10-99 characters for max engagement.
In 2025, the real winners will go beyond comments, building genuine relationships with creators and their communities to stand out. A brand that does this surprisingly well is Monzo.
🤳 10. Horizontal formats on IG + TT are...maybe making a comeback? 👀
Although rogue, this is an observation we’ve been noticing in the video space: horizontal videos are making a comeback.
For years, we’ve been all about portrait videos (and they’re still essential—hello, full-screen attention-grabbers). But now, horizontal videos are creeping back into TikTok and Instagram feeds—not just YouTube.
Why? Our theory: nostalgia. Horizontal videos give off retro vibes, tapping into that warm, familiar feeling people love. It’s a fresh way to stand out in a sea of vertical content while leaning into the power of throwback appeal.
