If I’m being completely honest, the holidays are NOT my favorite time of year.

I know, I know. It’s supposed to be the most J-O-Y-O-U-S time of year.

But hear me out…

It just feels like Christmas has become such a Hallmark holiday, doesn’t it? The obligations, the shopping, the hoarding of stuff. Not to mention the OVERTHINKING of what to get that “hard to shop for person” in your life.

Plus, the older I get, the more I despise clutter and stuff. I want to give people things I know they need or actually enjoy. Can I pay off a bill? Can I buy you groceries? How about a gas card? How about a movie on me?

THOSE are the things people can actually use. Not another mug and candy gift set or fuzzy slippers that fall apart after one use. UGH.

All I know is if I ever make it big, the entire family is getting a year-end vacation somewhere warm every year. Forget the stocking stuffers…I want toes in the sand, a margarita in hand, memories, and new photos on the camera roll. 📸

BUT ANYWAY…Merry Christmas! 🎄 Let’s dive into some social media predictions for 2025, shall we?

– Jen Brugh

WHAT’S COOKIN’ FOR 2025?

Our 🔥 HOT 🔥 2025 Social Media Predictions

There’s a lot of chatter already online about the impending TikTok ban. It’s slated to take effect on January 19, 2025, but we’ll see if things change between now and then. More on that to come.

2024 saw a lot of change in the social media industry, further proving that these channels are one of the main marketing routes for growing your business. And there’s no sign that the train 🚂 is slowing down any time soon. But of course, we don’t need to tell you that. It’s easy to see!

So, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? Here are our 2025 social media predictions….

Video Content Will Not Be An Option

If content is king, then video is the crown. We’re headed into a time when video content is all people want to consume, and we will see this trend continue into 2025. If video isn’t a part of your social media strategy, we highly encourage it! Short-form (5-15 seconds) and mid-form (30-90 seconds) will outperform, but you’ll have to learn how to hook people in and stop the scroll to be successful. Either way, you’re falling farther and farther behind if you’re not embracing video to some degree, and the gap will only grow wider between brands that invest in video and those that don’t.

We’ll See More EGC in the B2B Space

You’ve probably already heard about UGC (User-Generated Content), but Employee Generated Content is about to take center stage. This is especially true for B2Bs. While B2Cs have capitalized on this type of content for a few years now, B2Bs have struggled. That’s why we’re predicting EGC to become a huge factor in 2025 and beyond. Companies will look internally for their employees to make tutorials, unboxings, explainer videos, and more. This type of content puts faces to the brand and doubles as a fun bonding experience for everyone.

Micro- and Hyper-Local Content Creators Will Be Influential

We recently ran across a company called Hummingbirds — a platform that matches local content creators with small businesses and brands. The platform focuses on working with content creators with >5,000 followers (also known as micro-influencers). These are ordinary, everyday men and women in select cities across the United States who just want to show off the brands they love and get a little freebie in exchange. We predict we’ll see a lot more of these types of creators and influencers as more brands look to build stronger communities.

Speaking of Communities…Yeah, This Needs to Be Your Focus

While there’s no right or wrong way to build your community, our prediction is that in 2025, brands will focus more on nurturing the ones they’ve got rather than going after new followers 24/7. Up to this point, follower count has been a big KPI, and we hear it all the time: “I want more followers.” But MORE doesn’t always equate to BETTER. Just look at some of the engagement rates of top accounts. You’ll see it. Instead, we predict brands that focus on nurturing their existing communities will grow exponentially by accident. People want to feel like they belong and have a place to go rather than being sold to all the time.

Authenticity Will Thrive

Remember how we just talked about ordinary, everyday people? Well, those folks could become your best friend in 2025. Word going around the internet is that people are craving more authenticity, and they want to see it from people who don’t have aesthetically pleasing homes or perfect makeup and hair done every day. They want to see raw, unscripted content that they resonate with. This approach in your content also plays into that “building a community” part we just touched on. 👆🏼

The TikTok Ban Will Likely Happen (🫣)

Social media marketers and other thought leaders in the space are torn on this issue. Some say there’s no way the U.S. government would ban an app beloved by more than 150 million Americans. Others say it can’t be stopped. We fall into the latter camp. Regardless of your thoughts on its security risk, TikTok threatens the bottom lines of Meta, YouTube, and Google. For example, earlier this year, TikTok became the world’s most popular search engine, knocking Google down a peg. The platform also took advertising dollars and users off of Meta, a blow to Mark Zuckerberg’s ego and bank account. So, while Congress tries to distract Americans with the “security risk” storyline, we’re not buying it. Just follow the money, and you’ll find your answer as to why the TikTok ban will likely happen. But we’ll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't!

Side Bar: Zuckerberg has already been sharing your data with China. So, we’ll let you decide where the “security risk” lies.

Bluesky Will Take Off

Twitter (X) has become a cesspool, and people are ditching the platform faster than Elon Musk can ban your account. Instead, they’re heading over to Bluesky, the new guy on the block. Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, started Bluesky back in 2019, and the platform officially launched to the public in February 2024. It’s essential Twitter, but more customizable. We predict people will continue to flock to the platform, which seems to be rather welcoming and unproblematic. It’s great if you’ve always wanted to explore Twitter as a marketing channel but don’t love the vibes.

There Will Be More Storytelling

We’ve seen the shift in the last six months or so, but the better the story, the more captivated the audience. We’ll see brands and businesses capitalize on this more in 2025, especially from a visual storytelling perspective. People are tired of the rinse and repeat, they want to feel like they’re being heard, understood, and connected with.

AND THAT’S A 2024 WRAP

We hope your year has been as eventful and fulfilling as ours! We’re looking forward to taking the next two weeks off and working on some things behind the scenes. 2025 is going to be another great year!

So, guess the only thing that’s left to say is…

And Happy New Year!