As 2025 approaches, the social media landscape continues to evolve rapidly. For marketers this continues to present opportunities to grow and connect with customers, but it also requires an increasingly strategic approach. No longer is social media just about being present—it’s about being purposeful. What can you expect to happen next year? Here is a look at some of the trends we should all be focused on in order to build meaningful connections with our customers in 2025.
Start With an Audit
Before jumping into trends, brands will want to evaluate their current social media performance. A self-audit ensures your efforts align with your business goals and audience needs. Ask yourself:
- Which platforms are delivering the most engagement and conversions?
- Are we measuring what matters to us?
- Is your content style consistent and aligned with your brand voice?
- Do we understand what content is performing?
- Do we know what parts of the content is most important?
- Are you leveraging analytics to understand your audience?
You cannot understand where you are going in 2025 if you don’t know where you have been and 2024 was a year of many things, most of which was disruption. How your brand adapted and what lessons you can bring into the new year will be paramount to your brand’s success.
Satellite Social Media
This trend is the idea that if your brand has diverse audience segments or offers multiple services, consider creating niche social media accounts, known as satellite accounts. These allow you to tailor content more precisely for specific audiences. For example, a bakery might create a separate account to showcase custom wedding cakes, targeting engaged couples. This account would ignore nearly every other part of the business and deliver content tailor made for the wedding customer who would not care if you had cinnamon rolls today or pumpkin pie tomorrow but might care if you can do 12-tier cake builds for large weddings. By focusing on niche audiences, the brand can build stronger connections and increase the relevance of their content.
Live Shopping is Here
If it seems like the further we get away from a world with QVC or the Home Shopping Network the closer we get to everyone on the web having a QVC or Home Shopping solution – you are not alone. Gary Vanyerchuk has been talking about Live shopping all year and it is certainly gaining traction as a dynamic way to boost sales and connect with customers. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are making it easier to showcase products in real-time to the right customer. Looking at the data from Black Friday and Cyber Monday customers are looking for faster ways to get deals and to check out and live shopping can check both of those boxes.
Live shopping sessions can:
- Highlight product features.
- Allow customers to ask questions and see immediate demonstrations.
- Drive impulse purchases.
If this seems daunting or not part of your current stable of employees who could host something like this, partner with local micro-influencers to connect their audience with your products and build the strategy out from there.
Deep Not Wide
For years, businesses have chased viral moments, but in 2025, the focus is shifting toward depth. Viral content is fleeting, while meaningful engagement builds long-term relationships. Before leaping on the latest trend or following Nutter Butter into the long dark night a brand should ask itself:
- Does this trend align with our values and goals?
- Do we have something unique or valuable to add?
If the answer to either is not a resounding YES, it is time to work on some alternative content that does bring value while align with your brand. That isn’t to say every post on social should perfectly align- but we will get to that in a minute. Instead, the goal should be creating content that resonates deeply with your audience, even if it doesn’t go viral. Remember, it’s better to have 1000 loyal customers that buy from you than 100,000 passive followers who don’t.
Campfires Over Forest Fires
The second part of this is going deep and creating tight-knit communities. Think of it as building a campfire—a space where customers feel connected and valued. Seth Godin would define it as “People like us, do things like this.” Groups built on platforms like Facebook or Discord community at the center, can foster engagement, loyalty, and word-of-mouth referrals.
If a brand can leverage these digital meeting spaces to foster a community that equity will go a long way and even insulate you from some of the digital disruption because the community will follow you from platform to platform. (yes, we are talking about TikTok)
Brands like Marc’s Magic Rub, a seasoning blend for foods ranging from ribs and chicken wings to salmon and even popcorn connects with their community over food – an instant conversation starter. If you have ever graced a community of BBQ rub humans you know they have a lot to say.
Halfdays is a women’s ski apparel brand that brings function, fit, and style together. They also run a Slack community for skiing enthusiasts who want to talk about ski plans, arrange in-person hangouts, and get early access to new apparel launches.
Influencers and Customers
In 2024 74% of consumer say they have purchased something from an influencer which means that creator content is a critical part of the buyer journey for the modern consumer.
In 2025, brands should look at adding customer stories to their influencer partnerships. User-generated content (UGC)—like testimonials, photos, or reviews—builds trust and authenticity. Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your brand and tag you on social media. Once your customers take those actions, as the brand you should be using social listening to comment on that content along with content that aligns with you. This the third leg of this consumer social stool is one that many marketing teams miss out on which can be an incredible chance to pick up a new audience. Highlighting these real-life moments from influencers, your customers, and even the brand not only builds credibility but also strengthens customer relationships.
AI Content With a Human Touch
Nearly 70% of marketers are using Generative AI tools in their jobs in 2024 and this is revolutionizing content creation. When looking at the optimal posting frequency that Hootsuite just put out in their report – for small teams it will be nearly impossible to hit those benchmarks without help, enter AI. For brands, authenticity remains key. Use AI as a co-pilot, (see what we did there) not the captain.
AI can:
- Generate ideas for blog posts or social media captions.
- Automate repetitive tasks like scheduling and analytics reporting
- Act as a writer’s room
- Iterate existing content into new forms
- Learn about a new industry
- Create images and short form video
- Draft emails or DMs
However, the most compelling content—stories that evoke emotion and build trust—comes from humans. The AI superpower is using it to automate the mundane function of content creation so that the brand has more creative hours in the day to brainstorm, daydream, or try something new. To get the most out of AI in 2025 train up the tools you are going to use, if you pick ChatGPT over Perplexity then stick with that so it can learn your style and voice. Pay attention to the innovations and use them, these platforms get updates constantly and the new tools can be an incredible way to level up your marketing team if you know they are there.
Invest in Long-Form, High-Quality Video
Short-form content isn’t going anywhere, but high-quality, long-form video is the natural next step. Since COVID we have seen creators trying to move an audience from the short-form to a long-form like YouTube. In 2025 with the uncertainty around TikTok, long-form is worth looking at again. Platforms like YouTube are rewarding deep storytelling, giving brands a chance to showcase their expertise and create a more intimate community who wants to travel further with the brand. Consider creating tutorials, mini-documentaries, or behind-the-scenes content that build on the consumption of short-form video. The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) does an incredible job of this using the short-form videos to drive to either the live television shows (Raw + Smackdown), the premium live events (what you used to call pay-per-views) or even their documentaries. The WWE is best in class when it comes to production quality and in March of 2024 crested past 100 million subscribers to its YouTube channel. When WWE moves its TV shows to Netflix in January, it will be fascinating to watch this strategy and how it moves consumers to a new and novel platform for live sports.
Create Exclusive or Private Content
In today’s digital landscape, exclusivity has become a powerful tool for building deeper, more meaningful connections with audiences. Brands are increasingly recognizing that loyal customers crave insider access and personalized experiences that go beyond traditional marketing approaches. Platforms like Patreon, Substack, OnlyFans, and even built-in features like Instagram’s Close Friends have revolutionized how businesses can create intimate, value-added content ecosystems.
Consider the journey of a local artist leveraging exclusive content strategies. By offering a tiered subscription model, they can transform their most passionate supporters into a dedicated community. For instance, a $5 monthly tier might provide behind-the-scenes studio snapshots and work-in-progress glimpses, while a $20 tier could include early access to new art pieces, personalized quarterly postcards, and exclusive discounts on original works or merchandise. This approach does more than generate additional revenue—it creates a sense of belonging and investment. Subscribers feel like valued insiders, gaining a deeper appreciation for the artist’s creative process and building a more profound connection that transcends typical customer-brand relationships.
Embrace Personalized Feeds
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the social media experience, transforming generic content streams into hyper-personalized journeys that feel uniquely tailored to each individual. As machine learning algorithms become increasingly sophisticated, users now expect—and even demand—content that speaks directly to their interests, behaviors, and preferences. Brands have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage this technological evolution to create more targeted, effective marketing strategies.
The key lies in intelligent, nuanced personalization that goes beyond basic demographic targeting. By utilizing dynamic ads and AI-driven content recommendation systems, businesses can craft experiences that feel almost telepathic in their relevance. Imagine a local fitness studio that uses social media insights to create ads that not only target fitness enthusiasts in their area but also customize messaging based on individual fitness goals, past engagement, and even time of day. A marathon runner might see different content compared to someone interested in yoga or strength training.
Moreover, cross-platform personalization can create powerful, integrated marketing experiences. A clothing boutique could use social media interaction data to trigger personalized email campaigns, send targeted SMS messages with exclusive discounts, and retarget ads across platforms—all while maintaining a cohesive, individually tailored narrative. This multi-channel, AI-enhanced approach ensures that marketing messages feel less like intrusive advertisements and more like helpful, timely recommendations from a trusted friend.
The social media landscape of 2025 is not about chasing every fleeting trend, but about positioning social media as the centerpiece of your entire marketing ecosystem. These emerging trends represent more than just tactical options—they are a comprehensive approach to creating a holistic, integrated marketing strategy with social media at its core.
The most successful marketers will be those who view social media not as a peripheral channel, but as the central nervous system of their marketing efforts. In 2025, social media is no longer just a platform for posting content—it’s the strategic foundation that connects every aspect of your brand’s communication, from customer engagement and community building to sales and product development.
From the precision of satellite social media accounts to the intimacy of community-driven “campfire” marketing, from AI-enhanced personalization to carefully curated exclusive content, social media becomes the unifying thread that weaves together your entire marketing narrative. It’s the platform where your brand story unfolds, where customer relationships are nurtured, and where every marketing initiative finds its most dynamic expression.
Remember, social media in 2025 is about purpose-driven connection. It’s about understanding your audience so intimately that your marketing feels less like a campaign and more like a collaborative journey. The tools have evolved—AI, personalization, live shopping, community building—but social media stands at the center, orchestrating these innovations into a cohesive strategy.
Your social media strategy is no longer just a marketing channel—it’s the central hub from which all your marketing efforts radiate. Make it the strategic core of your brand’s communication and watch as it transforms every aspect of how you connect with your audience.
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