The key social media trends shaping 2025 and beyond

As the variety of content available on social media grows, it can be tough to keep up with ever-changing trends, and an influx of new social platforms, while staying on top of new tools and the best practices for pre-existing platforms. Throughout everything we do on socials, we constantly strive for success, keeping up with the latest and greatest, and formulating strategies that attract the right target audience and increase engagement.  

I recently attended Bristol Creative Industries’ 2025 social media trends discussion to discover how the social media landscape is expected to change as we progress further through the year. Hearing insight from experts, influencers and social media enthusiasts certainly gave me a lot of food for thought. Here’s my top three key takeaways: 

Using social media as a catalyst for campaigns 

In this day and age, social media is the first place to go for the latest news, information and even shopping. According to Sprout Social (2024), social media is so deeply embedded in Gen Z’s daily lives, serving as their go-to source for information, surpassing traditional search engines such as Google. For the first time ever, social media has surpassed television as the go-to source of news in the UK and US (Ofcom, 2024). 

For any brand launching a campaign, using social media as an avenue to spread information and raise awareness should be a no brainer. An astonishing 62.6% of people on this planet now use social media (Smart Insights Digital Marketing, 2025) and brands are fighting for their attention. 

Forming strong communities  

Creating a great social media community is more than just about understanding your target audience, it’s about going that extra step to create meaningful interactions with your followers.  

Consumers are tired of receiving automated, churned-out, AI chat bot responses. They want to see thoughtful, witty remarks that generate excitement and make their time engaging worth it. Brands must consistently engage with their audience to grow their community. 

Take Ryanair’s example, of building a loyal community of followers across Instagram and TikTok by commenting on competitor content, consistently responding to followers, and turning feedback received on its social channels, into social media content. Ryanair understands its target audience, taking a very Gen-Z approach to its content, monopolising on memes and current trends.  

Tapping into dark socials 

Dark socials are the private side of the internet and social media. On social media this includes private messaging and broadcast channels and messages shared on apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Dark social engagement  is a brilliant way of engaging with your audience directly, as the audience has already willingly signed up to your communications, making engagement highly likely.  

Check out our guide on setting up a Whatsapp Community.  

Many brands have struggled in the past with tracking activity on dark social channels to see their success rate. While it’s impossible to read private conversations to see if a certain person has mentioned a brand, trackable links can measure link clicks and sales.  

Recently, Instagram is one of the platforms that has embraced the dark side. Broadcast channels entered the space last year, providing an exclusive space for followers to join to get the latest updates from influencers and brands.  

Embrace the future 

In the remaining months of 2025, it’s key to consider how your brand will conquer social trends and engage with its audience. To discover how we can help with building your brand’s community and supporting your social channels, get in touch today.