Top 2025 Social Media Trends
What can creators and users expect in the next year?
Two young women looking at a phone.
The online world is ever-evolving—especially social media. We can’t see into the future, but we can certainly predict some major trends that will take over the social media world this year.
Read on to learn more about what this year could have in store for social media.
AI-Generated Content
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest and greatest technology in most industries, including social media. From a content creation perspective, AI is changing the game when it comes to written and visual assets.
New AI tools for content creation are constantly being developed and launched. It’s just a matter of utilizing the ones that create trustworthy, quality content for your audiences—and disclosing you’re using them!
Short-Form Video Content
Social media is constantly shifting away from text-based content and towards video content. Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and TikTok are some of the most popular social media platforms in the world, launched on the foundation built by Vine.
Fun fact: from 2020 to 2024, TikTok has just about doubled its users from 465.7 million to 900.7 million! Short-form videos are very effective, allowing brands to connect with their audiences, tell their story, and build engagement.
Long-Form Content
Although short-form content dominates the scene, there’s a reason long-form content is still a top trend for social media this year. Consumers are aware of the highly addictive nature of short-form videos. As such, there will almost certainly be a shift back towards more in-depth, long-form content.
Examples of long-form content:
Blogs
Podcasts
Webinars
Research reports
Whitepapers
Longer videos
People crave connection and storytelling—long-form content is a great way to achieve this.
Explore Ethical Digital’s YouTube for shorts, webinars, and more!
Micro-Influencer Marketing
Did you know? According to Statista, the global influencer market is estimated to reach 24 billion dollars (that’s USD)! More on influencer marketing in a past blog.
This industry can be broken down into four categories:
Mega Influencers
Macro Influencers
Micro-Influencers
Nano Influencers
Micro-influencers, AKA niche influencers, target audiences in a specific hobby, industry or topic. Their audiences are smaller but more engaged. This social media trend allows brands to work with influencers to share their unique offerings.
Social Commerce
Anyone who spends time on social media knows it’s become a hub for online shopping. Why?
It’s convenient—you’re already on the platform anyway.
It’s effective, especially with the rise of influence marketing.
It’s easier than ever to check out, especially when your details are already saved.
This social media trend is expected to boom in 2025, providing customers with a seamless experience from interest to purchase. NP Digital covers the rise of social commerce and shoppable ads in this informative blog!
Authentic Content
Social media users can tell when content is trying to sell them on something. Now, they’re craving honesty, storytelling, and a look behind the curtains.
Every brand has a history and a personality. This is what sets you apart and it’s what social media users want to see online.
Want to get to know the Ethical Digital brand? Follow us on social media or read our story.
User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is just what it sounds like—content created by individuals, not brands or companies. This includes videos, images, text, reviews, discussions, forums and more.
Brand-specific UGC creates an opportunity for brands to reshare and repost, showing the impacts of their content without it coming from their channels. This occurs when, for example, a person posts a review of a product and a brand reposts it.
Did any of these trends surprise you?
Staying updated on social media fads is important for both users and creators, especially with the rise of AI in videos, content, and images. Let’s use this information to make ethical, informed choices all year long!
