2025, wtf?!
It's only the start of 2025, and a LOT has happened. Platform policy changes, a preview of the incoming presidential agenda, ongoing threats of channel bans, and an increasing pace of AI advancements, all promise big impacts for social and social-first brand building in 2025.
This year is set to be a crossroads, with brands required to adapt and respond faster than ever before. To find new paths to combat mistrust, cut through the noise, and build deeper connections with their audiences.
So we re-grouped, re-worked, and updated the trend report we planned to launch, compiling six themes, which together, paint a compelling picture of what and how brands can set themselves up for social-first success in an ever-changing and turbulent 2025.
While platforms keep tweaking the small stuff, our report zooms out to the bigger picture: taking a macro outlook of 2025, tailoring this to how these shifts will manifest on social and how brands can tap in.
In 2025, brands must rethink how they show up through the following six shifts:
🕹️ My Feed, My Rules — Exploring how people are reclaiming their feeds and what that means for brands.
👾 Nostalgia and Play — How these creative tactics intersect with turbulent times.
🎨 The Return of the Tastemakers — Highlighting the shift from follower counts to cultural clout.
✏️ The Comments Section Renaissance — Examining the new frontier for reach and brand visibility.
📺 Serialised Storytelling — Unpacking how platforms are turning into entertainment hubs.
🧲 The Role of Community in a Polarised World — How brands can be a unifying force for community in an uncertain era.