7 Best Social Media Trends Everyone Should Watch This Year

• By Rachel Celia
• 02-07-2025
• Social Media

Introduction

Social media is always evolving. In order to connect with new audiences, grow your brand awareness or simply stay updated on social media trends, it’s essential to keep brushing up on the current trends. These trends influence how we share and connect with our audience, and even what we expect from our favourite platforms.

This post will cover the seven biggest trends to pay attention to right now. You will learn efficient ways to use new tools available to you, create deeper communities and identify the shifts in social media trends that you can leverage to stand out from your competitors this year. These trends will impact your strategy whether you are a business owner or just want to get your posts more engagement and attention.

1. Authenticity and Raw Content Lead the Way

You may have noticed a lot of people are exchanging curated feeds for real life content. Social media platforms are flooded with unfiltered moments, candid opinions and uncurated behind the scenes footage, simply because audiences want that authenticity! Raw content feels human, cuts through the clutter and makes others feel like they belong in the moment with you. Forget only documenting your highlight reel or editing every detail, now your imperfection, messiness, unfinished product/idea and authentic self are what you want everyone to pay attention to and trust.

Instagram: The Rise of Unedited Stories

When you think about it, if you think back to a few years ago, Instagram was full of curated grids and flawless imagery. Now it's all about what’s happening at the moment. Unedited stories— The wobbles, laugh riots, a rant, all of these stories are getting more replies and shares than any polished post.

Young audiences in particular are skipping the filters and sharing candidly about their day, their long stressful day, or their happiest moments.Why? Because they feel less like a brand/institution and more like a person talking to you like a friend. Businesses are also jumping on, opting for quick smartphone clips over polished footage, and "in progress" updates instead of after stage shots. This shift fosters:

Higher engagement: People generally engage more with posts that are spontaneous and less scripted.
Stronger trust: Followers feel like they are privy to the "real" story instead of just seeing the after picture.
More engagement: Stickers, questions, and ad hoc polls encourage quick responses.

Your takeaway? If you really want your Instagram to pop, let go a little, don't chase the perfect shot. Share what you are doing right now, even if it's less than perfect.

TikTok: Behind-the-Scenes and Day-in-the-Life Videos

TikTok lives by the cut and paste energy you can usually only get through casual and off the cuff video. The less pro, the better. The audience is drawn to creators sharing their process, work, or daily activities - with little or no edit. These short clips keep you locked into their world because of how accessible they and their lives seem.

Here are some thing creators film:

• Their work environment, coffee stains, tangled cords, you know, everything.
• Their process for planning a project, mistakes included.
• Their daily routine (lee steaming to catch a train, last minute snack runs).

This style of video works because it's authentic. You're not just viewing a highlight, you're watching the process start to finish (even the bloopers!). Audiences watch and comment on content because they feel a connection with the creator and not a character. That authenticity builds loyalty. You really get to know the person behind the account.The trust and intimacy created keeps people coming back and grabbing the "follow" button.

YouTube: Creator Transparency and Genuine Reviews

The winners on YouTube today are those creators who practice transparency with their audience. We are seeing creators who make a range of content that runs from nailing the honest product review to sharing personal day in the life vlogs. If a creator mentions something that tanked or reveals they have done something wrong, this transparency is priceless.

The best of the best on YouTube do a few things exceptionally well:

• They let the user know when they have been paid for a sponsorship, while still conveying the real pros and cons.
• They let the viewer know whether the gidget, recipe, or hack actually worked - they show the failures on camera too.
• In personal vlogs, they are often talking about their wins, losses, and creations in a completely open way - there is a storyline there that makes you want to keep tuning in.

Authentic reviews take place in a viewing for the individual who is considering whether something has value, or warrants their time to try. You create good faith and credibility between yourself and your audience by sharing authentic opinions - if anything, it has the potential to be a greater risk. The trust you create with an audience will be stronger when you value honesty more than sales or notoriety. If you want your Youtube channel to attract fans and followers, do not hide your true self. When you show people your authentic self, you show you are a person who is worth discovering and trusting.

2.Short-Form Video Dominance

Short-form video is taking over in 2023 and changing the way you create, consume and share online. Quick clips - often 60 seconds in length or shorter - are the new heartbeat of social media feeds. All platforms are rushing to provide users with new tools, new effects and new user scenarios to allow creators to create more. More importantly, audiences love the fast pace, binge-able, and freshness of discovering something new. Brands see the opportunity to engage people in an environment where they are spending more time scrolling.Here's how Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are each fueling the short-form video phenomenon in different ways.

Instagram Reels: Taking on Lead

Instagram doesn’t hide what it wants—Reels. The app now shows Reels more often in Explore and Home feeds. Creators are jumping on Reels because that’s where the growth happens. You can get high Reels views. Tap into these trends to keep your strategy fresh, your Reels views climbing, and your followers engaged. Video discovery now rivals photo tags and text. If you’re aiming for better Reels views or want to be found, boost your search habits.

Want proof? Just check out the number of tutorials, challenges, and how-tos in your feed. Users spend more time watching and sharing Reels than traditional posts. Learning how to hook viewers and get huge Reels views. If you’re serious about boosting your Reels views consistency, follow the trending activities.

TikTok Challenges and Trends

TikTok wrote the manual on viral short videos. Challenges, dance moves, and relatable "songs/sounds" (music/audio you can use in your own clips) mutate weekly. The interval for trends is fast and the payoff is great if you can put together a video that aligns with what's trending.

Three main concepts about TikTok's trend cycles:

• Immediate virality: A dance or simple challenge can receive millions of views and other creators can copy and receive similar views in a matter of days.
• Collective creativity: When users find trends they jump on them and add their own spin, which means a challenge feels like a massive ongoing conversation you can join at any time.
• Music discovery: Catchy songs rise on the charts paired with viral dances and memes show us that music trends are fast blurring the lines of internet culture and pop culture.

Brands and creators watch TikTok trending hashtags like hawks to try and jump on the trend while it is fresh. Doing challenges or remixing the challenge for your niche is one way to get discovered and stay in the conversation. People are attracted to content that seems timely or as a relevant response to the moment instead of yesterday's viral video.

YouTube Shorts: Competing on Bite-Size Content

YouTube has joined the short-form video race with Shorts, its version of TikTok and Reels. Shorts are fun, vertical videos, less than 60 seconds in duration, made for our current, short attention span world.

YouTube is further amplifying this new space by:

• Helping promote Shorts on the homepage and mobile app as a clear destination.
• Creating funding and rewards for creators to encourage users to try this new format beyond traditional long videos.
• Bringing their built-in audience: If you have already established a channel on YouTube, shorts are the perfect way to connect with new users outside of your normal subscriber base.

For creators, shorts are an opportunity to experiment. Some will try out quick tips or hacks while others will experiment with comedy or trending audio. Audiences crave these short bursts of fun or informative content, and Shorts provide a faster way for you to see what works. There’s no question, if you want to grow on YouTube in 2025 and beyond, including regular shorts as part of your weekly content schedule is an intelligent strategy.

Short-form video is now driving the pace of what is popular online. From Reels, to TikTok challenges, to YouTube Shorts, any content that is quick hit provides more potential opportunities to connect with a larger audience faster.If you're serious about growing your brand, then you can not miss the opportunity to leverage the power of these platforms to extend your reach this year.

3. AI-Powered Personalization and Content Creation

AI is now a real force in social media, driving how you understand things, how you connect, and how you create. Algorithms are now adaptive and can look at colossal amounts of data to help you find posts and people you like, while at the same time new AI tools are lowering the entry barriers for creators to share good looking visuals or engaging video content.

We all know what artificial intelligence is doing in the process - when you open an app and when you pull down to refresh, every time you receive a reply, artificial intelligence is driving the experience you had. Below is what this means for your news feed, your content, and for your connection with others.

Smarter Algorithmic Feeds

For every tap and swipe you do, social media is learning more about your behaviours. Modern day AI looks at the accounts you follow, what posts and comments you like, and what stories you view. This data aggregates so that it can build feeds that seem increasingly more personal and relevant each time you login.

Instead of presenting random content, our feeds are now teaching you:

• The posts from friends you have interacted with the most
• The topics and hashtags you return to the most
• The videos or images that match your style

This is AI smartly adjusting your choices to predict what will interest you. For example: if you linger on a certain type of their video or select certain profiles of images, then you should notice that kind of stuff starting to bubble up to the top.Brands benefit, too, because they have a better chance of reaching people who care about their message—and they don’t have to shout into the void.

For you, that means you spend less time searching for what matters, and more time enjoying content that is made just for you. Feeds feel less overwhelming, and more rewarding, that means not only more time spent on the app, but genuine engagement.

Automated Video and Image Generation

You don’t even have to be a designer to create great content anymore. AI tools make it simple for anyone to create high quality versions of their video, image, and graphic content in minutes. And, no expensive equipment, or huge teams, required.

There are lots of AI content tools that are very popular:

• Canva’s Magic Studio: Generates social media ready graphics, banners, and presentations in seconds from text prompts.
• Lumen5 and InVideo: Take a blog post or script and turn it into a polished video, with a number of stock footage and voiceover options.
• Adobe Firefly and Midjourney: Create unique visuals or graphics from your ideas, with or without artistic skills.

These tools are beneficial for everyone. You can run tests on hundreds of thumbnail images, create videos for campaigns, or do quick custom content to stay fresh. AI does the editing, color corrections, and even gives you suggestions based on what's trending; it can save you hours, each week, based on how many media pieces you produce.

This is why it is a significant shift:

More creativity: You get to spend time on ideas and not what goes into the technical details.
Consistency: Your posts always look professional, even if you had no experience.
Speed: Contribute more content, and that is faster than ever before, and even in keeping up with trends.

With AI, quality visuals are not just for larger companies with unlimited budgets. Everyone can play, try things out and vie for your attention.

Personalized DM and Chatbot Experiences

AI is not only changing what you see or post, but it is also part of the action when you message a business or click the help button. Advanced AI can offer more rapid, smarter and more convivial responses through chatbots on social media platforms.

Brands are using AI chatbots to:

• Answer customer questions 24/7 (no waiting for the next available agent)
• Be a product or service recommendation based on your previous shopping or browsing behavior
• Share updates on orders or take care of returns without human interaction.

For you, as a user that means:

• Instant answers even when it’s odd hours
• You can skip long forms or measly waiting until you could be talking to someone on the phone
• Your requests are fulfilled in a way that feels relevant and personally engaging to you.

A few social platforms have already integrated chatbots into their app, such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp so deceptively advanced you might forget you’re speaking to AI! Chatbots can make bookings, arrange conflict resolution, recommend content, or just chat with you.

Businesses get much better insights into customer needs, while you get superior service in less time. The next time you have a chat with a brand or receive a personalized content recommendation, remember, AI is working quietly in the background to ensure each interaction is smarter, faster, and just for you.

4. Authenticity, Micro-Communities, and User-Generated Content

Users scroll past perfectly composed posts and scroll away from blatant advertisements. What draws users back? Authentic voices, authentic stories, and content that feels real.

Authenticity is everywhere. There are more behind-the-scenes, personal updates, as well as creators who are sharing their unfiltered thoughts. Brands that try to sound perfect for a voice inauthentically sound wrong. Users can tell when the mask occasionally drops.

User-generated content (UGC) is trustworthy. It is that simple. When fans post, tag, or have a review of the brand, they're showing others that you are worthy of their trust. Getting UGC into your feeds is one of the easiest ways to show worthiness.

Micro-communities (small, active groups that develop around certain passions or identities) are the new power space on social media. Getting into these niche groups feels personal and rewarding motivating followers to feel your message more significantly.

Ways to sustain the interest with authenticity and UGC:

• Invite real customers to portray their stories so the followers of your brand can see how much they value your product or service through their photography.
• Be responsive in your comments and DMs. Be human. Avoid cut-and-paste replies.
• Engage followers in an experience where they feel like other engaging community members.
• Host a Q&A, Ask Me Anything (AMA), or simply tell one day in your life.
• Join or build groups that share interests and contribute as a peer - not just a brand.

Users want to see those that are like them, not from faceless accounts. Let your followers speak for themselves.

5. Niche Communities Are Gaining Power

Do you remember when we used to see our feeds? Now, it's about smaller circles. from book clubs to sneakerheads to backyard gardeners, these small forces decide what's cool in their area.

Why do niche communities matter more today?

• They promote trust with their own recommendations within their own circle.
• The conversations in these groups are much richer than shallow engagement.
• You can optimize the content for what matters to them.

Anywhere there is focused circle activity, you will find platforms, including Facebook Groups, Discord, and Reddit. You may also be surprised to find small circles and connective sub-cultures on TikTok or Instagram, say "BookTok" and "Plantstagram."

Ways to connect with niche communities:

• Identify and join groups that are directly tied to your industry or interests. Join to learn not sell.
• Create content by using the group's language, in-jokes, or memes.
• Support creators who have established trusted voices in these communities.

Relationships in these small groups translate well to loyal fans and consistent recommendations.

6. The Social Commerce Boom

Social platforms have put shopping at the forefront of the experience therefore giving you even more ways as a potential consumer to browse and shop without leaving your social feed. Brands, creators and yes, even your friends openly post real products, also wanting you to become a consumer with the temptation of a simple tap or swipe, ready to check out If you want to stay ahead of the trend, here are some interesting trends to consider.

Livestream Shopping Events: Real-Time Sales in Action

Livestream shopping is taking off, and not just in one country or for one brand type. You'll see your favorite creators and brands doing live video sessions featuring a single creator, where you can see the items, comment, and shop all at the same time. Like a home shopping channel, only more high-octane with one-on-one entertaining chats.

Brands host these livestream events to display their products, answer any questions from viewers, and sometimes offer discounts exclusively to viewers that are tuned in to the sale. It is all really 'real-time', highly interactive, and even fun, where you can see actual people using actual products in real-time fashion regardless if it is beauty routines, electronics demonstrations or clothing try-ons.

To explain why livestream shopping is so effective, here are a few things to consider:

• Instant answers: you can ask your questions while in the livestream chat, and get answers, recommendations, or suggestions before you make a purchasing decision.
• Trust factor: watching someone use or review a product in a real-time fashion seems more authentic than the polished advertisement we are so used to.
• Urgency and sales: the promotions you see exclusively in the stream, or quick-sale offers, create the expectation that you need to purchase before it's gone.
• Community environment: viewers have the opportunity to chat with each other as the event goes on, which makes the shopping experience less lonely and social.

If you are a brand or creator, going live serves not only as a social opportunity, but it builds trust and establishes an ability to rapidly create sales.Demonstrate how products work in real life and provide behind-the-scenes insight and make it fun and social. When practices really are, "irritatingly real" people stay longer, ask questions and often will hit "buy now" before the stream concludes.

Native Shops and Product Tags: Shopping Without Leaving the App

When buying directly from social apps was a clumsy process—no longer. With native, in-app shops and clickable product tags, there are no hoops to jump through to get the shopping experience, and platforms have taken measures to reduce all friction and to keep you and your wallet, right where you be scrollin.'

Most major platforms offer their own built-in functionality now:

• Instagram Shops—you can toggle through store fronts, see collections of products, and instantly buy in the app.
• Facebook Shops—Brands can create full catalogs, product tabs, and even live customer service chats, all within Facebook.
• TikTok Shop & Shoppable Posts—See something you love in a creator's video, hit the product tag, browse options, and check out right there!

Product tags provide a new layer on top of regular content. You don't have to guess as to where to get something anymore; you see a product tag you can click on for more information, reviews and pricing. Payment is made in-app, so you don't even leave for another site. This makes everything "frictionless" and helps transition casual curiosity into legitimate purchase on the spot.

What does this mean for you or your brand?

• Shorter path to purchase: Fewer clicks equals more sales.
• Impulse buying: If something catches your eye, you can buy it immediately when you are most interested.
• Seamless discovery: Product tags inserted into posts, Stories, or videos feels natural and unobtrusive.
• Rich storytelling: Inspirational imagery and how to videos, together with the ability to shop now, allows you to lead, not sell.

If you want to take advantage of this trend in your own strategy:

• Set up shop features on every platform you use.
• Include product tags in posts, Reels, and Stories wherever it makes sense and is natural.
• Utilize analytics in these shops to see what people view, click, and buy.
• Team up with creators that align with your brand, and their words will hold even more weight.

Social commerce is taking the shopping experience that people already love and combining it with the daily content they are consuming. If you can create moments into their experience that include you, whether that is through a creative livestream or a simple tag, you will be ahead of the game.

7. Social Platforms as Search Engines

Google was your first search destination for recipes, reviews, and how-to's. More than ever, users - and teens and young adults

especially - are skipping Google and going directly to TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you are not on these apps or pages, you are missing where the conversations are starting.

Influence and search concepts in this movement include visual search, hashtags, and trending topics. People make connections but want answers in a hurry - and more often than not they want to see it visually or through moving content in a traditional scrolling experience.

How can you make it easy to be found?

• Use the right keywords in your captions, video descriptions, and profile bio.
• Include relevant but also trending hashtags. But do not just copy whatever is trending. Hashtags should fit the content.
• Create content that answers the questions people actually have. Quick examples, product reviews, and how-to guides have higher success.
• Have users save, share and remix your content, giving it more chances to be visible in search engines.

Making your content searchable when applied properly increases your chances of reaching new followers without spending on ads.

Conclusion

Social media continues to move, and so are the different avenues of how brands and creators reach people. The trends of authenticity, short-form videos, AI-led insights, and notable shopping features, among many other things, will develop, evolve, and dictate what works and what doesn’t across each platform this year. If you want results, focus on what feels real, be agile with the next hot thing, and let the smart tools help you work in a smarter, less labour-intensive way.

Start by sharing more behind-the-scenes content, give short videos a try, and seek ways to add AI into your mixes for sharper, faster posts. Don't wait on setting up social shops or adding product tags to your content if you are a seller online. Every little thing you update today accelerates what you can do to get closer to your people.

Thank you for carving out the time to read this and stay ahead of the game. If you are ready to grow, take one, maybe two, of the trends and implement them this week. And if you try one and you find something really works, be sure to share or comment on it - this sharing and learning is how you keep sharp year after year.