Allan Blair shares some of the major trends set to dominate social media this year.
From brat summer to a viral bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries, if 2024 taught us anything, it’s that brands have to stay agile and educated to be at the centre of culture.
But if there is one piece of platform advice we can give ahead of the new year - it’s not about chasing followers, it’s about mastering reach. The algorithms are changing and for the first time in our industry, good creative gets pushed to more people. The strength of the post, and how popular it is, defines how many people see it. That is huge for an industry that has traditionally spent a lot of money pushing whatever work they want on people.
Let’s dive into our forecast of the major trends that are sure to dominate social media in 2025, and how you can use them to your advantage to really make an impact.
Remember: some of these trends may contradict each other - but remember, every trend has a counter trend. It’s all about deciding what’s right for you.
With trends like ‘airport tray aesthetic’, and the coquette trend which had Gen Z adding bows to literally everything, social media is obsessed with a polished, “aesthetic” version of reality. We’ll likely see more of this in 2025 - so if your product is somewhat conventional, take advantage of formats like Pinterest Collages and the design features available on Instagram Stories to turn it into something beautiful.
However, there’s a growing trend of rejecting unattainable ideals in favour of real, everyday moments. As moderating life for public consumption has become a pressure many feel, a slightly chaotic 20-slide photo-dump on Instagram, behind-the-scenes content, or normalising reality for your audience - helps relieve some of the pressure everyone is feeling.
As AI becomes increasingly more of a part of everyday existence, people increasingly seek brands being human. It’s time for brands to embrace real stories and personal interactions to foster trust and loyalty with their customer base. Shift towards more authentic, human-driven engagement content. Build relationships, not just transactions.
It’s time for brands to embrace real stories and personal interactions to foster trust and loyalty with their customer base.
Allan Blair, Head of Strategy, VaynerMedia EMEA
Do this by organising Instagram Story takeovers, engaging in live Q&As, duets and stitches, as well as responding personally to comments. By helping put a face to the brand name, the stronger the connection with your audience will get. Go beyond surface-level engagement—truly understand your audience's challenges and desires to create a deeper bond and drive relevance. Think human-first.
Think you’ve seen everything online? Meet ‘Shrimp Jesus’. A recent series of AI generated memes on Facebook that represent a fusion of Jesus Christ with shrimps and other sea creatures. This is ‘Brain rot’ - nonsense, mindless internet content - but highly shareable and the Oxford University Press just happened to make ‘brain rot’ their word of 2024. Some brands are exploring this universe within their own tone of voice and objectives, and are succeeding. However, this may become saturated, as creators and brands leverage tools like CapCut for easy production.
So, whilst this type of content is a fun way to break through the white noise- you should definitely be mixing in some higher production, higher lift creative as well to see how it performs for your brand. BUT it must be truly relevant to your audience, not a TVC repurposed for TikTok. Use resources like TikTok Creative Center, Meta’s Ad Libraries or YouTube’s Inspiration Tab to spark some new ideas!
Forget about focusing solely on vanity metrics like follower count. In 2025, it’s all about creating a community around your brand. Consumers are seeking brands that foster belonging, inclusivity, and shared purpose with more than a third of European citizens feeling increasingly lonely.
Brands can build these communities by encouraging meaningful conversations, starting interactive challenges, or creating spaces where users can collaborate and share their own experiences. Use polls, user-generated content, or even tap into community-based hobby’ apps like Strava, Letterboxd and wecandoo to target your audience locally and allow them to shape your brand's narrative.
With in-app purchasing options, live-stream shopping, and shoppable posts, the potential for brands to convert social users into buyers is greater than ever. Gen Z are bypassing traditional ads, preferring instead to discover new brands seamlessly integrated into the entertainment they consume. TikTok Shop is leading the social shopping experience in EMEA, while Amazon X-Ray and Google Lens enable instant discovery of products in Netflix shows & movies.
Brands should actively integrate technologies like augmented reality filters (for trying products virtually, etc) and instant purchase options directly through the app interfaces. This is sure to enhance engagement and streamline the consumer's path to purchase, making social shopping more compelling.
Looking ahead, one thing is crystal clear: authenticity and relevance will remain the pillars of success on social media in 2025. Brands that stay true to their values and connect meaningfully with their audience will rise to the top, while those relying on superficial tactics or cookie-cutter content will likely be left behind.
It’s about understanding how people REALLY see your brand, how they REALLY talk about it and how they REALLY use it then leaning into it, owning it and having fun.
The overarching takeaway from this year and going into 2025 is this, MAXIMISE REACH OVER FOLLOWERS. Create a place online that celebrates original, quality, culture-centered ideas that consumers want to connect with and that the algorithms favour. Ultimately, this is how you’ll get people to listen to your brand and succeed on social.
Allan leads the strategy team based in London, Amsterdam and key European markets. He passionately believes in the power of creativity to build brands and that great, truly effective strategy is a marriage of smart human insights, real behavioural data and deep cultural relevance. Allan has over 20 years experience of working across the marketing and communications sector in PR, brand comms and digital at both agencies and client side. As a MySpace alumni he has been working with social media since its inception and has lead strategy at Tribal Worldwide/adam&eveDDB, J Walter Thompson and Engine in London, where he was responsible for through the line and award winning campaigns for brands including Volkswagen, adidas, Guinness, Hasbro, Lipton, Marmite, E.ON and Jägermeister. In addition, Allan is a passionate spokesperson for people from working class backgrounds and encourages better pathways into the industry. He has spoken on the Working Class to World Class podcast.
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