Social media is all about NOW, so your marketing can’t rely on techniques from five years ago. We know it’s hard to stay up-to-date on everything happening in this fast-moving space, though, so we’ve collected insights from Envato’s social media team to help you anticipate the latest trends in social media marketing. Read on to see how you can use these techniques in 2025.
1. The rise of AI-driven content creation
AI is increasing in popularity, and because of that, people are looking for ways to incorporate this trend in social media into their workflow. Michelle Figueroa Castro, Envato’s Social Media Specialist, says:
“AI will be a key driver of content creation on social media, enabling brands and creators to automate everything from video editing to personalized recommendations, making content production faster and easier.”
Sprout Social says, “More than 80% of marketers say AI has positively impacted their efforts, citing benefits like more time for creativity and increased efficiency.”
Everyone, from individual creatives to large companies, is experimenting with new ways of using AI in social media marketing.
Coca-Cola partnered with OpenAI and DALL-E to create a social media campaign, Create Real Magic, encouraging users to create a Coca-Cola-themed holiday card using generative AI.
The campaign has been popular across social media platforms as users play with the AI tool and share their creations.
@nicomillado
2. Micro-communities take off
Micro-communities are small communities outside large platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok. Expect this social media marketing trend to pick up steam in the coming year as people get tired of the large platforms and look for spaces where customers or groups can get together for a shared purpose.
Brands and creatives can also create and foster these communities. For example, Glossier has a private Slack channel just for its top 100 customers.
“We’re starting to see a shift from broad social platforms to niche micro-communities (brand channels, WhatsApp/Telegram public groups, FB groups, etc). People crave more intimate and authentic connections with people who think similarly, and brands need to embrace this in the best way possible for their target audience.”
Michelle Figueroa Castro
In the limited space of micro-communities, people’s voices can be heard.
Instead of posting on a popular platform and feeling like you’re just throwing something out into the void, why not experiment with joining or creating micro-communities? Many creatives are seeing benefits from using Substack, and another popular micro-community is Cara, where artists can get their work seen by other artists.
3. Social media is now the destination
For years, we’ve thought of social media marketing as a way to build an audience and drive potential customers to a website to get more information or to make a purchase. But that’s changing, says Envato’s Social Media Manager Bethany Gerrie:
”Social media platforms are increasingly becoming go-to destinations for product and service searches, and in some demos (we’re looking at you, Gen Z), it’s surpassing traditional search engines.”
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok all have shop features. While social commerce has taken a while to take off, its convenience is making it a popular choice for younger audiences.
According to Emarketer, 35% of US consumers aged 18 to 34 have made purchases on Instagram, with similar percentages for Facebook (36%) and TikTok (31%).
People are increasingly using social media platforms to search for information, products, and services, challenging Google’s long-standing dominance. So, think about how you can embrace that trend in 2025 by creating a loyal community and making it easy for your customers to find what they’re searching for without needing to leave the app.
4. Augmented reality (AR) is the new default
Many companies are using AR to give their customers the best experience. According to Optic Sky, “Products with VR/AR content saw a 94% higher conversion rate.”
This means that people engaging with AR content buy the products. Castro agrees:
“AR will become a default tool for digital shopping and events, enhancing the user experience by blending digital content with the real world.”
One platform that has embraced AR is Snapchat, which has launched SnapAR. It’s not just for people to play around with cool effectsa practical example of AR being used in retail is when sunscreen brand Supergoop and nail polish brand OPI partnered with SnapAR to allow users to see how their lip gloss would look or experiment with nail polish colors before buying the product.
AR can also give people a personal tour and show them a place they may not have been able to go to before:
5. Creator-led brands are the future of social media
A creator-led brand is where a popular influencer creates a brand around their created product. According to Michelle Figueroa Castro:
“I really believe the future of social media is creator-driven. Think UGC but on a bigger scale, where the creator is in control, where authenticity is king, and the only thing the brand needs to do is to choose the right creator.”
An example of this current social media trend would be fitness YouTuber Cassie Ho, who created a clothing brand called Blogilates.
She’s known for listening to customers about her products and changing them based on customer feedback.
When brands are authentic and listen to their customers, people are drawn to them. Ho creates videos showing her design process, making her brand relatable and transparent.
Another way you can do creator-led advertising is by hiring an influencer to market a product. Often, these influencers become brand ambassadors. Calvin Klein has successfully done influencer marketing many times, such as this collaboration with Mingyu from the K-pop group Seventeen:
6. Whatever you do, stay authentic
We’ve examined many of the top social media trends today, but even as you experiment with new tools or techniques, remember to stay authentic.
This has always been a recommended practice on social media, but it will become even more important in 2025 as the world becomes more polarized and the prevalence of AI content and fake news makes people question what’s real.
By staying true to your brand values and demonstrating authenticity in all your interactions, you can stand out and build a loyal following of people who know what you stand for.
According to Bethany:
“Authenticity is crucial when addressing sociocultural topics on social media. Brands that fail to genuinely engage with these issues risk facing backlash.
Simply changing a profile image for Pride Month, for example, is not enough. To truly connect with audiences, brands must demonstrate genuine commitment through internal practices and policies that support LGBTQIA+ communities.”
One example of this 2025 social media trend is Selena Gomez’s company, Rare Beauty. The company was founded to de-stigmatize mental health and redefine what beauty means by celebrating individuality. Here’s a reel in which the company’s social media and content coordinator shows her grandmother some Rare Beauty products:
Stay on top of all the social media trends with Envato
Social media is constantly changing, and AI and AR are expected to continue to rise. Nevertheless, customers still value authenticity and personal social media posts and interactions.
Keeping up with new trends and making the most of social media is essential. We can help you with that.
Check out our regular roundup of TikTok trends or read about the latest content marketing trends.
And if you need to jump on a trend quickly, save time with professionally designed social media templates.
Envato is your one stop creative asset destination, offering an unrivaled range of quality assets from our community of global artists.
With one awesome subscription, you get unlimited downloads of over 19 million assets and templates video, audio, photos, graphics, fonts, and everything in between!
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