THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2025
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“Social Media is like a Snowball rolling down the hill. It is picking up speed. Five years from now, it’s going to be the standard.”
- Popular author and well-respected marketer JEFF ANTAYA
It has already become the standard in many ways. A staggering 3.6 billion people currently use social media. This is projected to touch by 2025, 4.41 billion. Every 10 seconds, there is a new user.
With 2024 already half-way through, the social network landscape is witnessing rapid evolution. With new technologies and innovative platforms making phenomenal progress, the question on everyone’s mind is – “How will Social Media look in future and what trends will play a role in shaping its future in 2025’.
TRENDS IN 2025 TO WATCH OUT FOR
The year 2025 is all set to witness several key trends. They will come to play a prominent role in changing its landscape and shaping its future.
2025 will see the following trends play a key role.
PROMINENCE OF MOBILE-FIRST CONTENT
Smartphone’s in just a decade has become in people’s lives a ubiquitous presence.
As a key tool for communication and information, it has become indispensable. To cater to on-the-move audiences’ growing demands, businesses are driven to alter their content strategies and adapt mobile-first content strategies.
According to a Microsoft study, customers tend to have a short attention span. From twelve seconds in 2000, it has declined to six seconds today. Mobile users prefer content that can be downloaded fast and quickly scanned, elevating their experience without in any way overwhelming them. To make the content worth their attention, it should
- Be short, crisp, compact, and catchy.
- Have short exciting headlines with a powerful call-to-action.
- Include bullet points with informative content to make it more engaging.
By 2039, the amount of data available is forecast to touch a new high. They will play a key role in people’s decision-making. As a result of which personalized content will become the norm. Customers will receive content they prefer from the brands they want. It will not be just on their Smartphone’s, but also on their contact lens or even projector watch.
SHORT-FORM VIDEO CONTENT WILL BE THE NORM
It was VINE, a company that pioneered short-form video content. It bowed out in 2017. Later, TikTok took it to new heights with its foundation of bite-sized brilliance. About 15 to 60 seconds long, short-form video content is easy to consume and share.
It has helped to drastically reduced video time. This has caught viewer’s attention and boost overall engagement. According to WYZOWL statistics, almost three-quarters of consumers’, that is, 73 percent, prefer to learn about a product or service through short-form videos. They can record them on their Smartphone’s by simply pressing record and creating shareable content with vital information. Brief and compact, they do not demand much attention which is what has endeared them to the audiences today.
Even video makers find them hugely beneficial. They are quick to make, needing minimal of equipment. They do not have to rely on actors, specialist lighting, camera and other equipment, or anything else. All of these help to reduce costs significantly.
2025 will witness short-form video content graduate to a whole new level. As popular social networks like Instagram, TikTok, etc, continue to add new features like Shoppable Videos, AR/VR integrations, etc, it will become more exciting to watch.
AUGMENTED REALITY WILL BE MORE INTEGRATED
Both AR and VR have been around for some years now. Many ecommerce stores already use them to deliver better shopping experience to their clients.
In 2025, their role will become more prominent. AR will allow consumers to try a product on the screen digitally before they look to buy it. Already many e-retail stores are using AR in their social platform campaigns to facilitate real-world product visualization, engaging consumers on a personal level.
2025 will also see increasing use of AR apps in social platforms. They will help users to see through the product and find out how the product would work or look in their house. They will even be able to view the product from varied angles thus giving them a more real life experience of the product before they intend to buy it.
As AR gets more sophisticated, businesses will be able to use it in social platform campaigns to provide interactive product representation and deliver a more immersive experience.
AI WILL PLAY A EVOVLED ROLE ON SOCIAL PLATFORMS
Artificial Intelligence is in big news these days.
Many analysts predict it may alter the way people consume social platforms, and also the way content is posted and shared.
Facebook through its DeepFace AI system is already using AI to drive core features, like ad targeting, news feed, image recognition, etc. Similarly, X is using it to suggest to users relevant trending topics Instagram too is using it to put forward to users specific photos and videos; and spot in photos people and objects.
Many individuals and businesses are using generative AI for different purposes. Some examples include monitoring social platforms, generating content as well as images and videos, and so on.
The year 2025 will likely see
- AI video content gaining in popularity. AI driven creation will make video curation and editing easier.
- Eagerly awaited integration of AR and VR with social platforms. If that happens, users will get to relish a more immersive online experience.
- Meta employing AI-dependent AR and VR on a smaller scale to its Metaverse.
- AI-powered personalization. User behavior will be analyzed by Ai algorithms to deliver highly-targeted tailored content and also ads and recommendations. This will enhance user engagement.
INTEGRATION INTO EVERY ASPECT OF DAILY LIVES
Already an integral part of people’s lives, Social Media is connecting people with their family, friends, relatives, etc, around the world; and share videos and photos with updates. Online communities have also emerged in a big way. They have helped people to connect and engage with others across geographical boundaries.
Newer social network features will help businesses and organizations to connect in different ways with their audiences. By leveraging digital marketing through social platforms, they will get to explore new opportunities, forge better relationships with their audiences, drive brand awareness, and above all, build brand loyalty.
Latest statistics reveal
- 55 percent consumers learn about new brands on social platforms.
- 78 percent consumers show more enthusiasm to buy from a brand after a positive engagement on social platforms.
- 68 percent consumers said social platforms help them to interact with brands better.
- 72 percent companies acknowledged that social platforms play a key role in making business decisions.
In the U.S., a real estate company McCarthy with a 2x less budget generated 4.3x sales through social platform campaigns.
With companies laying more focus on social platform campaigns driven by targeted advertising, 2025 will see more engaging content that help to generate brand awareness and drive brand loyalty. The inclusion of more interactive features will see social platforms getting more integrated into every aspect of people’s lives.
2025 is also likely to see the emergence of decentralized social networks driven by data security issues and privacy concerns. They will operate on blockchain technology compared to traditional social platforms, enabling users to exercise more control over their data. Besides, they will also ensure greater transparency with reduced censorship; and better security. This will go well with users who value the protection of their data and privacy.
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