2025 is here, and as always, social and digital marketing is set for big changes.

Check out our top predictions for what’s ahead this year. Stay tuned—next week, we’ll dive back into the headlines and more!

Social Media Predictions

🎥 YouTube Will Continue to Dominate
When it comes to watch time, connected TV viewership, and ad revenue, YouTube is leaving everyone else in the dust. TikTok may be its biggest challenger, but YouTube’s upward trajectory remains unstoppable as it becomes the streaming giant no one saw coming.

👩‍💼 LinkedIn Will Rise as an Influencer Platform
Forget TikTok dances—LinkedIn’s professional vibe is becoming a hotspot for influencer marketing. Brands are beginning to tap into its high-quality audience, making it a serious contender for creators in 2025.

❓ Will TikTok Be Banned? Likely Not
TikTok’s fate in the U.S. hangs on the January 19th deadline for a forced sell-off. Legal experts predict delays, and even President-elect Trump is vowing to save the app. But even if it’s banned stateside, its 800 million users worldwide will keep TikTok in marketers’ playbooks.

🖌 Brands Push Creative Boundaries on Social
Forget strict brand guidelines—2025 is the year of bold experimentation. Social teams are testing unique voices and daring creative styles that stand out, even if they break with a brand’s traditional personality. Expect more wild campaigns that challenge the norm like Nutter Butter’s crazy campaign.

💬 Brands Continue Sliding into Comments

Brands are turning comments into marketing opportunities. Strategically engaging with creators’ posts is becoming the ultimate hack for cultivating community and reaching new audiences. The sweet spot? Comments under 99 characters on posts less than 24 hours old.

💼 LinkedIn Will Roll Out a Creator Fund
LinkedIn is rumored to be launching a creator fund to keep up with platforms like YouTube and TikTok. With creators driving original content, LinkedIn might soon be paying them to stay and grow their audiences.

🎙 Spotify as a Podcaster’s Discovery Platform
Spotify’s focus on video sharing in 2025 sets the stage for a massive leap in podcast discovery next year. A more refined algorithm could make Spotify the go-to platform for creators looking to grow their audience.

👻 Snapchat’s Spotlight Renaissance
We're seeing some SMBs on Twitter who are experimenting with crossposting their vertical video onto Snapchat Spotlight, and they're seeing some crazy results. If this catches on as a trend, it could rekindle Snapchat in 2025, especially if the TikTok ban happens.

Digital Marketing Predictions

1. Social Content Will Be the New Storefront

Forget window shopping—it’s all about the scroll. Social media isn’t just for posting vacation pics anymore; it’s becoming the place to shop. By 2030, social commerce revenue is expected to hit $6.2 trillion globally. (Yes, trillion with a "T.") Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are doubling down on e-commerce features with shoppable posts, tags, and in-app checkouts. Marketers will need to up their game, creating visually irresistible content that transforms feeds into storefronts. Your next impulse buy? Probably just a swipe away.

2. Instagram vs. TikTok Shop: The Battle Begins

TikTok Shop has been a game-changer, but with potential bans looming, Instagram is ready to pounce. Enter: Instagram’s upgraded affiliate links, basically a TikTok Shop knockoff with a sleeker UI. With Instagram Shops already in place, the platform just needs to fine-tune the experience.

3. AI Ads Get Smarter

Meta’s Advantage+ ad system is taking the wheel, delivering better results than manually targeted campaigns. In 2025, expect generative AI tools to handle more creative, targeting, and even budgets. Skeptical? Sure, trusting machines with your ad strategy feels risky—but if the robots bring in clicks, we’re not complaining.

4. SERPs Saturation & the Rise of “Zero Click” Searches

Google’s AI-powered features—like summaries and rich snippets—are turning search results into the final destination. Users get their answers without ever leaving the page. For brands, ranking high isn’t enough anymore. The solution? Optimize for SERP features like snippets, local packs, and AI overviews. Use schema markup and deliver bite-sized answers to hook users before they bounce.

5. Live Commerce: America’s Not There Yet

Selling millions of dollars in minutes through live commerce? It’s old news in China. In the U.S., however, live shopping still feels more like a niche experiment than a retail revolution. Maybe we’ll get there in a few years, but for now, America needs to master the basics of social commerce first.

6. Companies Cool on AI Gimmicks

Coca-Cola’s cringy holiday ad proved one thing: AI can still feel weird and fake. In 2025, brands will use AI more subtly—think special effects and time-saving tools rather than full-blown campaigns. “Hide the AI,” as one exec put it, because nobody wants to see the seams.

7. First-Party Data Becomes King

In the post-iOS 14 world, retargeting relies heavily on actions taken within social platforms. Views, clicks, and engagements are the new gold standard. Companies with a solid organic strategy will win big as this data feeds highly targeted, high-ROI campaigns. Pro tip: Keep your CTAs in-app (e.g., TikTok Shop or Instagram Shop) to maintain higher conversion rates and better retargeting.

8. Influencer Expands Even More

With the influencer marketing platform industry projected to reach $97.55 billion by 2030 (up from $34.25 billion in 2025), it's reasonable to expect that actual influencer marketing spend will triple during this period. 2025 will be a key chapter to this growth.

There is competition with AI that may get in the way of this growth, but we’re confident that AI influencers won’t perform as well as the real thing in most cases. Just take Meta’s botched AI creator program they deleted this week for instance.

TL;DR: The future of digital marketing is dynamic and decentralized. Social platforms are becoming the new malls, AI is rewriting the ad playbook, and search optimization is no longer limited to Google. Brands that adapt will thrive. Those that don’t? They’ll just be background noise.

Offer

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