As social media continues to evolve, brands must stay ahead of emerging trends to remain relevant and engaging. In 2025, authenticity, community-driven content, and AI-driven tools are shaping the digital landscape. Here’s a look at the key trends expected to define social media this year.
Authenticity matters
Over the past year or two, we’ve observed that our audience engages with a wide range of content, as long as it feels relevant, timely, or trending. Whether it’s low-resolution photos or screenshots cross-posted from other platforms, content has performed well — even on Instagram — when it comes across as authentic. A touch of humor or playfulness helps humanize our brand, strengthening our connection with students. Featuring UGC every now and then, and sharing BTS content are a couple of ways brands can create a more personal connection with their audience. In an era where trust is at an all-time low, authenticity is more important than ever.
The outbound engagement trend
It’s now common to see brands joining the conversation in the comments to get in front of newer audiences. This form of outbound engagement—where brands interact with content from others—is gaining momentum. However, the most effective brands prioritize engaging with creator content, fostering community while expanding their reach to new audiences.
To maximize impact, brands should carefully select creators who align with their values and audience. Building genuine relationships and collaborating consistently with these creators helps establish authenticity and long-term connections.
Collaborate with influencers and students
Partnering with micro-influencers and student ambassadors can help expand a brand’s reach. This is a trend we have seen gain momentum over the last few years.
As CSU Football went to a bowl game for the first time since 2014, CSU Social tapped into former alums turned influencers to amplify the buzz around the bowl. We partnered with 90skid4lyfe, a macro influencer, with whom we had cultivated a relationship throughout the year by inviting him to a few home football games.
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We also partnered with @HannahJeansPlate, a Tucson-based food vlogger, to help capture sights and sounds from the local alumni networks tailgates and pre-game rallies.
The results were phenomenal – our audience was treated to in-the-moment game day action featuring Snoop Dogg. Our Instagram Stories had close to a million impressions and a 6% higher average reach per story.
Authentic testimonials, day-in-the-life videos, and student-led campus tours can build trust and inspire action from prospective students. Throughout the last year we’ve experimented with student-led day-in-the-life videos from different colleges that have received excellent engagement from our student audience. We plan to build on this strategy and bring in students from all eight CSU colleges this year.
Short-form video is a social mainstay
Brands relying heavily on short-form video content is not a mere coincidence. Over 70% of all internet traffic comes from short-form videos. Over 60% of total video views on YouTube are from videos shorter than 60 seconds. Isn’t that mind-boggling? Fueled by TikTok’s success, most platforms pivoted hard to this content format around 2021. Fast forward four years – TikTok’s fate hangs in balance, but short-form video content is a social mainstay.
Social SEO trend
The growth of Social SEO has been a notable yet gradual trend. Social SEO refers to the practice of optimizing social media content to improve its visibility in search results—both within social platforms and on traditional search engines like Google. In 2022, Google revealed that social platforms were encroaching on its market share in search and maps. The emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools has further disrupted the search industry. As a result, major search engines may need to accommodate social platforms. Evidence of this shift is already visible, with Google search results increasingly showcasing TikTok and Instagram content.
Harness interactive content and in-platform features
Interactive elements like polls, quizzes, and live streams boost engagement and time spent on your social media pages. Use Instagram Stories to host source questions from the community with polls, stickers or “Ask Me Anything” sessions or run fun challenges for students to participate in. We have regularly seen higher interaction with Instagram stickers and polls over just plain DMs.
Other trends to watch in the social media space are the growth of Threads and BlueSky as alternatives to X, and the rise of the creator economy and social commerce. But, we’ve saved the biggest for last – AI.
AI in social media marketing
After a couple of years of viewing AI with some skepticism, social media managers are leveraging AI to enhance productivity, streamline processes, and help with content management. Up until last year, social media marketers were primarily using generative AI to generate ideas, refine text and edit copy. 2024 saw a major shift in AI usage where marketers are open about generating image and video content from AI. On the flip side, marketing tools have scrambled to showcase their AI offerings from predictive analytics to image alt-text generation.
This trend is only going to get stronger, and social media pros will do well to be in step with the latest in the AI world.