Social Media Today has revealed the 5 trends shaping social media marketing in 2025:

The AI shift

• This trend is incorporating a range of different elements, including AI-generated content, AI engagement, companions, bots, SEO impacts and more.
• Embrace AI tools for efficiency, but double down on authentic, human insights for competitive advantage.

The TikTok USA saga

• Former President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law, which was supposed to either force TikTok into USA ownership or out of the nation. But President Trump has suspended enforcement of the TikTok ban law through executive orders, buying time for ownership negotiations. However, China remains unwilling to sell, and key questions around algorithm ownership persist.
• A USA TikTok ban would also likely reduce its value in the broader market due to the loss of USA influencers posting there.
• The current deadline for resolution is 17 September 2025.
• Marketers may wish to consider contingency plans for TikTok marketing budgets and consider diversifying social media strategies across multiple platforms. 

YouTube vs traditional TV

• Over the past few months, YouTube has emerged as the leading streaming provider in the USA, and it’s gradually closing the gap with traditional TV.
• Marketers should explore YouTube advertising - it offers TV-scale reach with better targeting than traditional media.

Bowing to Trump

• The reelection of USA President Donald Trump forced many big businesses to reassess their stances on Trump’s policies and approach. Following the election, Meta shifted their content moderation policies to align with Trump's preferences, adopting X-style Community Notes and hiring Republican executives. Meta is also hoping to use Trump’s strong support of American business in its battle against EU regulation. 

Threads vs X

• The last key trend of note is the battle for supremacy in real-time social media. Meta’s Threads is gaining momentum on and may well overtake Elon Musk’s X in the future, so Threads should certainly be on social marketers' radars.  

See the full article here socialmediatoday.com.