Social platforms outline what's ahead in 2025

The news: It’s that time of year again—Major social platforms have unveiled their 2024 recaps and predictions for 2025.

Why it matters: While these trend reports are typically geared toward consumers, they give marketers insights into what each platform will prioritize in the year ahead.

Creators’ crystal ball: Instagram leaned on select creators this year to break down 2024’s trends and examine what’s in store for 2025.

• Many expect social media to play a larger role in helping people foster IRL connections. Creator Digi Fairy pointed to the rise of run clubs, noting “digital platforms will increasingly mediate community connections,” while fashion creator Albert Ayal expects a “renewed interest in in-store shopping experiences that reflect brand identities” in 2025.
• Creators themselves are increasingly attending and hosting in-person events as they work to build their brands outside of social media.

Waiting game: With a potential US ban on the horizon, TikTok spent much of its 2024 recap highlighting the app’s popularity and place in culture, referencing things like brat summer, the “very demure, very mindful” trend, and pygmy hippo Moo Deng.

• TikTok pointed out the inroads it’s making in live shopping, noting that the number of TikTok Shop Live sessions hosted per month in the US nearly tripled in 2024. However, live shopping still isn’t particularly popular in the US. Only 27.9% of social shoppers said they’d seen shopping-related videos on social media, per our US Social Commerce survey.
• TikTok also pointed out its areas of growth. According to the app, it saw a 350% spike in #SportsOnTikTok posts YoY, and #science posts increased 45%.

All grown up: Snapchat has been trying to court older users (read: not Gen Z). In its end-of-year recap, the platform said more than 50% of its US users are 25 or older. It also called out parents specifically, noting that nearly 580 million Snapchatters watched 118 million hours of parenting content this year.

• The company is rolling out a “simplified” version of Snapchat soon, something that could help it gain new—especially older—users.
• Older users could help attract new types of advertisers as Snapchat prioritizes boosting its ad revenues; in September, CEO Evan Spiegel acknowledged that Snap’s ad business is growing slower than its rivals.

More ZZZs: Pinterest claims its annual predictions, based on its trove of search data, boast an 80% accuracy rate. In 2025, it expects the “fisherman aesthetic,” “nesting parties,” “chaos cakes,” and more to be all the rage.

• Gen Z is a key demographic for Pinterest; according to the platform, 65% of its 2025 priorities are driven by Gen Z. While millennials will make up its largest userbase in the US (28.7 million) next year, per our forecast, Gen Z is its fastest-growing demographic; we expect Pinterest to have 24.4 million Gen Z users next year, a 4% bump YoY.
• Brands ranging from Béis to Maybelline are using Pinterest to reach Gen Z as the platform focuses on boosting its shopping capabilities.

Our take: 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for social platforms. Aside from the above trends, other developments in the space—like the rise of social search and genAI—will further shake up the landscape.

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters written by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.