It’s that exciting time of year when social media experts start sharing their predictions for what’s on the horizon. Today, we’re diving into what’s in store for the social media landscape in 2025. Are big shifts coming our way?
It’s no surprise that AI is set to play a major role again, as it’s now firmly part of how we interact online. But instead of drastic leaps, experts predict a more steady, thoughtful evolution of AI’s integration into social platforms.
Let’s start with Facebook, still the reigning champion as the world’s largest social media app. While it might not seem trendy to everyone, it continues to dominate with an active user base that outpaces other platforms by a huge margin.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is doubling down on AI. After years of significant investment, Mark Zuckerberg shows no signs of slowing down for 2025, aiming to lead the AI race. This means we’re likely to see more sophisticated AI innovations—ones with more meaningful applications than what we’ve seen so far.
Meta’s shift in focus is clear: once centered on fostering human connections, it’s now about enhancing interactions with AI. Expect to see AI-driven content, including virtual versions of creators, circulating on the app. These creations blur the line between reality and fiction, adding a futuristic dimension to the platform.
The company is also setting its sights on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). While Meta’s much-discussed AR glasses aren’t launching just yet, they’re laying the groundwork for wearables that integrate seamlessly with other apps. This aligns with a broader push for VR experiences where non-VR and VR users can connect in shared spaces like online games.
Another area where Meta plans to go big is with digital avatars. Classic avatars are getting a fresh look—more realistic, fully customizable, and interactive. With video content already a major strength for Facebook, this won’t slow down either. TikTok’s influence here is clear, and Meta is keen to stay competitive in the video space, adding features like the new video tab.
On the advertising front, AI is taking center stage. Data shows that AI-powered ads consistently outperform manually created ones, and Meta plans to refine this further. By leveraging in-app data, the platform will continue to fine-tune its ad offerings, making them more relevant and effective for users.
Instagram is predicted to include more filters to better enhance users’ images, thanks to AI. So do expect images to be brighter, better, and clearer. We’ve already discussed how Facebook is keen on integrating wearables so the same would be the case for Instagram. This includes the addition of cross-platform content through the Ray-Ban glasses for instance where users can engage in live streams better.
THREADS
Meta has made it very clear from day one that it plans on taking a step back from current affairs and politics. This is what experts predict for 2025, a drama-free platform that hopefully promotes and discusses anything but politics and propaganda. And now that the US Elections are over and done with, this restriction will work in the app’s favor.
In 2025, Threads is expected to fully separate from Instagram, carving out its own unique space for niche, conversation-driven content.
SNAPCHAT
Snapchat is in a difficult position these days as it wouldn’t be wrong to mention how the app is struggling to get the right kind of appeal. With the right figures and engagement can it be expected to maximize advertising opportunities.
We do expect the app to scale its efforts on AR glasses and work more on better AR development. Who knows, it just might partner up with the likes of iPhone maker Apple to get a deal going because launching something big on its own might not bring it profits.
Other than that, more features for Snap will include a more diverse Snapchat+ subscription and more offerings that link users to the real world like indicators for Snap Map. It might also wish to rethink the addition of ads to users’ inboxes as that’s not going well. In fact, it could soon backfire as people get irritated very soon.
The platform might not be famous for its social interactions but it’s doing great in terms of professional social networking opportunities. We might see the app in terms of using AI tools for communication and profile enhancement. The response hasn’t been great.
People use this as a reliable place to hunt for talent and skills that depend on their competency and not the use of generative AI. But it might wish to devise a new use of AI like developing AI career paths where users utilize AI tools to find the best job or career.
We might see more videos on the platform as consumption of this format is going great so far. Experts do predict more live events taking place that could attract professionals to get more knowledge of what’s happening in the industry like trends.
TIKTOK
TikTok has had a successful 2024 so far and plans for 2025 will certainly be huge. But that does come with the big question of whether or not it’s going to be up for grabs to US users or not, thanks to the law in place.
TikTok does hope to push further into e-commerce as it seems like it does want people to make purchases through the app. It’s clearly inspired by its Chinese counterpart Douyin who attained massive success in this regard. Other than that, live-stream avatars that work to sell products, better engagement, and increase interest might be another thing to watch out for.
TikTok might also play around with in-video searches or AI-assisted searches which are yet to arrive on the platform.
Again, Pinterest has had a great year and we’re not sure if the app is going to be changing too much. We do expect to see Body Type filter searches that look for options that suit a specific body type of a user. This customizes searches and provides exactly what the user wants.
It already has plenty of these AI-assisted tools like hair type discovery, and skin tone search filters so we can only expect it to be bigger and better in 2025.
X
Last but not least, it’s X. Elon Musk can do anything and everything so we might be able to predict exactly what 2025 will look like for the platform. However, he’s keen on introducing payments through the platform so that’s one thing we can certainly hope to see.
Other than that, a greater focus on video content format might be on the cards as Musk is yet to attain the dream of making the platform ‘video first’. This might come with dedicated tabs for Video Focus that show what’s trending via short clips.
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