We might not have voting rights for the Golden Globes or Oscars, but if we had to crown the winner of social media in 2025, we all know who has our vote.
1. TikTok for the Win
TikTok isn't just the leader in audience interaction and viral moments (group 7, anyone?), It’s a powerhouse. The number of active users is skyrocketing, it’s dominating social commerce, and 92% of Gen Z (along with 85% of Millennials) use it as their primary search engine for new products and discovery.
And most importantly? Most companies still aren't using it for their Employer Branding efforts.
Our Key Takeaway: Get on TikTok. Start small, experiment, and then scale. If you're not sure where to begin, check out our podcast episode with Adi; it has everything you need to kick off your journey.
2. Is Facebook Dead? Far from it.
In 2025, over 3 billion people used the platform daily, maintaining the largest user base in the world. But here’s the stat that actually matters: while other platforms are consistently slashing organic reach, Facebook’s reach actually grew by an average of 51% this past year.
Our Key Takeaway: You don’t have to use it, but knowledge is key, so the next time someone asks you why we should or shouldn't invest in Facebook, you can share this statistic.
And if you’re hiring outside of tech, don't sleep on Facebook. It’s still one of the most effective places to reach a massive, diverse audience with high reliability, with lower paid media costs.
3. The Carousel Comeback
Instagram is making it harder to get noticed. Reels reach has dropped by an average of 35%, and the new way to measure views (which only counts active clicks rather than passive impressions in Explore or the Feed) means your reach numbers might take a nosedive this year.
But we all love a good comeback. And what’s better than the return of carousels?
Not only are they back, but they’re generating 3x more engagement on average than a standard static image.
Our Key Takeaway: If your goal is higher reach, then reels are your best option. Want higher engagement? Start telling stories through carousels.
4. LinkedIn killed the Video.
After charging into the video world, LinkedIn seems to be killing the video format, at least for now. While the volume of video content on the platform has increased, engagement and reach haven't followed suit. The format often feels out of place (literally, the display is weird), and the metrics follow.
Our Key Takeaway: The winning formats remain carousels (PDF slides) and, surprisingly, Polls. So don’t create a full video first strategy for LinkedIn. But keep trying with video, it might get better eventually.
5. Social Media Hits the Big Screen?
In a surprising turn of events, Instagram and LinkedIn are expanding their ad placements to television, both streaming services and traditional channels. It feels counterintuitive since social media is the very thing "killing" TV, right?
So why do it? TV ads still command a unique sense of trust and legitimacy that social ads sometimes lack. It feels "bigger" and more official, and it allows you to target large demographics with high-impact visibility, especially those not buying through social media.
Our Key Takeaway: For Employer Brand, when brand recognition is one of the most sought-after needs, changing your channel mix (literally) can help with increased brand recognition.
And one final thought.
Oxford’s word of the year for 2025 was "Rage Bait”, and we think it sums up 2025 perfectly.
To a year of high engagement rates and an increase in followers across all platforms!
