Practical Tips on the Best Way to Keep Up on Social Media Trends

However, quality content and meaningful B2B strategies shouldn’t fall for fads and temporary crazes. Today’s customers, especially the younger demographic, can see through businesses that try too hard to make their brand part of the latest viral trend.

Avoid coming across as pretentious or awkward by recognizing what’s here to stay and what’s worth including in your strategy. In this article, we offer tips on the best way to keep up on social media trends and follow only those that complement your business.

The Meaning of Trending in Social Media

Trending on social media reflects the shifting priorities of digital culture, popular topics, hashtags, or content that gains instant attention and engagement. Platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram use sophisticated algorithms to measure user activity (e.g., likes, shares, comments, and search spikes) to pinpoint collective interests.

To define trending in social media, creators and brands must understand the process that drives these trends. They need to unpack the elements behind them to keep their relevance alive and connect with their audience.

Viral challenges, major news events, and cultural phenomena are typically the ones to spark these surges of attention. Algorithms, tuned to detect momentum, can boost content with rising engagement and send it further into public view. A TikTok challenge, for instance, can spread globally within hours, spurring countless variations along the way.

To spot trends early on, combine observation with strategic tools. But keep in mind that engaging with trends demands authenticity. Jumping in without relevance is the fastest way to alienate your audience.

The Best Way to Keep Up On Social Media Trends

The following tips are your shortcut to identifying lasting social media trends in 2025:

• Monitor cultural shifts: Keep in touch with shared moments that matter to your audience. Track major events, viral trends, and societal changes, and pay attention to how they influence conversations and behavior online.
• Use social listening tools: Use platforms like Brandwatch or Sprout Social to track real-time conversations and pinpoint trending topics. Thanks to this, you’ll tap into audience sentiment and competitor activity.
• Follow niche communities: Join specialized platforms and private groups where engaged, like-minded individuals share content. Reddit, Discord, and Instagram’s broadcast channels are the best places to identify micro-trends.
• Experiment with content formats: Test different video lengths, formats, and interactive posts to understand what your audience likes the most. However, keep in mind that short-form content has been everyone’s favorite addiction since the pandemic.
• Engage with creators: Follow influencers and thought leaders who are never behind the latest trends. Their content typically gives a sneak peek of early-stage movements you can act on before they hit the mainstream.

The Most Important B2B Social Media Trends in 2025

Here are the social media trends you can expect in the coming year.

1. Authenticity is the Ever-lasting Trend

Staged content is easy to spot, especially at a time when users are wary of AI-generated art and photos. People are frustrated with businesses that try to sell their products while masking it as genuine concern for consumers.

Lean into authenticity by creating content because you actually enjoy it and use it as a vessel to connect with your audience. Don’t be afraid to spice up your style or switch the brand voice.

Uniformity is often worse than a lack of consistency because it can rigidify your personality. After all, Hootsuite’s 2024 Trends survey found that most social media users want content to entertain them. This parallels TikTok’s creative bravery mindset, where people expect brands to weave unexpected stories into gripping, surprising narratives.

Translate these findings into being less risk-averse and adopting content strategies for each social media platform instead of following strict style guidelines.

2. Balance Between Trend-jacking and Trend Detox

Historically, trends have mirrored broader cultural shifts. In contrast, the fast-paced nature of social media, where algorithms prioritize constant novelty and influencers shape tastes, has given rise to fleeting micro-trends. These short-lived internet aesthetics are designed for quick adoption but often lack long-term value for B2B brands.

Rather than trend-jacking and chasing every viral moment, align your social media strategy with deeper cultural narratives that resonate with industry professionals and decision-makers. Avoid jumping on trends indiscriminately, as doing so may cause your brand to blend into a sea of similar posts and weaken its credibility.

For example, the Brat-themed posts dominated 2024 after Charli XCX’s album release became a pop culture flashpoint. Even institutions like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) joined the trend, posting “peace” over a green background on Instagram, which drew backlash for its perceived inauthenticity.

But instead of going for a full trend detox and avoiding trends altogether, approach them with a critical lens. Gauge their relevance to your brand’s goals and audience. A sustainable B2B strategy should prioritize originality, thought leadership, and content that adds value to your community rather than chasing short-term visibility.

3. Community Matters More Than the Number of Followers

A high follower count may look impressive at first, but it doesn’t say much about your brand value. Social media followers can be bought, faked, and lost faster than it took you to gain them.

Here are tips on how to engage your followers and make them feel a part of your brand:

1. Offer Expertise, Not Noise: Content should genuinely inform, educate, entertain, or solve real problems. Achieve this through thoughtful webinars, in-depth guides, and well-researched industry insights that can spark meaningful connections.
2. Cultivate Conversations That Matter: Engagement isn’t about responding for the sake of it. Instead, it’s about addressing concerns that matter to your audience, asking smart questions, and nurturing dialogue that feels authentic, not performative.
3. Turn Customers into Collaborators: Why not leverage user-generated content (UGC) from industry leaders or professionals using your product rather than relying on AI or stock photos? Put customer stories to the forefront, transforming passive users into active participants in your brand narrative.
4. Create Spaces for Real Interaction: Virtual events, live Q&As, and even small forums offer opportunities for direct, human interaction. Many B2B brands overlook how these spaces can become the bedrock of a loyal and engaged network.

4. Social Media’s Shift from Vanity to Value

The era of using social media solely to engage your audience and build brand awareness is long gone. In the past, metrics like likes and shares dominated the conversation, but these metrics rarely connected to real business value, leaving social media marketers sidelined.

Now, with tools like social listening, CRM platforms, and advanced analytics, companies can link social media activity straight to tangible results. Insights into customer sentiment and competitor strategies allow you to make informed, timely decisions.

For example, identifying complaints about long customer service wait times through first-party data could inspire a targeted campaign that drives greater traffic and customer sign-ups. Therefore, social media is no longer merely a marketing tool.

It has become a neat source of data that can shape your business decisions, from product development to customer service. But in order to capitalize on this, merge social insights with your CRM systems and equip sales teams with the knowledge, skills, and tools to handle social-generated leads.

5. Embrace AI But Thread Carefully

AI use skyrocketed in 2024, and there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle, as AI models will be capable of doing more and better in 2025. Social media platforms have already embraced AI to increase user engagement: Meta offers content suggestions and real-time customer support, LinkedIn fosters thought leadership with collaborative articles, and tools like TikTok’s Symphony Assistant and Canva’s design AI are driving creative trends.

If you’re convinced everyone is using AI, it’s because most businesses and individuals are. However, 62 percent of consumers say they’re less likely to engage with and trust content if they know an AI app created it.

Does that mean you should ditch AI tools altogether? No, because this trend is here to stay, and it’s all about how you use it.

We can never emphasize enough the importance of using AI to simplify your tasks, not replace humans. The content should still be authentic and human-made, even if AI helped create the draft or spark ideas.

Be honest about how and what you use it for. Your audience wants to know whether a text or visual is AI-generated. This openness shows you’re open to new technologies while keeping humans at the core of your brand.

6. Reddit Must Become a Part of Your Strategy

Type any question into Google search, and the odds are that one of the first results will be a conversation from Reddit. This powerful platform brings together people from around the world thanks to its niche subreddits and authentic discussions.

No wonder Reddit has over 500 million users and is expected to have more than 556 million accounts by 2028. Yet, it remains an overlooked goldmine for businesses and marketers.

Forget traditional social media marketing methods for a moment. Ninety percent of users trust Reddit to learn about products and brands.

Reddit stands apart from other platforms because it’s home to organic, peer-driven discussions. Users freely talk about products, companies, and services, share experiences, and upvote quality insights.

But be careful not to come across as salesy or insincere because users value genuine and transparent conversations. Before participating, monitor relevant subreddits to tap into valuable insights into your audience’s problems and interests. The next step is to start Ask Me Anything (AMAs) discussions, offer useful content, and build relationships over time, creating meaningful interactions.

7. Build Your TikTok Strategy

The app launched the TikTok Shop in 2023 and quickly built striking customer loyalty. This development has also helped it become a marketplace, where users can discover shoppable content and buy products from creators.

However, TikTok isn’t just the new leader in social shopping; it’s also the birthplace of major trends, such as the “Very Mindful, Very Demure” movement, which promoted a professional yet modest approach to workplace attire and demeanor.

You may be concerned about TikTok’s uncertain future amid growing privacy concerns and potential regulatory hurdles. However, this shouldn’t deter you from including it in your social media strategy.

The platform serves as an all-in-one model, combining social interaction, entertainment, and shopping. Stay ahead by experimenting with TikTok Shop, tracking emerging trends, and collaborating with creators.

8. Leverage In-App Shopping

Forty-seven percent of social media marketers said their brand sold directly within social media apps in 2023. This aligns with Insider Intelligence’s prediction that social commerce will be a $79 billion industry in the US by 2025.

As a result, in-app shopping and product ads will continue to redefine how businesses approach social media advertising 101. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok already come with shopping features, allowing users to browse and purchase without leaving the app. This direct path from discovery to checkout is a shortcut in the customer journey and drives impulse buys that surge conversion rates.

9. Social Media SEO

In 2025, social media SEO will gain greater importance as platforms integrate more AI-driven search features. Thanks to this, users will be able to find content, product recommendations, and brand information directly through AI-generated summaries that answer queries in real-time.

For example, TikTok’s search highlights and Meta’s conversational AI search tools prioritize clear, question-driven content. Brands must, therefore, shift from keyword-stuffed captions to providing concise, actionable answers that meet user queries directly.

Moreover, local SEO will become a more important part of social media strategies, with platforms like Instagram and TikTok offering searchable map features that highlight nearby businesses. You can capitalize on these features by using location tags, area-specific hashtags, and complete profiles to appear first for purchase-ready users.

The following tips will help you kickstart social SEO:

• Optimize Your Social Profiles for SEO: Step up your B2B social media marketing strategy by integrating industry-relevant keywords into captions, alt text for visuals, and video subtitles. Use concise, scannable formats like bullet points and lists, which are easy for AI to parse and make your brand more visible in search results.
• Engage with Local and Industry Audiences: Leverage social media marketing hashtags and conversational tones to answer industry-specific questions off the bat. You can structure posts around these questions to increase engagement while positioning your brand for AI-driven search summaries. Remember to balance accessibility and clarity to appeal equally to users and algorithms.

10. Create Niche Channels

If you’re wondering how to keep up with social media trends in 2025, consider investing in niche channels. Private groups, subscription models, and platforms like Substack or Instagram broadcast channels allow you to engage with highly targeted audiences in a more personalized and intentional manner.

The advantages and disadvantages of social media for your business become clear here. While these channels require more effort, they encourage more profound connections and loyalty.

Provide tailored messaging and exclusive access to your dedicated followers. For example, you can offer exclusive sneak peeks into your future products and services. This can turn them into invested supporters while bypassing the broad, impersonal reach of traditional methods.

Final Thoughts

The best way to keep up on social media trends is to follow industry updates and monitor what your competitors are doing. However, you must also engage with your audience in a meaningful and genuine way to observe shifts in their behavior and track shared cultural moments.

Keep in mind that this practice requires attention to detail and the use of the right tools. You can be more effective by teaming up with professionals who offer social media marketing services and can identify emerging patterns as they unfold.