It’s that time of the year again when predictions from experts are coming in about what we can expect for the year ahead. Today, we’re looking at what to expect in terms of the social media landscape. Will it shift?
There’s no surprise here that AI will certainly be a major part of the trends seen online in 2025 as it’s clearly here to stay. However, experts do predict the changes to be more measured and less drastic.
Let’s look at Facebook for starters. It’s still holding the title of being the world’s biggest social media app. It might not be cool for some but it still hosts the greatest number of active users today and that too by a huge margin.
Meta vows to continue going strong with its commitment to AI. It’s spent billions on the infrastructure and Mark Zuckerberg will continue to do the same for 2025 to get that AI push. They plan to lead the AI race after taking the backseat for too long. This includes better AI and hopefully those serving a greater purpose than the ones we are seeing in use today.
While the goal of Meta in the past was to promote human interactions, now it’s more linked to talking to a bot. The tech giant also wants to make AI versions of creators that can be shared on the app. So yes, you can expect more AI-based pictures circulating that some find hard to decipher between reality and fiction.
You can also expect to see a greater degree of AR experience as the company hopes to roll out its much-talked-about AR glasses product. While there won’t be any immediate release, Meta will set the tone for more wearables that combine this with other apps. The same is true for VR where non-VR users can interact with VR ones in domains like online gaming.
We can expect to see Meta go big with digital avatars where the classic characters get a revamp. Meta hopes to add a more realistic touch while ensuring they are customizable. So far, Meta has made most of its gains through video content so that isn’t going to be slowing down anytime soon next year. After all, there’s some logic as to why Facebook included a video tab right? Clearly, TikTok is the driving force in this regard.
As far as advertising is concerned, Meta wants to better ads with the addition of AI. Stats prove how those automated ads are doing better than those pushed into the system manually. The assistance from in-app data will give the platform the chance to perform better and see what users are interested in.
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.
Again, these are all predictions. Only time will tell how true they prove to be so stay tuned!
Image: DIW-Aigen
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