Social media audiences are more discerning than they’ve ever been, and they’re quick to ignore platforms and formats they don’t like. It’s led to a complex and fractured social media space for 2025, especially for B2B brands. But this opens up the opportunity for brands to focus on what truly represents them.
Brands who are confident focusing on their content style, niche and audiences will be in a powerful position.
Content Empire’s Managing Director Clare Murphy says it takes innovation and sharp data analysis to stay in front.
“Social media is an immediate reflection of a brand, and is by far the most accessible touchpoint. It very quickly provides an impression of whether a brand is thriving or declining. A solid creative and audience strategy is key, before you even start to revise your content approach.”
This is backed up by Content Empire’s Creative Director Cathy Wever. “Video has taken over as a medium that dominates audience attention, and it’s faster, more creative, and more reliant on trends than it’s ever been. But video doesn’t work everywhere.”
“It’s a keen lesson that brands – especially in the B2B space – need to create cascading content that can be used everywhere it’s needed, and in flexible formats that work.”
Here are six factors that have emerged from the latest social media data from Metricool that will drive your 2025 social media content strategy:
Get the fundamentals right
There are two key interactions your brand should be seeking.
- The first is reactions; you want your audience to watch your content, and leave a like, a comment, or a share.
- The second is transactions; they love something they’ve seen so much, that they are clicking through to find out more, and ideally making a purchase or sales enquiry.
To achieve either of these, you need people to be capitivated enough to slow down their scroll, recognise a ‘want’ and take action. LinkedIn and Facebook posts are currently best for feeding audiences down those pipelines.
Unpacking social media growth
In 2025, it’s all about the algorithm and making it work for you. Data shows that Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are the kindest and most rewarding platforms right now for smaller business accounts.
If you’re a brand that already has established larger audiences, but still seeking growth, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are still the best channels to focus your efforts.
And if you’re starting completely from scratch? Your best platform will be YouTube by a long way, so get those videos pumping.
The platforms and formats that are winning audiences
YouTube is currently the leading platform for visibility, with exceptional and maintained performance, regardless of the size of your audience. It’s enjoying over 26 impressions per follower, which is a massive 605.25% above average.
When it comes to platforms that are delivering engagement (like comments, clicks, shares and even transactions), LinkedIn is enjoying a nearly 15% engagement rate.
Following behind LinkedIn are TikTok, Pinterest, X (Twitter) and Instagram, who are all enjoying a cosy amount of engagement growth with social media hungry audiences.
The platforms that are dipping
The ones that are sliding backwards include Twitch (down 88% on subscriptions compared to 2003) and Facebook (down 41% for post reach). The exception is Facebook Reels where engagement is up by 13%. While Facebook is experiencing a downward trend, it’s still a behemoth that’s worth nurturing if that’s where your target audience ‘hangs out’.
Keeping eyeballs on your content
Social media content is now seeing a different style of ‘influencer’ and content creator, more video (and video done differently), more repurposing (which is great for A/B testing), and speed. It’s also valuing true insight, useful information, powerful opinions and posts that add genuine value.
The strategies that are winning hearts and wallets
There are some consistent strategies that 2025 audiences are loving:
- Focus on your niche and brand offering.
- Create value and share knowledge.
- Humour is always welcomed.
- Cascading content strategies mean you can reuse and recycle content (like video), often with minimal edits.
- Tactics like hooks, good calls to action (CTAs), agility with trends (such as audio), and automations are driving engagement.
- Video is the star format.
- Growth and engagement need different strategies.
- Authenticity and value are the creative keys to content that resonates.
- And if it works, up the ante!
Don’t fear innovation
Social media is one of the fastest-evolving ways to engage with your audience, and constant innovation can be a great thing for your brand. Brands have the power to reinvent and capture new audiences in their segment by staying three steps ahead.
Need help ensuring your social media strategy is the perfect fit for the 2025 audience? Contact us today.
*all data sourced from Metricool 2025 Social Media Study.