Social media’s ability to capture attention has decreased to 31% (from 43%).¹ In 2025, brands are being pushed to meet consumer expectations of ‘being entertained’ on social media.

A Hootsuite study² estimates that for a quarter of brands (dubbed ‘Creative Risk Takers’), 81%-100% of their content is entertainment-driven, rather than directly promoting products and services. The study also found that just 15% of the brands considered to be ‘Creatively Constrained’ used their social outputs to entertain.

Humour is the highest ad receptivity driver for Gen X and the Baby Boomer generations, while Gen Y enjoys humour and music, and Gen Z likes music.³ But while that gives a flavour of what brands should integrate into their approach, marketers are being encouraged to discard ‘old-school playbooks’ and prioritise creativity in 2025.

What does it mean to prioritise creativity in social media?

Changes in tone, personality, and persona. It’s about making social content presence distinct from other marketing channels: finding ways to inhabit the culture of the platform. Hootsuite predicts that more brands are moving from their comfort zones to achieve a formula: ‘More engaging content = new followers = new potential customers = $$$’.⁴

2025 is likely to herald the start of brands being more proactive in engagements – which means active platform presence, such as adding comments that have value. It is not, however, about joining a conversation for the sake of it – posting should have harmony with your business, service, and products.

The good news is that financial services saw the highest increases of positive mentions across social platforms – driven by growing consumer interest in financial literacy and ways to generate extra income.⁵

Keeping up with consumer sentiment will help your brand positively connect with audiences.

Format and channel priorities for 2025

For brands who must be especially selective about how they join conversations, whether that’s due to compliance or regulatory issues, consider amping up the other dominating trend of short-form video – but just make sure it has impact!⁶

Social platforms are continuing to prioritise short-form video content on their platforms,⁷ and brands are being challenged to communicate messages in less than 30 seconds.⁸

If you’ve got something to say, make it a snackable story.

Some brands are also investing in Instagram stories that disappear after 24 hours to deliver ‘sneak peeks’ at new products or thought leadership, as well as introducing a sense of exclusivity.

Finally, Prabhakar Raghavan, a Google senior vice president says that the company estimates 40% of young people use TikTok and Instagram as search engines,⁹ meaning brands will also have to start planning in search and discovery features on social media channels.

How should marketers respond?

• Start with a review of your social channels. What’s the wider culture like? How could your content match and stretch it? What would you need to expand into a new channel with a new platform-specific identity?
• Figure out your non-negotiables – whether that’s regulatory or internal compliance. Ensure you engage leadership when you set new objectives.
• Set parameters for the kinds of conversations you can become involved in – to avoid any negativity or reputational damage.
• Interact with the creator influencers you use in your marketing campaigns.
• Joining a conversation has to be timely – it needs on-the-day attention and quick decision-making. If it takes hours to come up with a comment, it’s not worth it!
• Consider which of your products and services can meet consumer sentiment e.g. if the wider economy is feeling financial pressure, promote your higher interest rate savings accounts or personal finance reviews.

If you want support with amping up your creative approach to social media or renewing your strategy, get in touch today. And if you want to receive the Five Financial Marketing Trends for 2025 report, contact Tony Dickson.