ICYMI: Big Ideas to Get Excited About In 2025
20+ predictions from creators, brand marketers, social strategists and industry leaders
Welcome to ICYMI, a marketing and tech newsletter that covers the major platform updates, content formats and creator trends you need to know to stay ahead of the curve.
Today is Part I of a special series to give you the ideas and insights to crush it next year. Part II will be based on your 2025 IYCMI Survey — the platforms and content formats that matter most to the ICYMI community — with results coming soon!
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
TikTok added affiliate links on an individual post level
Starting Nov. 20, TikTok and Lemon8 will share a unified user login
Pinterest launched 1,000 shoppable gift guides curated by creators, brands, and publishers
Meta will introduce ads on Threads in early 2025
Adam Mosseri says sponsored content on Instagram doesn’t get downranked
Facebook announced that "views" will be the primary metric for all content types, consistent with a shift Instagram made in August
LinkedIn video posts generate 3x more reach
Patreon is introducing new features, including creator gifting and membership discounts
Visa is empowering creators with the same financial tools, resources and products that it offers small businesses
Scroll to the bottom for this week’s headlines ⬇️
🗓️ Big Ideas to Get Excited About In 2025
I reached out to some of the best creators, social strategists and industry leaders to get a pulse on what’s going to happen around social and the creator economy next year.
The ask: what do you hope to see and/or expect to see in 2025?
A few key themes emerged that I loosely split into four categories:
Creator Led: creator economy and influencer marketing predictions
Tools & Tech: the platforms and technologies that will have an impact
Social Update: broader social trends, audience and community patterns
Content Rules: the content formats and styles that could dominate your feeds
tl;dr
There's a significant move towards formal recognition of creators as integral professionals within media, politics, and other sectors
AI tools will streamline operations but consumers will actively want human interaction for some of their needs
The emergence — and continued rise — of LinkedIn as a new channel for creators in both B2B and B2C
There’s an appetite for longer, more niche storytelling — especially on YouTube — that goes beyond the memes and trending posts dominating platforms right now
The embrace of a social-first approach with creators, community and Gen Z at the core of this strategy
From boots on the ground to the corner office, non-profit organizations to retailers and beyond, here are insights from the brilliant minds of Lucas O’Keefe, Jayde Powell, Keith Kessler, Amber Venz Box, Conor Begley, Nycole Hampton, Gil Kruger, Matt Navarra, Jenny Li Fowler, V Spehar, Jacklyn Dallas, Lindsey Gamble, Andreas Sandre, Christina Garnett, Brett Dashevsky, Kori Clay, Danielle Wiley, Jamie Gutfreund, Ryan Detert, Taryn Crouthers, Andy Lambert, Kate Bryant, Adri Cowan and Rachel Karten.
CREATOR-LED
There are a few key innovations and trends happening in the creator economy. Both the present and future focus for many of the Fortune 1000 is “Creators Everywhere.” The best performing creator content is formatted and amplified wherever your audience is throughout their day, from social media to programmatic, DOOH (gym, grocery, gas station), and ending their day with CTV. Leveraging custom audiences, usage rights, and offline/online measurement to expand the media mix…
There’s an over 30 billion dollar annual TAM (total addressable market), linear TV is at approximately 60 billion, in the coming years influencer marketing is going to eclipse linear. Soon, creators will be the main content for every medium and integrated into every element of culture and the attention economy.
- Ryan Detert, CEO Influential
I think 2025 brings the creator world a step closer to being more professionalized. Especially given the impact creators have had on politics, citizen journalism and videography — we are no longer looked down on as interlopers to spaces historically gatekept — and now on a path to be treated as equals and experts alongside more traditional industry paths to success.
- V Spehar, Creator & Founder Under the Desk News
This year was hugely validating for creators as a formidable economic force and there’s incredible momentum going into 2025. This is more than a passing trend; it's an established, rapidly growing sector that plays an essential role in U.S. and global economies. Next year, creators’ success and meaningful innovation must be at the forefront to drive continued growth. 2025 is a year where creators reclaim their communities, harness AI, and lean into the powerful, established role they hold in the global economy.
There’s a major shift happening as creators gain a deeper understanding of where and how to nurture their communities effectively. Creators are becoming more strategic, moving beyond traditional social media to build meaningful, engaged audiences on platforms that enable true connection in order to thrive. This shift puts creators in control to develop their relationships directly in spaces they can own.
We’re also at a point with AI having significant impact - enabling creators and brands to streamline operations, optimize content, and scale faster than ever. From automating workflows to providing predictive insights, AI will play a bigger role in helping creators and brands bring their ideas to market with speed and greater effectiveness. This evolution ensures creators can focus more on what they do best— creating — while AI takes on many of their operational demands.
- Amber Venz Box, Co-founder and President of LTK
The areas I am most excited about are the emergence of Linkedin as a new channel for creators in both B2B and B2C. I think it is highly under-leveraged by consumer executives today.
Big brands, in new categories, starting to embrace the creator and influencer space in a big way. Fashion, beauty, and gaming led the charge, but food, beverage, entertainment and more are coming full steam.
The integration of creator content throughout the marketing funnel. Email, website, owned social, paid ads, TV. It's doing better everywhere!
- Conor Begley, Chief Strategy Officer, CreatorIQ
“The areas I am most excited about are… the integration of creator content throughout the marketing funnel. Email, website, owned social, paid ads, TV. It's doing better everywhere!”
-Conor Begley, CreatorIQ
Creators and influencers will play a bigger role in politics and diplomacy; some will run for office; some will enter government (creator officers in government perhaps?) to revolutionize even more the way government engages with audiences — at home and abroad — with a focus less on content and more on conversations and communities.
The lines between creators and the media will be even more blurred, with more legacy journalists becoming media creators, and more creators working at the intersection of journalism, reporting, and community building.
More Substack creators — way more — in the area of politics and diplomacy, and new Substack features specifically designed to spur conversations on the platforms.
And here are 2 things in my wish list: Instagram should remove its de-facto recommendation ban on political content; and TikTok will not get banned in the US and the White House and other government agencies will debut on the platform.
- Andreas Sandre, Founder and "Creator-in-Chief" at
Digital Creators as Studio Heads: Creators won’t just join traditional studios; they’ll run them. With their intimate knowledge of audience engagement, creators will launch studios of their own, setting trends in production and distribution that Hollywood follows.
Instant Feedback Production: Entertainment will shift to a “create, post, refine” model. Creators and studios alike will leverage real-time audience feedback during production, releasing iterative content that evolves based on viewers’ reactions and demands.
Live Interactive Storytelling Becomes the Norm: Future storytelling will unfold live, with audiences interacting directly with characters or plotlines and making viewers integral parts of story development.
- Taryn Crouthers, President, ATTN
Creators won’t just join traditional studios; they’ll run them. With their intimate knowledge of audience engagement, creators will launch studios of their own, setting trends in production and distribution that Hollywood follows.
Taryn Crouthers, ATTN
As founder of Creator Economy NYC, which is focused on IRL connections, I'm predicting 2025 will be the year of 'URL to IRL' transformation. I'm excited to see creators and brands strategically bridge their digital and physical worlds. Online communities will increasingly demand real-world touch points to deepen their connections.
I'm also excited to see how LinkedIn evolves. I've been predicting three years in a row now that it's the next big place for content creators and I think we finally have hit that point. I do think video won't be as big as people think it will be on there, and I've also recently been taking a new approach to posting where I'm taking a Twitter-like content vibe — shorter, more frequent, stream-of-consciousness posts. Think rapid-fire thoughts rather than polished video content, or longer buttoned up posts.
In influencer marketing, I'm excited to see the shift in how agencies and brands think about ROI and campaign performance. I'm convinced that comment analysis is the next big metric in influencer marketing. I believe we'll finally see brands and agencies prioritizing convos in comments as genuine indicators of campaign success, moving beyond shallow metrics to understand the impact of content.
- Brett Dashevsky, Founder of Creator Economy NYC
The future of the creator economy will be defined by a highly defined and recognized B2B ecosystem—strategists, analysts, and measurement experts—driving its next phase of professionalization.
No longer limited to merely tracking past performance of campaigns and posts, these experts will guide brands on why certain creator partnerships succeed and how to adjust for the next campaign.
This shift from “what happened” to “why and what do I do next” means that brands will more precisely approach creator selection and content strategy, aligning with consumer interests and platform dynamics more effectively.
As these experts provide real insights into audience behavior, they’ll empower brands to make smarter choices, fostering more impactful partnerships that deliver consistent and measurable value.
By helping brands move beyond hindsight, this ecosystem will further transform the creator economy into a sophisticated, data-driven industry where actual insights directly inform strategy and decisions.
- Jamie Gutfreund, Founder Creator Vision
Creators will begin to take ownership of or significant equity stakes in businesses. We’ve seen this already play out at a celebrity / macro influencer level, and now with TikTok starting to take steps to match creators with manufacturers of products, I see this being the evolution of creator monetization.
Typical influencer economics tend to only incentivize short term activity, but as we know, for the true impact of creator/influencer led marketing to manifest, we need to take a long term view and align the incentives to match that ambition. As markets get more commoditized, distribution becomes a brand’s primary strategic lever. Creators and influencers can be that strategic moat if incentives are correctly aligned.
- Andy Lambert, Senior Manager of Product at Adobe and author Social 3.0
TOOLS & TECH
I’ve never heard so many people considering leaving Twitter. If I’m a brand, I’m getting my Bluesky username now. I personally wouldn’t be surprised if the new social platform becomes the *official* Twitter replacement in 2025. A nice bonus: a Bluesky team member recently said they don’t suppress posts with links. I know that makes a lot of social managers happy.
- Rachel Karten, Consultant and Founder Link In Bio
If I’m a brand, I’m getting my Bluesky username now…
A nice bonus: a Bluesky team member recently said they don’t suppress posts with links. I know that makes a lot of social managers happy.
-Rachel Karten, Link In Bio
I'm really looking forward to AI chatbot assistants being better integrated into the major social media platforms, and more third party tools.
Imagine being able to tell your TikTok or Instagram chatbot to monitor and alert you via email or a DM to emerging viral trends, engagement on specific topics or hashtags, and then suggest smart content ideas or optimisations to jump on the trend, that is tailored to your brand in its unique tone of voice and design style (if needed).
Or telling your AI assistant to pull together in a Google Doc, the top posts or comment engagements by brands in a specific vertical, with links to specific examples.
And taken one step further, having the AI assistant add expert analysis of what made each post pop-off with tips to help you lean into the meme trend or post format.
- Matt Navarra, Social Media Consultant and Founder / Author of Geekout Newsletter
In 2025, I think we’ll see a new wave of platform features, tools, and programs designed for LinkedIn creators and influencers to monetize their content. This year has shown us that LinkedIn is having a moment—creators are embracing what was known as the “networking or job hunting site” to build personal brands, partner with brands, and showcase the different aspects of building a creator business.
I don’t think it’s an accident that LinkedIn has been encouraging its users to create short-form video content. They’ve already rolled out tools for creators like audio events, newsletters, articles, and more.
If we take a look at the patterns of other social media platforms like Instagram (Reels bonuses) and TikTok (Rewards), it only makes sense that monetization comes to mind. Up next—I imagine a full rollout of a monetization program where creators get paid just to post video content on LinkedIn.
- Jayde Powell, Creator and Freelance Social Strategist
Third places are the goal. The hype around community over the past four years has created a lot of much-needed conversations but it's also created a lot of overthinking and made the concept of community feel more important than the connections themselves. So many of us are a part of tons of communities that we don't actively participate in. People will start to see communities for what they really need them to be: third places. We'll continue to see new and established communities struggle as they continue to do the bare minimum to create connection. The communities that actively blend a mix of in-person, online, and opportunities to act as a third place will be the ones that thrive."
AI will make human interaction a core differentiator. While AI is integrated further into our daily lives, consumers will actively want human interaction for some of their needs, especially the ones that are highly emotional or dire. Brands need to be thoughtful about where AI drives efficiency and where humanity drives empathy, letting customers choose their own adventure based on their emotional and consumer needs. If AI is the only interaction a customer can have with a brand, it will never be able to establish the emotional connection necessary to drive affinity and brand love.
- Christina Garnett, Fractional CCO and Advisor for Startups & Agencies
“Brands need to be thoughtful about where AI drives efficiency and where humanity drives empathy, letting customers choose their own adventure based on their emotional and consumer needs.”
-Christina Garnett
I'm excited about short-form videos on LinkedIn. Right now, it feels like the early days of TikTok and Instagram Reels, where people investing in it now and over the next few months are going to see a lot of benefits because of how much LinkedIn is prioritizing it, along with the low supply and high demand.
We've seen LinkedIn grow as a platform for creators and marketers, and its dedicated short-form video experiences are creating even more opportunities—from bringing more creators to the platform to helping current B2B creators break through the noise, and aiding creator-brand collaborations, which we saw a lot of in 2024 already. Every now and then, there comes a new platform or format that ushers in another pool of creators and LinkedIn short-form video is it.
- Lindsey Gamble, Creator Economy & Influencer Marketing Consultant
Technology in the Real World! We’re in the most exciting time ever for tech—health, energy, space, consumer, and productivity tech are all advancing rapidly. I’m especially stoked to cover these innovations on YouTube, with tech interviews featuring the leaders driving this progress and explainer videos :)
Creator-Led Media Companies: The media landscape is changing—there's never been a better time to love making videos. Creators who are both passionate about their craft and entrepreneurial have a unique opportunity to build something lasting. To me, a creator-led media company is relentlessly focused on making best-in-class videos and can expand into events, job boards, and newsletters, with the goal of energizing and informing their audience across all offerings.
Health Tech: We’re the first generation with access to detailed, 24/7 health data. “What you measure is what you manage”—and I believe new wearables like the Whoop, Oura Ring, Apple Watch etc will help us understand, at a granular level, how our habits impact both physical and mental health in ways we’ve never been able to link before.
- Jacklyn Dallas, technology YouTuber and CEO NBT Inc
SOCIAL UPDATE
I expect shares will continue to be the most important metric on social media in 2025. Why? When you send a post to someone their phone shows them a notification, nudging them to get back on to that platform–and often keeping them there. That’s something all platforms want.
If you want to increase post reach in 2025 the question to ask yourself before posting something is: “What is it about this post that would make someone send it to their friend, family, co-worker, etc.”
- Lucas O’Keefe, Creator and Educator
In 2025, we'll continue to see Short Form Video dominate as an entertainment source, while audiences' conversations about culture and content in moderated or private communities (think Discord, Reddit, Snap, group chats) will increase.
- Kate Bryant, Senior Social Product Marketing Manager, Global YouTube
With the rise of run clubs, dinner clubs, book clubs (you name it, there’s a club for it), I’m genuinely excited for all of the opportunities for social to help people discover new hobbies and build shared communities. There’s a desire to try new experiences and social media is becoming a greater tool for search, discovery, and community engagement at scale.
From a brand perspective, this growing interest in communal spaces offers a chance to slowly build loyal brand fans over time. One platform I’m following closely is Try Your Best (TYB). It gamifies engaging with a brand through challenges and rewards helping to create an insider community of dedicated fans.
- Kori Clay, Manager Social at Gap
With the rise of run clubs, dinner clubs, book clubs (you name it, there’s a club for it), I’m genuinely excited for all of the opportunities for social to help people discover new hobbies and build shared communities.
-Kori Clay, Gap
In 2025, I’m hopeful more brands will embrace “social-first” and truly understand what it means to integrate social throughout their brand and across marketing channels. Social is a breeding ground for information, and an incredible place to learn from your customers and those you want to reach.
I want to see more brands harnessing those learnings not just for content that ends up right back on their channels, but to drive product evolution and build data- and customer-driven content engines that fuel owned, paid, and earned media.
The true power of social media isn’t memes, trends, and unhinged comedy. Those are tactics that work well for some but aren’t appropriate for all and aren’t even always legal. The true power of social is the relationships being built and the insights being gathered.
- Nycole Hampton, Marketing Consultant and Adjunct Professor West Virginia University
I think in 2025 there’s going to be a shift away from trending sounds and music to more creativity and interactivity in vertical videos through elements such as games, and "press here" and "turn your phone left" type activations like in recent Google doodles and on TikTok.
I also feel like 2025 is going to be the year where less is more. Less frequent posting for more quality posts. We’re going to trade large follower counts for higher caliber follows, which might mean less followers but a more dedicated community. And instead of being in all the spaces brands and organizations are going to focus in their efforts on two to three platforms that are the best fit for them.
I also think LinkedIn and YouTube are going to see the most growth this coming year. The opportunities and organic conversations continue to expand in LinkedIn. And YouTube has never strayed from its initial vision and continues to do it best when it comes to monetization and experience.
- Jenny Li Fowler, Director of Social Media Strategy at MIT and author, Organic Social Media
By 2025, Gen Z’s growing influence will push beauty, fashion, and wellness in fresh directions. Many members of this generation have now entered the workforce, a trend that will continue to impact the content they are both generating and consuming. Sustainable fashion, clean beauty, and socially conscious products will become even more central, with creators taking the lead.
But what matters most to this generation is authenticity and transparency, whether it’s the products they support or the stories being told.
Gen Z is drawn to content that feels relatable, whether it inspires, entertains, or sparks meaningful conversations. Partnering with creators who bring energy, honesty, and a sense of fun will resonate most with them. They’re over the perfectly polished stuff — they want authentic moments that feel genuine and unscripted, along with a sense of connection and community. The potential for creativity and impact with this generation feels limitless.
- Danielle Wiley, Founder & CEO Sway Group
CONTENT RULES
What excites me for social media in 2025 is niche, informative, long-form vertical video. Maybe this is running against all the trends, but if there’s a fascinating story to tell “let it rip.”
One of our top performing posts of the year is a nearly five minute video on water politics in Los Angeles. This isn’t an aberration, on a number of occasions, I’ve noticed that the algorithm is able to find the audience of even our niche videos and that there’s an appetite for content that people can sink their teeth into.
Maybe it’s an oversaturation of CapCut memes and trending audio posts, but I’m here for expanding our storytelling and falling down the rabbit hole on fascinating stories I discover in the library.
- Keith Kesler, Social Media Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library
“Maybe it’s an oversaturation of CapCut memes and trending audio posts, but I’m here for expanding our storytelling and falling down the rabbit hole on fascinating stories ...”
- Keith Kesler, LAPL
YouTube will start funding original content…again
I had the great fortune of seeing Michelle Khare’s “90 Day Black Belt” on the big screen at the Montclair Film Festival. There was a curious opening title card, though: no, not the “sponsored by Dove” part, but rather, “YouTube Presents.”
As connected TV (CTV) viewership of YouTube grows quarter after quarter—it’s the most watched streaming platform, after all—YouTube is on the hunt for an Emmy. It recently campaigned for a change to the Emmy rules that grants eligibility to shows like “Hot Ones” and “Chicken Shop Date.”
In 2025, I expect YouTube to co-finance some bigger budget non-scripted shows. It’s just not sustainable for brand partnerships and AdSense alone to pay for a feature-length episode of Khare’s “Challenge Accepted” or a Yes Theory film. YouTube is going to step up with both production financing and For Your Consideration campaigns. (Brands will make up for the difference in budget by buying out all the ads that appear during the video.)
Don’t get your hopes up for another season of “Rhett & Link’s Buddy System,” though. I don’t expect YouTube will fund scripted content like it used to—it’s too expensive and competitive.
- Gil Kruger, Founder/Talent Manager, Best Regards Media
It’s been wild to watch platform priorities shift over the past decade — part of our job, of course is just to ride the wave of change — but I’m excited to see social video format boomerang back to longer-form 16 x 9 content in 2025, particularly on YouTube as it ramps up to position itself as a TV/cable alternative.
The TikTok-ification of short form will still be alive, well, thriving, but my team is so skilled and amped-up to approach the challenge of capturing audiences and maximizing viewer retention when we, and the digital world, have been used to distilled messaging lasting just a handful of seconds.
As someone who loves to dive into narrative storytelling, this has me excited to shift more resources to higher-produced, longer-form content that can be cut down and optimized as short-form for other platforms.
Adri Cowan, Director, Digital Marketing Marvel Brand at Walt Disney Studios
👀 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT HEADLINES
TikTok has introduced affiliate links in organic creator posts -Social Media Today
TikTok is giving creators the ability to cross-share photo content between its app and Lemon8 -TechCrunch
TikTok released a SportsTok 2025 playbook for tapping into sports fandoms -TikTok
Two recent TikTok US trademark filings suggest the company is doubling down on doing business in the US -Semafor
TikTok announced a new AI-powered video-generation tool, Symphony Creative Studio -TikTok
Meta will introduce ads on Threads in early 2025 -Reuters
Adam Mosseri says sponsored content on Instagram doesn’t get downranked -Instagram
Meta is reducing the price of ad-free Instagram and Facebook subscription for people in the EU, plus a new free choice that comes with less personalized ads -Meta
Facebook announced that "views" will be the primary metric for all content types — Reels, videos, posts and stories -Meta
LinkedIn video posts generate 3x more reach; text posts get more engagement from existing connections -Search Engine Journal
YouTube is testing a TikTok-style swipe-up on full-length videos to to a new video -9to5Google
YouTube is now allowing viewers to set a reminder for upcoming streams straight from the Shorts feed -YouTube
Pinterest launched 1,000+ gift guides from celebrities and brands, plus a new pin that automatically creates a shoppable wishlists -Pinterest
Patreon is introducing new features, including creator gifting and membership discounts as well as giving fans the ability to gift memberships as well
Spotify plans to pay hosts to make podcast videos and allow premium subscribers to watch them without ads -Wall Street Journal
The top apps Gen Z young adults downloaded this year (spoiler alert, No. 1 was Temu) -TechCrunch
Trump has promised to 'save TikTok'. What happens next is less clear -AP
Visa is empowering creators with the same financial tools, resources and products that it offers small businesses -Visa
CES announced the CES Creator Space for its tech event in January -CES
*I’m going to start rounding up events again for the 2025 Events Calendar so please let me know if you’ve got something online or IRL in the works
This is an amazing look at digital trends and what to expect in 2025! Excited to see what the new year will bring for creators and digital creatives. Thank you for including us!