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The Essential Content to Optimise on Social Media for Maximum Engagement (with 2025 Trends)

In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, social media is one of the most powerful tools for businesses to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions. But you already know that, so how do you keep on top of the latest trends, allowing you to stand out against the crowd? 

Here’s the content you should focus on, along with the latest video trends to optimise your social media strategy for maximum engagement into 2025.

 

1. Videos

Why Video Matters: The number of digital video viewers worldwide is more than 3.3 billion. It’s no surprise videos are among the most engaging content formats on social media! Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook still prioritise video content, which grabs attention quickly and often leads to higher engagement than static posts. In 2024, 89% of consumers confirm they want to see more videos from brands.

2025 Trends:

  • Short-Form Videos Dominate: 75% of viewers watch short-form video content on their mobile devices. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts continue to push short, snappy video content. Keep videos under 60 seconds to stay competitive. 
  • Vertical Videos: In your social media strategy, optimise videos for vertical formats to take up more screen space and enhance viewer immersion.

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • To make your content more accessible, consider adding captions or text overlays. We’ve all forgotten our AirPods at some point but by including subtitles, you ensure viewers don’t skip your content. In fact, 65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds of a video will stick around for at least 10 more seconds, so adding captions can keep them engaged! 
  • Test various formats like reels, stories, and live streams.

 

2. User-Generated Content (UGC)

Why UGC Matters: User-generated content remains king because it’s seen as more authentic and trustworthy. Reviews, testimonials, and customer photos help build a community and increase brand credibility, which resonates with today’s audiences. Consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making a purchasing decision. (Stackla)

2025 Trends:

  • Relatable Micro-Influencers: UGC from micro-influencers (5K-50K followers) is gaining traction due to their close connection with followers. Brands are leveraging micro-influencers for more authentic UGC.
  • UGC Ads: Brands are incorporating UGC into paid ads for better performance and relatability.

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • Showcase UGC in your feed, stories, and paid ads.
  • Create branded hashtags to encourage customers to share their content.
  • Feature UGC in campaigns to highlight real experiences. 

 

3. Blogs and Articles

Why Long-Form Content Matters: While social media favours short-form content, sharing blog posts or articles provides value by positioning your brand as an authority and also helps your SEO! Regularly posting new blog content signals to Google that your site is still relevant and well-written blogs can drive traffic to your website and increase time spent there.

2025 Trends:

  • Snackable Blog Content: Audiences prefer blog content broken down into bite-sized pieces or listicles that can be easily consumed and shared on social media.
  • AI-Written Content: AI-generated content is on the rise. Brands are using AI to generate blog ideas, although human refinement is still essential for quality.

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • Create engaging, clickable headlines to draw attention.
  • Share the blog on social media, using bold graphics/headlines to pull the user in to read more on your website.
  • Include hashtags and CTAs to maximise reach and engagement.

 

4. Memes and Trending Content 

Why Memes Matter: Memes are relatable, shareable, and offer a fun way to humanise your brand. They often tap into trending topics and pop culture, making them timely and engaging. According to Forbes, businesses employing memes in marketing are 60% more likely to attract purchases, with millennials typically viewing 20–30 memes daily.

2025 Trends:

  • Niche Memes: Hyper-specific, niche memes are rising in popularity as brands get more creative and target specific communities.
  • Meme Marketing: Memes are being incorporated into brand storytelling and campaigns, blending humour with product promotion.

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • Ensure that memes and trends align with your brand’s voice and resonate with your audience. However, feel free to adapt trends to fit your business. Creating a clever connection between a trend and your offerings can make your brand more relatable and engaging.
  • Use humour that resonates with your target demographic.
  • Tap into trending topics to boost shareability. To trend watch, you’ll need to keep an eye on the news, scan social media, and, yes, occasionally dive into TikTok, purely for “research” purposes, of course.

 

5. Carousel Posts

Why Carousel Posts Matter: With a 1.92% engagement rate, the carousel is the most engaging type of content on Instagram. According to a study by Social Insider, Instagram carousel posts have 5.13% higher engagement than single-image or single-video posts. Carousel posts allow brands to share multiple images or videos in a single post, which is perfect for storytelling, showing product details, or sharing step-by-step guides. 

2025 Trends:

  • Product Launch or Reveal: Build excitement for a new product by teasing it slide-by-slide, saving the final reveal for the last image. This creates a sense of suspense and encourages users to swipe through.
  • Storytelling Through Visual: Use the carousel to tell a cohesive story, slide by slide. Each image or video adds to the narrative, keeping your audience engaged from start to finish. Check out how Surreal Cereal are owning this space.  

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • Hook users with a captivating first slide. Is your first slide so irresistible that the user is without a doubt going to swipe to the next one? Congratulations, your engagement is up! By the way, we like click bait! 
  • Use bold visuals or an enticing headline to hook users and encourage them to explore the rest of the carousel. Make sure you are telling a story. 
  • Include a CTA on the last slide to encourage further engagement or action.

 

6. Giveaways and Contests

Why Giveaways Matter: Giveaways are an effective way to increase engagement and grow your following. People love free stuff, and giveaways generate buzz and excitement. Instagram accounts that hold contests grow their followers 70% faster on average compared to accounts that don’t. 

2025 Trends:

  • Collaborative Giveaways: Partnering with other brands or influencers for joint giveaways is trending, allowing brands to tap into each other’s audiences. Double engagement! 
  • User-Driven Contests: Encouraging users to create content or share experiences as part of the contest is gaining traction.

 

How to Optimise for Your Social Media Strategy:

  • Keep entry rules simple, but don’t be afraid to ask for more than one thing! Such as following the account, liking the post, and tagging friends (to increase reach) and sharing to their personal instagram stories. There’s lots of ways you can ensure you get the most out of your giveaway! 
  • Promote the giveaway across all platforms for maximum visibility.
  • Follow up with winners and encourage them to share their experience to further increase engagement. If you have given away a product why not ask the winner to share it to their social media and use their content for your platforms too? This is another great way to harness UGC. 

 

 

Final Thoughts

To keep your social media strategy competitive, it’s not just about posting content but optimising it to fit trends and platform algorithms.

Prioritise high-performing formats like short-form videos, UGC, and interactive elements while keeping an eye on emerging trends like AI content and AR filters. Experiment with new formats, stay authentic, and leverage these trends to build a well-rounded social media strategy that drives engagement.

Keep in mind, trends and video content evolve rapidly. What works today could change overnight, so adaptability with your social media strategy is key. Brands that thrive in 2025 will be those that can pivot quickly while staying true to their core values and audience.