2025 trend nuggets

2024 – well… who saw THAT coming!?! Well, us actually… We did a damn fine job in our 2024 trend report and are looking to keep that momentum going with our 2025 trends. Below you will find the thoughts of team Spinnaker on all things PR, Social and Influencer to help your brand be part of the conversation.

So sit back, crack open your festive beverage of choice (pint of Bailey’s for me) and enjoy our look into the future.

Make social your search priority

I’m so old that I remember when Ask Jeeves was launched, and enabled a new form of digital research, albeit a bit clunky. Then of course Google came along and dominated the world of search from the late 90s to this day. But according to Forbes we are now seeing 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials preferring social media over traditional search engines. As we head into 2025 this is only likely to increase, and brands now need to up their game when it comes to social search optimisation (SSO). This will not be at the expense of traditional SEO - this will continue to be the mainstay of search, especially amongst an older audience, and for specific categories such as financial services where trust is paramount - but SSO should form part of an overall search strategy. Younger consumers are looking for engaging video and personalisation across categories such as recipes, food, fashion, travel, and cosmetics, and therefore platform specific algorithms, hashtags and other SSO strategies will be vital to gain an upper hand, especially when social commerce is at play. So in 2025 get stuck into the world of social search, and when you're my age you can laugh at how antiquated it all seemed.

Robert Goldsmith CEO

First party data comes of age

Cookie deprecation - announced in 2020, pushed back multiple times and finally looking like it will role out in full early next year. It's so delayed it’s been included in several trend reports by me over the past few years, but now it looks like it is going to be with us soon, which makes this the year where first party data will become oh so important on social. Blending efficiency and compliance will become the new norm for advertisers, and first party data will allow us to do both – especially on social media, where users profile data (age, location, gender), interactions, behaviours and even viewing details can help us target intelligently, effectively and legally.

With this in mind, think about user journey. Have a new product and want to really drill down into who is interested without wasting a load of money on conversion ads with little targeting nuance? Develop some great, informative creative that introduces the product, serve the video as an ad and then retarget based on 1st party behaviour – in this instance a 95% view through rate. This will ensure you reach only the people engaged with your new product, keeping ads relevant, more effective and lower cost.

Joe Orton - Head of Social

Sustainable and Ethical Branding

Consumers are increasingly choosing brands that align with their values, particularly regarding sustainability. To build trust and loyalty, brands should go beyond surface-level on green claims and take meaningful, transparent actions. Our recommendation for brands will be to prioritise communicating their sustainability journey authentically, particularly on social media, where consumers actively engage with their favorite brands. Share tangible initiatives—like responsible sourcing, or waste reduction programs, and leverage behind-the-scenes content to humanise the whole process. Brands can showcase measurable impact with infographics or testimonial-style posts helping their story being easily digestable and transparent. This approach ensures your audience feels informed, involved, and aligned with your brand’s purpose.

Velina Vasileva - Account Director

Build Authentic Influencer Relationships

The shift towards authenticity that began in 2024 is set to deepen in 2025. Audiences are savvier than ever, easily recognising when they’re being sold a fleeting trend (let's face it we have all fallen victim to a TikTok shop purchase or two...). With the rise of “de-influencing,” where influencers actively discourage buying unnecessary or overhyped products, brands must rethink their partnerships. Instead of opting for quick #gifted moments, the focus is moving towards real, long-term relationships where influencers genuinely love the product before the partnership even begins.

So, what does this mean for brands? It is increasingly important for ambassador programs that prioritise ongoing collaborations over short-lived, transactional campaigns. In this landscape, the winners will be those who invest in deep, credible connections, making influencers true brand champions rather than just campaign participants.

So what can brands look to do going forward?

Prioritise Quality Over Quantity: Collaborate with fewer influencers but build deeper, ongoing relationships. Using the same influencers over and over again to build trust in audiences that what they are selling is in fact true (and not just another marketing ploy).

Authenticity in Action: Choose influencers who naturally align with your brand’s values and products. Audiences can spot a mismatch a mile away, and let’s face it—those awkward pairings just won’t fly anymore.

Embrace Transparency: Celebrate influencers’ honesty—even when they share what they don’t love. This builds trust with both the creator and their audience, benefiting the brand in the long run.

Harriet Gill - Senior Account Director

UGC - An Increasingly Central Part of a Brand’s Social Strategy

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content—such as text, images, videos, reviews, and social media posts—created by users or customers rather than brands or companies. Social media platforms will become more community-centric, fostering deeper connections between users and brands; this will increase involvement amongst the targeted audience by allowing them to share their experiences with the product/ services. It also remains a powerful tool for building trust and authenticity.

Max Knight - Senior Account Executive

BEWARE THE RISE OF LOW QUALITY CONTENT

We're seeing an increasing number of corporations pushing for streams and streams of hourly content, flooding online platforms in the hunt for click engagements and three second retention rates. The cost? Quality. It feels more important to have clickbait-esque posts, than to have a beautifully curated and crafted feed, with a clear design direction behind it. TikTok can be partially to blame for this, with endless thumb scrolling allowing milliseconds to grab attention leading to BIG SIMPLE WORDS AND TIKTOK VOICE as the peak of design. Content churning at the cost of quality?

One benefit to this shift in quality is the rise of the 'Normal Influencer'! Day to day normal workers/team members/floor staff/receptionists are becoming the new voice and generation of online heroes. It has become a breath of fresh air in social seeing relatable 'normal every day office worker' featuring more heavily in companies internal socials. It is enjoyable tuning in to the office antics of the Honda showrooms office managers!

Ben Walker - Senior Designer