With the holidays quickly approaching, we have our sights set on year-end trends as well as what’s new and interesting in 2025. From viral TikTok menus to a resurgence of LinkedIn activity, here’s what to watch out for this month and beyond.
Trendspotting
TikTok Menus: It’s not news that TikTok is driving food trends, but with 2024 coming to a close, we’re reflecting on recent phenomena like dirty soda and cucumber salad. Keep an eye out for viral dining guides and year-end wrap ups from trend-forward restaurants who capitalized on the buzz.
Whole Foods Market Trends: Whole Foods released its top ten food and beverage trends for 2025, and we’re paying attention to next year’s most interesting eats. Look out for new innovations and popularity of international snacks, plant-based aquatic ingredients (think sea moss and water lentils), and crunchy additions to almost everything, from fermented nuts to mushroom chips.
Travel Trends: Booking.com and Expedia both released their trend reports (here and here, respectively). Key takeaways include travelers seeking authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences, and nocturnal adventures (think stargazing, night markets, after dark museum tours and sunrise hikes). Also top of mind? Price transparency and sustainability.
Après Season: Après coverage is already rolling in, with AFAR and Ski Mag naming the best spots for post-slope toasts and Katy Perry’s De Soi targeting skiers with mini canned mocktails.
Social Media News
Humanity Will Spend 500 Million Years on Social Media in 2024: Yikes. Visual Capitalist and We Are Social put together a new report of the top countries on social media, with Kenya, South Africa and Brazil taking the top three spots (interestingly, the U.S. isn’t in the top 15). The typical internet user spends almost 2.5 hours daily on social media, with TikTok taking the lead.
Instagram Carousels & Profile Cards: Instagram recently announced that photos and carousels with music are now eligible to appear in the Reels tab, helping to reach people who aren’t currently following your channel(s). This is great for creators, though difficult to navigate with increasing sensitivity surrounding copyrighted music. Also look for new IG profile cards: flippable panels that include a QR code on one side and a profile overview on the other.
Social Media Today’s 2025 Predictions: While it’s no surprise that AI is a primary focus in every trend or prediction round-up this year, Social Media Today pulled together some predictions that are helpful for content managers looking to keep their channels authentic – and growing – in the New Year. Key takeaways include:
- Video – and specifically AI-recommended Reels – will continue to be a primary focus for Facebook, which has seen significant engagement gains in recent months by serving an explore-like experience in feeds. Since the platform needs more video content to effectively grow this, use it as an opportunity for clients (or your brand) to be ahead of the curve by serving additional video on business pages.
- Instagram will lean into AI-enhanced filters for images, especially with the development of its Movie Gen tool. SMT also predicts more integration with Ray Bans, such a live streams, a dedicated content section and more.
- In the wake of the election, SMT predicts Threads will loosen political restrictions in order for it to become a true competitor to X. This is something to keep in mind for any brands interested in exploring a presence there in the future, as it might not be relevant enough in the long run to be worth the time investment. It’s worth noting that Instagram recently announced the Threads platform is moving into an independent phase and will likely separate from IG entirely at some point, and it’s also likely that ads will roll out on Threads in 2025.
- Snapchat is a platform B Public Relations continues to have an eye on, especially with the introduction of Snap Map, which allows users to share their location and experiences with businesses.
Instagram Highlights are Moving: Just when we’ve gotten used to the current display, Instagram is keeping us on our toes by moving story highlight bubbles from the top of the grid to their own section within profile tabs and will be signified by a rounded heart icon. This will be a development we keep a close eye on as BPR relies on highlights to feature client differentiators, guest experience, etc. and we suspect we’ll see a dip in their usage with this change.
