Short-form video pushes traditional boundaries and provides access to culture and news with just a few taps. With how easy it is to create, it’s no surprise that social media video trends move quickly.
From TikTok taking over as a search engine or the dominance of AI in user-generated content, there’s one thing for certain: short-form video is here to stay. Advertising will never be the same – in fact, 73% of consumers are already looking to short-form video to learn about new products or services.
Whether or not you keep up with social media video trends can have a huge impact on consumer perception of your brand or product. That’s why we’ve compiled the most important video trends of the year for you to incorporate into your social media strategy. If you’re looking to learn more about the broader trends you’ll see on social media in 2025, check out our video from creator Jade Beason.
Top 7 social media video trends
1. Microlearning
The social media video trend of microlearning via micro-videos offers a great way to convey info. Microlearning itself is a way of informing and teaching content to cover big ideas. These videos usually cover one topic and are easily digestible for viewers, running anywhere from thirty seconds to three minutes. This format also helps emphasize your brand as a thought-leader. In a time where learning has gone digital, new info is most easily digestible in small, bite-sized pieces. By centering microlearning in your social media video content, you can match the on-demand digital culture and cultivate audiences quickly while positioning yourself as an expert.
2. Behind-the-scenes content
Behind-the-Scenes content is a social media video trend that captures your process end-to-end. This content can build greater rapport between your audience and your product, service, or content. Showing these moments can turn cold audiences into brand advocates. Behind-the-scenes video content reduces the corporate-feeling of your brand and can humanize your brand on social media.
3. User-generated content
User-generated content – or UGC – has replaced more traditional forms of advertisement since type of content often feels more authentic. Types of content that fall under “UGC” can be as simple as influencer campaigns or creators and celebrities sharing their love for your product. No one likes ads… but UGC makes that connection between product and fan more connective.
4. Mainstream AI
AI is a new innovation video trend in social media and it opens up a whole new world of content for the Internet. TikTok has seen rapid growth in AI-generated content from users on-platform – like with image and video deepfakes. While additional usages of AI in social media include tools like ChatGPT on Adobe Premiere Pro to create content more easily in a few prompts and clicks. AI is developing at a rapid rate and users will have more ways to create social media content. Its imperative brands are able to join the conversation and stay current more than before. That’s why we chatted with Phil Edwards, Senior Producer at Vox, in a recent webinar to discuss how AI can be used as a tool in your video production.
5. Live video
Since COVID, creators found more creative ways to stay connected with live video on social media. In 2020, we saw Instagram and Twitch going mainstream for live streaming in niches like gaming or music. But now the live stream functionality is stronger than ever, with creators from every niche using it to connect with their audiences. The TikTok Live to branded influencer pipeline is a great example of this – like TerriJoe.
6. Diversity
Diversity and inclusion is rising in consumer importance and should be a priority in your video marketing strategy. It goes without saying, a few diverse influencers can help drive greater impact for your brand. Long gone are the days of “corporate pride” or “company-wide” diversity and race efforts. To tell an authentic story, centering diverse creators in video content will help capture your audience’s attention.
7. Accessibility with subtitles and captioning
More than ever, it’s essential to optimize your video for mute viewing on social media. Trends in video are leaning towards more options for accessibility like including closed captioning or subtitles. Prioritize content that can easily be enjoyed with or without audio to open your content up to a wider audience of viewers.
Incorporating social media video trends into your content
These social media video trends can influence your video strategy in the upcoming year. Short-form video is the future of social media and coincides with the shift in culture. It’s important to keep these video trends in mind to create more impactful marketing that speaks to today’s audience, whether it’s on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram Reels.
When creating social media videos, look to Storyblocks for unlimited royalty-free stock music, imagery, and video. With access to our stock footage library, you can create social media video content more seamlessly and keep your viewers’ attention. And with tools like Maker, you can create video easily for any platform without leaving the site.
