What's New? TikTok Changes, Instagram Updates & Your 2025 Marketing Blueprint

💎Trends and Marketing Predictions in 2025

If you missed our latest blog on Marketing Predictions & Trends in 2025 (click here for the blog), well here’s a quick breakdown of what you missed, along with what to expect next year:

🤖 AI Takes Centre Stage 

76% of marketers are using AI for content creation.

📱 Video Dominates 

82% of web traffic is now video. Short-form content isn't going anywhere - it's getting bigger by the day. 

🔍 TikTok Becomes Your New Search Bar 

TikTok has evolved far beyond dance videos. It's turning into the favourite search engine for younger audiences, with searches up 800% in 5 years.

🎧 Audio Marketing Takes Off 

Voice search is becoming as important as traditional SEO, while podcasts are moving from side project to marketing essential. 

💖 Authentic Content Still Rules 

With AI flooding social media, genuine, personality-filled content stands out more than ever. 

Want the full updates? Click here.

💎LinkedIn's Newest Toy: Moving Banner Images 

Premium members, here's something worth getting excited about - LinkedIn's adding a bit of pizzazz to your profile with their latest update. 

LinkedIn's rolling out moving slideshows for your profile banner. 

What You're Getting

• Auto-rotating banner slideshows (fancy!)
• Images that switch every few seconds
• A new "Create Slideshow" button in your banner settings
• A brilliant way to show off your work without cramming it all into one image

Who's Getting It?

At the moment, it's exclusively for Premium Business subscribers. The rollout's happening across the globe over the next few weeks.

Want to see what they will look like? Click here.

💎TikTok in 2025: Why We're Not Worried 

The internet's gone wild about TikTok's future in America. Here's what's happening and why we reckon TikTok isn't going anywhere in 2025.

Breaking Down the Drama

Big news dropped on December 6th - a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a law that could force ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) to sell up or face a ban. Sounds scary, right? But hang on...

The Numbers That Matter

• 170 million Americans use TikTok (that's more than half the country!)
• ByteDance has until January 19th to sort things out
• President-elect Trump has already said he won't allow a ban

What's Actually Going to Happen?

Three ways this could play out:

1. The Sell-Off Route

ByteDance might need to sell TikTok by January 19th. But don't panic - even if this happens, TikTok itself isn't going anywhere. Think about it: Instagram and WhatsApp got new owners and carried on getting bigger and better.

2. The Legal Battle

TikTok could take this to the Supreme Court. During any appeals, it's business as usual. Plus, proving TikTok is a genuine security threat? That's going to take more than just pointing fingers.

3. The Freedom Win

Courts might decide this whole thing violates free speech rights (the American Civil Liberties Union already thinks so). If that happens, it's game on as normal.

Why We're Still Backing TikTok for 2025

We’ve seen these social media panics before. Remember when everyone thought Instagram was doomed after Facebook bought it? Yeah, how did that work out?

TikTok's staying power comes down to three things:

• Its massive, devoted user base isn't just going to vanish
• The platform keeps pushing boundaries with new features
• Businesses are seeing incredible returns on their TikTok marketing

What This Means for Your Marketing

Keep creating that TikTok content! The platform's too valuable to ditch, and even if ownership changes, the core magic that makes TikTok brilliant isn't going anywhere.

Think about it - people aren't on TikTok because they care who owns it. They're there for the content, the community, and the creativity. None of that's changing.

Final Thoughts

While the suits sort out the legal bits, TikTok's community keeps growing, creating, and engaging. That's what really matters for your marketing strategy.

Want to chat more about making TikTok work for your business? Drop us a message - we're always up for a natter about social media strategy!

💎Instagram's Broadcast Channels Just Got More Interesting 

Big changes are coming to Instagram's broadcast channels, and they're worth getting excited about. The platform's moving beyond simple likes and reactions, bringing us what we've all been waiting for - actual conversations between creators and their audiences.

The Power of Replies

Instagram's finally made two-way conversations possible in broadcast channels. Now your audience can reply to messages and chat with each other, creating a genuine community space. Worried about managing all these conversations? Instagram's thought of that too. Creators have full control over who can reply through their channel settings, so you can keep things running smoothly.

Starting Conversations Made Simple

The new Prompts feature is going to change how creators connect with their audience. Instead of wondering what to post, you can now choose from suggested topics or create your own custom prompts. Your audience gets 24 hours to jump in with text or photo responses, and everyone can like their favourite replies. When you respond as a creator, your message appears right in the main channel, keeping the conversation flowing.

Why This Changes Everything

This update transforms broadcast channels from simple announcement tools into dynamic community spaces. Whether you're running a business or building your personal brand, you've now got the tools to create genuine connections with your audience.

Here comes the Team Update!

Starting Off With Our Fearless Leader: Jem!

2024 has been quite the year for Jem. She's brought fantastic new clients on board, delivered amazing sales training, and helped SocialJems grow in exciting new directions. 

Christmas Plans

After such a busy year, we're happy to report Jem's actually taking some time off this Christmas! She's looking forward to the two things that make her Christmas special: good food and family board games.

And speaking of food - everyone's already messaging about her roast potatoes. Apparently, they're the highlight of Christmas dinner (no pressure, Jem!)

Board games are a tradition in Jem's house - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are reserved for family competitions that get everyone involved. 

💎Our Morgenmuffel Sarah

Sarah's been in her element this year with content creation. We've lost count of how many times we've heard "I did it again" - her code for accidentally writing three months of content instead of one. When she gets in the zone, there's no stopping those ideas flowing. If she goes quiet for a while, we know she's disappeared into what we call a 'content hole', emerging days later with months’ worth of work.

Christmas Plans

She'll be spending time with Joe's family, taking time to remember Joe, before celebrating Christmas with everyone.

And in true Sarah style, she's got a special mission this year - introducing her 3-year-old niece to the world of Pokémon. She's decided her niece is finally old enough to appreciate the magic, and we have a feeling there might be some strategic Christmas presents involved in creating the next Pokémon trainer...

💎 Sarah Also Known as Twinnie

Sarah has been incredible behind the scenes this year, nailing the content scheduling for our clients and handling all the admin work that keeps SocialJems running smoothly. But it's not just her work ethic that makes her amazing - it's her caring nature that really shines through.

Christmas Plans

This Christmas, Sarah's continuing her tradition of helping at her local church, making sure children in need get gifts to open on Christmas morning. It's something she looks forward to every year, giving back to her community.

The festivities don't stop there though - she's excited for the annual family reunion on Christmas Day. It's always a full house with all the relatives coming together to celebrate.

💎 The Admin expert Cath

This year marks a special Christmas for Cath - it's her first time hosting the festivities in her own home! After years of joining the in-laws for celebrations, she's excited to be creating her own Christmas traditions.

Christmas Plans

The tables have turned this year, and it's Cath's turn to be in charge of the celebrations and cooking. Word has it there's going to be games and karaoke too (we're hoping for videos of this!).

From visitor to host - sounds like Cath's ready to make this Christmas her own, complete with all the chaos and fun of hosting family. We're betting those karaoke sessions are going to be memorable!

Now Over to You...

We've shared our Christmas plans - from Jem's competitive board games and famous roasties, to Sarah's Pokémon mission with her niece, Sarah helping at her local church and family reunion, and Cath's first-time hosting with karaoke on the cards.

But what about you? Are you a Christmas games champion too? Planning any family traditions? Or maybe you're just looking forward to putting your feet up? 

💎 SocialJems is Getting a New Update!

Big news - we're updating our website for 2025! We look forward to sharing the new look next year, so keep your eyes peeled!

What We're Bringing to 2025

Whether you need help with LinkedIn's latest features, want to nail your TikTok strategy, or fancy making Instagram work harder for your business, we are here to help. From social media management to eye-catching newsletters, engaging blogs, and website design - we handle it all.

Why Choose Us for 2025?

You know that feeling when someone's just going through the motions? That's not us. We get to know you, your business, and what makes you tick. Want to bring your dog to a video call? Perfect. Kids turning your background into chaos? We're here for it. Because marketing shouldn't feel like pulling teeth - it should feel like chatting with people who actually give a damn about your success.

What We Offer:

• Social media management across all major platforms
• Content that sounds like you, not a robot
• Blogs and newsletters that people actually want to read
• Website design that works as hard as you do
• Training sessions (including our famous Social Shizzle Sessions)

Keep an eye out for our website update - we're making it even easier for you to find exactly what you need.

💎 Before We Go...

We've got one more treat coming your way - watch out for our final blog of 2024! We'll be sharing all our top tips to kickstart your marketing in 2025. Trust us, you won't want to miss this one.

💎 Festive Opening Hours 🎄

We're working right up until Christmas (because we love what we do!), but we'll be taking a few days off to recharge:

• Christmas Day: Closed
• Boxing Day: Closed
• New Year's Day: Closed

When are you switching off for the holidays? Drop us a message - we'd love to know when you're putting your out-of-office on!

From all of us at SocialJems, thanks for being part of our 2024. Here's to an amazing 2025!