Social Today 2025: these are our key takeaways

Every February, it’s a regular fixture: the ‘ Social ’ Today event. Organised by Frankwatching, this event focuses on the latest trends in content, storytelling, ‘ advertising ’ and commerce via social media. At the last edition, our ‘ Social ’ Marketeers Anne, Susan and Chaimae paid a visit to the event. What did they learn? You can read all about it in this blog.

1. TikTok Ads: not an interruption, but added value

TikTok expert Else Luisman explained how adverts should not be an interruption, but rather an enhancement to the user experience. A few key takeaways:

• Impact over quantity: users see more than 10,000 adverts every day, so make sure you create unique content that stands out.
• The traditional marketing funnel no longer works; the purchasing cycle is an endless loop. Consumers move back and forth through the various stages. So, as a brand, you should focus not only on conversions, but also on community and engagement to ensure broad visibility.
• Helpful content wins: within 2 to 3 seconds, answer the question: “What does this video offer the viewer?” This allows you to analyse your own content more critically.
• Both high-quality (professional content) and less polished content (behind-the-scenes footage) work well. People want to see beautiful imagery, but they certainly also want less polished and spontaneous content.
• Collaborating with creators increases viewing time and engagement, provided you find the right match. Choose creators who align with your brand and your target audience, so that this collaboration also feels authentic.

2. AI and ‘ Social ’ Media: the new standard

AI tools are being used more and more frequently and are a great way to create ‘ social ’ content. It is wise to combine several AI tools to achieve the best results. The approach:

1. From idea to prompt: use an AI tool, such as ChatGPT, to jot down your idea and generate a prompt for another AI tool, such as Midjourney
2. Visual prompt: next, use the prompt to create a visual in Midjourney. Make sure you use the right keywords. Consider, for example, ‘cinematic style’ for a professional look.
3. From still image to motion: are you happy with your image? But would you like to make your image move? Then generate another prompt in ChatGPT. You can use this prompt in Kling.ai to make the image move.
4. Motion to video: you can add the finishing touch to your video by, for example, using Capcut to automatically generate a voice-over. Would you prefer music? With tools such as Suno, you can create your own track.

3. Albert Heijn: a successful video and creator strategy

During the event, we were given an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Albert Heijn’s biggest campaign of the year: the Christmas campaign. The key to success? A strategic mix of video, creators and advertising:

• Albert Heijn’s target audience starts searching on Google and Pinterest as early as September in preparation for the Christmas period.
• Social Search is becoming increasingly prevalent – users are actively seeking inspiration on platforms such as TikTok and Pinterest.
• Albert Heijn gives its creators the freedom to put their own spin on content, resulting in authentic and impactful campaigns.

Pinterest: how visual search is changing advertising

Many brands focus on Instagram and TikTok, but Pinterest offers enormous opportunities:

• Research by Mindshare shows that Gen Z use Pinterest more often than Snapchat.
• The scroll speed is three times slower than on other platforms, which ensures greater attention is paid to each post.
• Building personas using 50 relevant keywords helps with targeted marketing.
• Performance+ is essentially the AI within Pinterest and offers the ability to improve and optimise your campaigns.

What does this mean for the future?

One thing is clear: the future of social media revolves around creativity, strategy and the right technology. We’ll certainly be applying these insights to our strategies – what about you? How will you use AI and video to take your social media strategy to the next level? Please feel free to get in touch if you’re interested in having a chat!