Social media trends come and go faster than ever. But even if the trending sounds, transition, or style changes from week to week, larger trends involving different types of media, new features, community interests stick around for a while.
We all want to take advantage of trending social media content. Some want to use it to build their personal brand. Others want their shot at their content going viral. Many want to engage and entertain their online following.
We’ve put together a list of some of the latest social media trends to inspire you to create your own unique and authentic content. These trends are flexible, allowing you to take advantage of popular music, themes, or transitions so your content shows up on everyone’s feed.
Videos are Key
From Instagram Reels to TikTok to YouTube, video content reigns supreme across almost all social media platforms. It allows creators to better connect with their audience, as well as take advantage of trending sounds and lip syncing.
Most importantly, people love scrolling through short videos online because they are quick, easy to digest, and oftentimes the focus of the latest features for social media platforms. Since introducing Reels, Instagram has favored that form of media, creating a surge in content and engagement.
Video is often seen as the most authentic type of content. It shows the audience that creators are real people with real opinions. This is especially true when it comes to reaction videos, live streams, and POV videos. What’s more video is oftentimes more eye catching, entertaining, and shareable than static posts.
@suminumi01 Today’s book blessings are for those who need a reminder of the joy reading brings. #booktok #readersoftiktok #bookishaffirmations #fyp ♬ original sound – Suminumi01 📚📚
Long Photo Carousels for Engagement
Photo carousels started as a simple way to post a collection of related images without having to make multiple posts. They were perfect for showing off travel images or pictures from events and activities.
Today photo carousels are being used to tell stories. Artists use this them to share comics, process videos next to finished projects, and hone in on smaller details of a larger piece. Educational creators use them like a slideshow breaking down a topic into smaller pieces versus large walls of text. Writer use them as inspiration collections for themes or characters.
More often than now, users use photo carousels to create photo dump posts. These are often themed or inspired by a prompt and while they might not seem much more than a curated collection of photos, they still manage to tell a story.
Themed Carousels for Scrolling
Themed carousels offer a little something for everyone. Each photo is directed at a different type of person, encouraging followers to swipe through to find which one fits them. Or maybe even look to see which type of person got the answer you wanted to get.
This trend takes advantage of aesthetic images, trending topics, and other niche elements that can speak to a variety of people. They are a great way to get engagement while also remaining authentic to the type of content you already post.
Who doesn’t want to know what this month brings for your zodiac sign? Or which seasonal cat image fits you based on your birth month? Or what your favorite hot beverage says about you?
Winter Arc Self-Care Challenge
@jessback2earth Replying to @Jessica 💞💫 Here are the rules for Winter Arc ❄️🫧✨ 90 days of transformation before the new year. Comment “I’M READY” to lock it in #winterarc #2025goals #gymtok #selfimprovement #reinventyourself ♬ original sound – Jessica 💞💫
Taking place from October to January, this trend is about a period of self-improvement, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Posts center around setting goals, developing new skills, practicing mindfulness, and more.
Generally, New Year’s is all about making resolutions and embracing a “new year, new me” type of mindset. What sets a winter arc apart is it’s focus on making small gradual changes over time. Where a New Year’s resolution demands the commitment to a new habit and an all-or-nothing attitude, the Winter Arc Challenge allows you to approach changes slowly.
Small steps over time is how habits are really built. So, you can reach your goals one step at a time.
Nostaliga in back in Fashion
From embracing the cozy fall feels of “Gilmore Girls Season” to collecting vintage items for the perfect “Grandmacore” look, social media is all about those nostalgia vibes.
Polished and professional posts are being repliaced with chaotic collages, candid videos, and authentic selfies. Brands are leaning into “Nowstalgia” marketing that combines classic items with new appeal. Even the fashion of the Y2K era is flooding stores and making every millennial cringe – while also secretly wondering if they could pull off these styles better now than when they were teens.
Technology is constantly changing and improving, new features are being added to everything, and nothing stands still for even a moment. So, Gen Z is looking to the past, to a slower time. While Millennials are reaching for the comfort and escapism that comes from rediscovering what you loved.
“In Poetry We Say…”
@wounds_words1 " I'm madly in love with you" . . . –written by "Iskra". #poetrytok #poetry #poem #loveyou #relationship #deep #foruyou #fyp #USA #NewYork #California ♬ som original – rh love
In English we say “Wow, that is beautiful.” In poetry we say… so much more.
Showcasing the power and beauty behind figurative language, the metaphors and similies that bring verse to life, this PoetryTok trend forces people to see the world around them in a different light.
Typically the trend begins with a phrase or observation – “In English (or other language) we say.”Then you add your favorite line of poetry that expresses the same sentiment – “In poetry we say.”
We can say so much and express ourselves well in our common language, but so much more can be said, expressed, felt, through verse.
Poems: Image and Rhythm
Social media has changed the poetry landscape quite a bit over the last decade. What used to be found in chapbooks and literary magazines is now available on newsfeeds and for you pages. Poetry is still changing, still trending.
The latest trends surrounding instapoetry and poetrytok are all about images and rhythm. On TikTok, poets share videos of them reading their work aloud over images or other videos. On Instagram poets are posting one line at a time across a series of images creating a collage of text and photos, a visual poem.
While these trends might seem performative, they are about being present. They encourage the audience to sit with the work, experience it on repeat, and engage with it in a public way. For the poets, it’s a way of sharing their art on a stage that feels small, but can reach vast audiences.
Romantasy Books on Bookshelves
@inkedxjuliana It all started with one series… #bookshelfdecor #personallibrary #bookloversoftiktok #darkromancereader #romantasybookrecs ♬ black swan instrumental – 𝗻𝗮𝗆𝗃𝗷𝗻
When trends and topic collide, they often lead to creating something new, something interesting, something that blows up. Today, that is the creation of the Romantasy trend.
No matter what corner of BookTok or Bookstagram you find yourself, the newly deemed “romantasy” genre and the viral books that started it, are everywhere. Nearly every book creator has a popular series displayed prominetly on their bookcase or listed on their TBR.
Combining the swooning romance (and spicy smut) of classic and contemporary romance novels and the magic and myth of fantasy books, this genre blends the lines between the two, creating new fans of both.
But be careful because while this genre may have taken the book community by storm, it can also be very polarizing. Those who love it, LOVE it, and those who hate it likely prefer to keep books in their separate genre-corners.
For more social media trends, as well as what is trending in the world of poetry, books, self-care, and more, check out more articles at littleinfinite.com.
