Our recent report, The State of Social 2025, analyzes over 718.6m conversations and 347 top brands across 8 sectors.  

In this post, you’ll read about some of the biggest online marketing trends that are framing the state of social heading into the new year. 

Keep in mind, this blog post is just a snippet of the report. Get expert insights to help you stay ahead of 2025 trends in The State of Social report. 

The five trends we’ll discuss are: 

Our analysis shows that across all industries, brand-owned accounts initiate just 1% (1.11%) of the posts that make up the discussions about their own brands on X.  

This number is even lower than last year's – 1.51%.  

While the distribution of brand-owned posts varies by industry (see the last column in the table), such a low percentage signals the importance of listening to the broader conversation and acting upon those insights to ensure the broader narrative is positive. 

Trend #2 Consumer sentiment is highly nuanced, depending on industry

Consumer sentiment is constantly evolving, and tracking it can help you to stay on top of brand health as well as to recognize opportunities and pain points. 

Between February 1 and July 31, 2024 energy brands saw a 46% rise in negative mentions. The energy sector also accumulated the lowest amount of positive mentions overall. 

On the other hand, automotive, consumer tech, and financial services industries led with the highest increases in positive mentions, accounting for 24%, 22%, and 18%, respectively. 

What caused the shift in sentiment for some of these industries? 

Our research shows that cost-related consumer anxiety was one of the main drivers behind the high proportion of negative mentions in the energy sector, with discussions centered around rising electricity costs and fluctuating prices at gas stations. 

In automotive-related conversations, consumers discussed their positive first car buying experiences, including great customer service. 

In consumer tech, key drivers behind a higher share of positive mentions included consumers praising functional gadgets that improved everyday life and added convenience. 

Lastly, the rise in positive sentiment for financial services brands reflected a growing consumer interest in financial literacy and ways to generate extra income. 

As consumer attitudes shift, it’s essential for brands to monitor these changes in real time. Keeping a pulse on consumer sentiment offers valuable insights into how consumers feel about your brand, providing the tools to make adjustments to your marketing strategy as needed. 

Trend #3 Limited-edition products boost brand visibility

Brands, including those in the food, retail, and CPG industries, are tapping into limited-edition launches to grab consumer attention, reengage existing customers, and boost their brand visibility. 

In CPG-related discussions between February 1 and July 31, 2024, partnerships and collaborations got 73k mentions, while mentions of limited- and special-edition products garnered about 13k.  

From celebrity-backed products like energy drink Phocus by Jack Harlow to Coca-Cola’s limited-edition design co-created with fans and AI to REI’s special collection in partnership with a nonprofit, consumers were excited about products available only for a limited time. 

Many consumers shared that they actively sought out the desired limited-edition items in stores and were willing to put effort and time into finding them.  

One brand name often came up in conversations discussing limited-edition products – the large supermarket chain Publix.  

As one consumer posted, “If it says limited edition at Publix I’m probably going to try it," showing how the exclusivity of a product, combined with brand loyalty and trust, can spark excitement and drive impulse purchases. 

Trend #4 Rising financial pressure takes its toll across industries

According to Brandwatch data, the impact of increasing prices can be felt across industries. Between February 1 and July 31, 2024 the food, CPG, and energy industries gathered the highest proportions of negative mentions around the topic. 

In CPG-related discussions, groceries were mentioned 3m times between February 1 and July 31, 2024. 40% of that conversation was negative. Price and cost gathered 2.46m mentions, up 7% from the same period in 2023. Additionally, mentions of pricing gouging hit 34.5k, up 39% compared to the same period in 2023. 

In response, some consumers monitored prices for better deals. Between February 1 and July 31, 2024, we tracked over 170k mentions of “cheaper than” and “for less” in retail-related conversations.  

In energy-related conversations, consumers frequently discussed cost-saving apps offering cashback rewards and other money-saving opportunities for gas. Mentions of cash back in gas-related conversations gathered 19.16k between February 1 and July 31, 2024, up 16.3% from the same period in 2023. 

Lastly, in finance-related conversations, people discussed topics like finding passive income and using mobile banking apps that offer to earn extra interest on savings.  

“Personal finance” in finance-related conversations gathered 28.6k mentions, up 1.5% between February 1 and July 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. 

Trend #5 Customers are sharing opportunities to create better experiences

Discussions about customer experience across all eight industries highlighted the importance of quality of service as essential to maintaining customer satisfaction.  

In retail-related discussions, consumers complained about inefficient order processing, challenges with fulfilling orders, and long wait times to get support. Brick-and-mortar retailers also saw negative comments around slow service and lack of assistance. 

In finance-related conversations, consumers discussed their negative personal experiences with online payment platforms, such as transaction errors and issues with adding, verifying, or changing payment details.  

We tracked 38.6k mentions of ‘checkout' in finance-related discussions – and 29% of them were negative, underscoring that complicated or inconvenient checkout processes can lead to abandoned carts and lost customers. 

Now it’s your turn: How are you going to adapt your social strategy to win in 2025? Get started by listening to those opportunities and pain points – there are plenty of nuggets of inspiration to share with the rest of your organization. 

Want to learn more? Find out what brands do on social media that actually works – read The State of Social report.