With sites like Discord still accessible, VPN’s predicted to surge in use and teens already deciding to try using fake accounts or joint accounts with their parents to access their social accounts there’s likely to be reforms and changes along the way – especially as sites such as YouTube and Snapchat, whilst complying with the ban, believe they shouldn’t be included as they don’t consider themselves to be social media companies. 

A few months ago we spoke about the TikTok Deal in the US finally reaching the signing stage – with it then thought the issue over the app’s sale had been sorted out. However, investor Frank McCourt has told BBC News that they’re currently standing by and waiting to see what happens as the deadline has been moved once again from December 16th to 23rd January 2026. The deal, although expected, was never formalised between President Trump and President Xi Jinping in October, with President Trump now saying the new executive order extending the deadline to January will lead to a deal being complete. It still remains unclear exactly what is going on behind the scenes, but the future of TikTok still hangs in the balance for American users. 

All creators with Advanced Features will now be able to access YouTubes A/B thumbnail and title options. Announced back in 2023, the feature has slowly been rolled out across the platform – using it will let you test up to 3 different titles and thumbnail options over 2 weeks, with YouTube selecting the winner based on the most watch time. 

 

YouTube will also provide more shopping insights to channel managers. As per YouTube: “Creators can find this info by going to YouTube Studio Analytics, then ‘Advanced Mode,’ then selecting ‘Seller’ under breakdown. Creators will be able to see things like total sales, orders, returned products, and more.” 

It was a trend that took the internet by storm over the Summer, and now TikTok have announced that Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand”, commonly recognised as the music behind “Nothing Beats A Jet2 Holiday” Ads was one of the apps top songs of the year – and searches for the ads sound surpassed searches for Jet2 themselves. It was pretty impossible to avoid the sound for a long while during Summer 2025, and whilst the trend was often accompanied with some pretty bad holiday situations, nothing could beat a Jet2 Holiday on TikTok in 2025 - the company themselves putting the virality of the trend down to a rise in their passenger numbers. 

That’s a wrap for December and for 2025 – have a great Christmas and New Year! 

 

Finally, your social media tip is: Ads aren’t about throwing money at a problem. 

 

They’re about strategically putting your business in front of the right people at the right time. 

 

They amplify your organic efforts, ensuring you’re consistently visible and the first thought when someone needs your product or service. 

 

With just £5 per day, you can start making an impact. I know because that's where I started. 

 

I didn't have big daily budgets to spend on ads... 

 

It’s about starting small, testing what works, and scaling up as you see results. 

 

This approach has not only worked for me but also for the hundreds of clients we help with social media marketing every day. 

 

Don't let marketing be an afterthought. 

 

Plan it, be strategic, and most importantly, be visible. 

 

Your business depends on it 🙌 

 

lifelike images and scenes. McDonalds Netherlands have seen the negative reaction to AI – their Christmas Ad, made using generative AI, was released on December 6th 2025 and pulled merely a week later due to online criticism – the company telling the BBC that they’d use it as ‘important learning’ whilst they assess using AI effectively. They’re not the only company to face this kind of criticism over the festive period – Coca-Cola have been accused of using AI in their Christmas ad campaigns these last two years, and despite pushback from the company themselves clarifying their ads still have human input, media reports and public response are pretty telling of where things stand with using, or even being assumed to be using AI for these purposes at this moment in time. It doesn’t seem like something that will be stopped, but it’s also not something the public are on board with just yet. It also poses the questions – where does this leave the human element of content and ad creation, and what’s in store for the future of advertising? 

 

Aside from AI, social commerce and niche influencer marketing has really come into its own – and it’s only getting bigger, especially where TikTok is concerned. Take a few minutes to scroll through your FYP – I’ve certainly noticed more ads popping up alongside my usual content, and sometimes it’s not even directly obvious on first watch – given away only by a ‘commission paid’ symbol, other times ads have been disguised like images you can swipe across, often taking you to a link when you try to engage with the content. Clever, but also bringing in a lot of revenue. TikTok Shop, according to Sprout Social is now the UK’s fastest-growing online marketplace, accounting for £42.39 million in sales worth (2.14% of all sales globally) and with 200,000 active sellers. 

Now we’ve touched on 2025, lets look ahead to the new year and what we can expect to see on the rise…. 

 

Nostalgia Marketing – Nostalgia has been turned from a feeling that we get from time to time to a real desire – especially for Gen Z – and marketers have started to use it to their advantage, likely continuing to do so into 2026. Younger people seem to be looking back at a time they deem to have been simpler – right now that being the 90s and 00s, with the early 2010s also starting to creep in for some. Brands have capitalised on this recently by using stars who defined those eras in their adverts, making references to popular films or TV Shows and even creating products that mirror popular products from these eras – or the brands themselves bring these products back entirely. Nostalgia will always exist, but it commercialisation is only getting started and will be something to keep an eye on in 2026. 

 

AI – Like 2025, AI will continue to be a big hitter in 2026 – with GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) helping AI powered algorithms when search queries are submitted. Think about when you use a search engine – its often the AI summary that’s shown first ahead of links to other sites. There’s also the ability for specific industries to introduce AI to their own sites too – Ikea’s Kreativ feature allows customers to build their own rooms, use their starter room or scan their own space to test out furniture that’s true to scale, giving customers confidence that not only what they buy looks good, but that it’ll fit too. 

 

Involve Your Audience – You’ve probably been creating brand stories with your marketing, but it seems like customers don’t just want to hear those stories in 2026 – they want to be part of them. Making things interactive and bringing your audience in will help not to get them involved , but show others you want to provide them the best customer experience whilst using others just like them in your advertising or community building. Something that has swept TikTok this last month is the idea of being in ‘Group 7’ – a set of videos by musician Sophia James who made multiple TikTok's with the premise being ‘ if you see this, you’re in group [number]”, both promoting her music and testing the TikTok algorithm – leading to a feeling of exclusivity over certain groups (in this case, 7 being the most popular). It’s a classic reliance on FOMO, but also letting your audience become involved in something they feel is for ‘them’ no matter the concept. 

 

2026 is nearly upon us so there’s no better time to be reviewing your marketing strategy than right now so you’re ready for when January comes around. Hopefully this will all be helpful for shaping your campaigns next year. 

 

• Over 2 billion users interact with Reels monthly. 

• Reels are reshared 4.5 billion times each day. 

• Reels receive 22% more engagement than standard posts. 

• 200 billion reels are played across Facebook and Instagram each day. 

• 91% of Instagram users watch video content on Instagram each week. 

 

For businesses – whether you’re looking to create ads or just post onto the platform – Reels should be a key part of your strategy if Instagram is the platform your audience frequent most, and is the one your business has set out to build on. 

 

Reels, whilst often spoken about in the same vein as Instagram, are also popular over on Facebook too – with both being Meta platforms, cross-promoting your Reels on both platforms can be highly beneficial to your marketing output. 

YouTube is the leading platform for long-form video content – and back when sites like Vine were hugely popular, compilations of these short-form platforms were being turned into longer content and posted to YouTube. Now the tables have turned – and YouTube have decided to catch up with short-form content with YouTube Shorts – and here are some stats you need to know: 

 

• Shorts receive over 200 billion daily views. 

• Gen Z & Millennials are the biggest users of Shorts (21.5% of 25-34 year olds) 

 

YouTube Shorts only came into focus in 2020/2021, but YouTube have been working hard to improve the platform to make things more streamlined for users. They’re also great for repurposing parts of long-form video content – helping to advertise your content, and give your audience a short overview of a piece of one of your videos that you can link directly to. 

The main power of short-form content, TikTok, despite it’s recent issues in the USA, remains as the platform to beat. Making waves during the pandemic, TikTok has since accumulated over 1.59 billion monthly active users, with users spending around 53.8 minutes a day on the platform – a long retention, and one you must be able to stand out amongst if your business is advertising or posting content on the platform. 1 in 4 TikTok users are under 25 – and TikTok is on par with Instagram as one of the biggest social platforms for Gen Z users.  

 

TikTok could be classed as a contributor to shortening attention spans – so making sure your content is what really hits the mark for your target audience and stops them in their tracks from endless scrolling could make all the difference for your business’ TikTok marketing efforts. 

Whilst you may not use all platforms, those businesses that do may find their content can be repurposed across platforms – making things easier for different audiences. If you know your audience is a fan of short form content, but one section is more reliant on TikTok and another on Reels or Shorts, using the same or similar videos can be helpful for attracting a larger audience than if you were to solely focus on one place. As mentioned, Reels can work on Facebook too – helping with covering more than one platform at a time. 

 

Short-Form Video content is a key part of social media in the 2020s and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon – so, making it a key part of your marketing should be something you begin to consider moving forwards. Whether its TikTok, Reels or Shorts, take a look into which platform is best for your business and create content that resonates with your audience.