What we’re taking home from SocialDay 2025

In the ever-changing world of social media, the team at Houston took 3 days out to spend at the SocialDay Social Media Fest last week. The festival brought together industry professionals from leading brands, agencies and creators. Here, we highlight our top highlights from the festival.

Before we get into it, the theme of human connection and cultural relevance ran throughout the festival. While we won’t delve too heavily into how TikTok has reshaped the entire social media landscape, it was widely cited by brands and agencies as both the biggest disruptor and the most influential force in shaping the future of social media.

1. Social search is key in a consumer’s ‘messy middle.’

Google coined the term “the messy middle” in their latest user journey research, which describes the often-complex place where most consumer purchase decisions are now made. With customers increasingly turning to social platforms like TikTok to discover new brands (over 41% of TikTok users use it as a search engine), there is a clear opportunity for brands to tap into this intent and meet consumers where they are.

💡 What do the social team think?

There is no denying that this is reshaping the future of social. Brands and marketers need to adapt their social strategies to unlock discovery through search. Two quick wins we are implementing at Houston are optimising owned content with SEO keywords and sharing these keywords in creator briefs to enhance discoverability.

 2. Rinse and repeat your content.

There were some conflicting themes overall regarding content strategies, but one thing was clear: we’re living in a world where brands and creators are feeding a bottomless pit of content. The pressure to jump on every trend, cultural moment, and opportunity is creating a pile-on from brands, much of which is ignored.  Social media expert Hannah Anderson quoted a rather depressing stat that there has been a 236% increase in social media content designed to farm engagement. But offering zero value.

What stood out, however, was a shared understanding among brands that repurposing content is critical. If something performs well, reuse it. Don’t let good content disappear after one post. And if it doesn’t land? Tweak it, test again. The most effective strategies aren’t about creating more; they’re about getting more from what already works.

💡 What do the social team think?

We often see brands resist repetition, worried about appearing lazy or repetitive. But the magic lies in repurposing, changing the format, copy, visuals, or CTA to give the content new life. This is where AI will become a game changer, helping brands scale variations quickly and smartly.

3. AI is so much more than a tool for content.

A quick show of hands from over 200 social media pros confirmed what many of us already know: that AI is being used daily and most regularly as a tool to support content creation.

However, during a panel discussion, the conversation shifted to where AI is delivering the most value in social media. Beyond content creation, AI can help marketers build a much deeper understanding of their customers, their behaviours and the problems that brands are trying to solve. Building audience personas and creating virtual focus groups to test messaging and creativity was a great example of how AI can support customer insight.

💡 What do the social team think?

Like all businesses, AI is an area of growth for us at Houston, and we’re experimenting with different tools to improve both our processes and our understanding of our clients’ brands and industries. Essentially, it helps us to better understand how people live on social media, which can only serve to improve our communications as social media experts.

4. Brands that give custodianship of their brand will be more relevant and remarkable.

With this new era of social media, brands are presented with many opportunities to connect with their customers across various spaces and channels. From influencers and creators to advocates, partners, and even customers, the power of storytelling has shifted. Brand narratives can now also come from those outside the brand. To stay relevant, brands must be willing to relinquish some control. That means trusting creators to express their brand and its narrative in their authentic way, a way that will engage their audience best. The old model of one-size-fits-all briefs doesn’t work; it stifles creativity and turns off creators.

💡 What do the social team think?

We’re fully behind this approach. While we recognise that handing over creative control can feel risky, building long-term relationships with creators and evolving the brand narrative together could be the key to success. The brands that will win in the future will stop briefing for content and start co-creating.

5. Community over followers

Followers are becoming less important as audiences shift away from the feed, public posting declines, and users turn to messaging apps and private communities. Creators and videos are increasingly driving discovery, and conversations are happening in private messages rather than in the comments section.

💡 What do the social team think?

We’ve been saying this for a while. Brands need to start building strategies to connect with their customers in these spaces (think WhatsApp channels, private Subreddits and Discord channels). A proactive community engagement strategy is a route to build longer-term brand loyalty, with 40% of consumer more likely to stick with their favourite brands when they are active in communities.

We’re wrapping here. This is an important note to reflect on, as this represents a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour and the future of social media. It all comes back to this: human connection. The platforms will evolve, the tech will get smarter, but at the heart of social is human-first, value-driven connections.

Thank you, SocialDay. We’ll see you next year!

Houston is here to help brands navigate the future of social media. Get in touch if you’d like to chat more.