Are these digital and social media trends surprising you?
What will happen in digital marketing, the media, and the creator economy in 2025? Focus on Substack, Patreon, Hootsuite, Bluesky, and more.
💬 Quick CONVERSATION STARTERS:
As 2025 is fast approaching, we’ll focus our attention to trends and predictions for the next year and beyond, to expand on our current series on digital trends in politics and diplomacy — Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4 are already out!
Today’s quote:
“I believe we’re just seeing the beginning of creators being the new engine for marketing. The authenticity that creator content brings to an endorsement of a product really hasn’t expanded yet beyond fashion and beauty; there’s a whole world where creator marketing will change the way we look at travel options, home design, and so many other retail areas.”
— Linktree’s Lara Cohen interviewed by Morning Brew’s
AI on Substack… Scary or normal?
Are you surprised that a new analysis of Substack’s top newsletters estimated that around 10% of them publish AI-generated or AI-assisted content? Many of the newsletters flagged as publishing AI-generated writing focus on sharing investment news and personal finance advice.
“It’s hard not to be a little surprised,”
told Wired’s Kate Knibbs about GPTZero's analysis.As a comparison, Cui cited another analysis by GPTZero estimating that around one in 20 articles on Wikipedia are likely AI-generated — about half the frequency of the posts GPTZero looked at on Substack.
Subastck’s Head of Communications
told Wired in an email: “We have several mechanisms in place to detect and mitigate inauthentic or coordinated spam activities, such as copypasta, duplicate content, SEO spam, phishing, and bot activity—many of which can involve AI-generated content. However, we don’t proactively monitor or remove content solely based on its AI origins, as there are numerous valid, constructive applications for AI-assisted content creation.”
According to Wired, “Substack does not have an official policy governing the use of AI” but “appears to have a relatively low amount of AI-generated writing.” However, “hundreds of thousands of people are now regularly consuming AI-generated or AI-assisted content that they are specifically subscribing to read.” Wired spoke to a few Substack writers to hear their thoughts, including
of , of , of , of and , and of .Substack’s co-founders
made a few interesting points in a post last year:“Many writers are anxious about how their lives and work will be affected as artificial intelligence becomes more powerful.”
“Whether you’re for or against this development ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s happening.”
“The cost of ‘content creation’ will be driven to almost zero. But content isn’t culture.”
What’s fueling the future of online creativity?
This past week, Patreon CEO and Co-Founder Jack Conte was at the WebSummit in Lisbon, Portugal where he joined by Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the The Hollywood Reporter, in a fireside chat examining which creator economy trends will impact the ways creative people build online communities and businesses in 2025. He also unpack the opportunities and implications of AI as a creative tool, the many ways creators are earning income, and the importance of preserving spaces for creativity and fandoms to flourish online.
He spoke about this also at SXSW in the spring, explaining how the current internet algorithms are killing the traditional "follower" for creators, threatening their creative freedom and livelihoods.
“Art and Culture and Media Creation did not used to be a job. When Patreon was started, the word Creator did not exist,” Conte said at the WebSummit according to Ian Shepherd in Forbes.
A few takeaways from Conte’s appearance at the WebSummit:
Traditional social media landscape has fundamentally changed “with the sort of rise of TikTok”
“The way that the entire internet has been organized has really shifted. It's less about followers now and it's more about interests.”
Creators “might have a million followers, but I reach one to 2% of my audience when I make a post,” pushing creators to diversify their platforms and revenue streams, with many using short-form content as a discovery tool while building more sustainable businesses through platforms like Patreon.
“Being a creator is going to be celebrated as a reliable, respected profession, just like any other value creating profession in the world.”
“We're in the wild, wild west phase of AI right now.”
What about digital trends in politics and diplomacy?
, Patreon’s Head of Top Creator Partnerships, attended the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference this past summer. Here a few of her takeaways:
“The creator economy is becoming an essential part of the broader economic and political conversation.”
“Many people in the room felt as though they were truly being seen for the first time after building out this industry over 10-15 years in the space.”
“A mix of excitement and concern” among creators as “AI could potentially revolutionize content creation while also raising ethical questions” and as “AI becomes more integrated into creative processes.”
“A standout moment of the conference was President Joe Biden’s appearance, where he underscored the immense influence that creators hold in today’s society. Biden’s message was clear: with great power comes great responsibility. He encouraged creators to use their platforms to share truthful information and to be mindful of the content they produce, especially in an age where misinformation can spread rapidly. Biden also highlighted the importance of creators in shaping public opinion and policy, urging them to raise awareness about the Inflation Reduction Act and other significant legislative efforts.”
— Stephanie Hind, Patreon’s Head of Top Creator Partnerships,
on the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference
What are Hootsuite’s Social Media Trends 2025?
“To win on social media, you gotta move fast.” This is what Hootsuite says in its newly-published report, Social Media Trends 2025.
A few takeaways:
In 2025, more organizations will step outside their creative comfort zone and test content that pushes beyond their brand guidelines to capture and delight audiences.
As more brands take a stab at proactive engagements, the most strategic ones will go beyond the comments section to foster genuine relationships with creators and their communities as a prerequisite to building successful outbound engagement strategies.
Social teams that master social listening will earn more credibility and budget by delivering valuable insights, hard numbers, and even sales leads that drive growth and success across their organization.
Brands will strive for smaller-scale, audience-focused virality to achieve goals more effectively. This means fewer organizations blindly piggybacking on mainstream social media trends, but more organizations tracking them for actionable insights.
Using generative AI to create social content at scale will be table stakes as organizations continue to integrate AI extensively into their strategies and workflows — and those that don’t will get left in the dust.
Social teams that invest in building out their strategic AI capabilities alongside their tactical ones will drive efficiency and insights that enhance marketing effectiveness and open the door to new opportunities.
To Bluesky or not to Bluesky?
“Twitter has been in an absolute free fall since the election,” writes
in . “On Nov. 6, it experienced its largest user exodus since [Elon] Musk bought the platform as users rushed to apps like Bluesky and Instagram Threads,” she adds.According to Bluesky CEO Jay Graber, the platform has surpassed 20 million users, adding over a million users per day for the last few days.
’s who wrote: “[Bluesky] still doesn’t feel like a one-stop shop for the kinds of memes or news stories that Twitter was in its heyday or TikTok is now. In other words, it doesn’t feel quite ready to be the main artery of the internet. And some of its most passionate super users, many of which are burned out Twitter refugees who decamped for a quieter network, don’t seem to really want that to happen ever.”Freelance journalist
, with over 500,000 followers on TikTok, author of and formerly with BBC and Vice, points out on LinkedIn: “Bluesky has a problem: journalists like it.”“Twitter was always the favourite online home for journalists and, as a result, had a ready base for a positive feedback loop. The more journalists are on there, the more they chat to each other, retweet each other etc. Bluesky reminds them of this era.”
“Social media video drives far more interactions than a text post, and that's why platforms love it.”
“Famously, journalists have been incredibly slow to pivot to video platforms.”
“The rush to Bluesky is happening partly because of a media yearning to cling to a form of social media that suited them, and not their audiences.”
In her LinkedIn post, Erika makes a few interesting points:
“The media landscape has fundamentally shifted, and audiences have made their preferences clear: they want authenticity, personality, and video-driven storytelling.”
“Journalists and news brands need to adapt, not just for survival but to remain relevant.”
“Platforms like TikTok thrive also because they put humans at the center of the narrative. People don’t just consume content; they connect with creators on a personal level. This is why even hard news finds traction when it’s delivered by individuals who can engage audiences with their voice, their expressions, and their unique perspectives.”