The Creative Disruption Trend
Social teams ditch brand consistency to push creative boundaries
With new creative opportunities brought about by social platforms, we’re seeing more and more organizations loosen the reins, toss the traditional marketing playbooks aside, and prioritize entertainment on social media.
60% of social content aims to entertain, educate, or inform with direct promotions for nearly half of organizations. 80-100% of social content is entertainment-driven for a quarter of organizations. Source: Hootsuite Social Media Trends 2025 Survey
Adventurous teams are testing out such distinct voices and personas on social that their content barely resembles their brand personality on other marketing channels.
And these brands aren’t just getting away with it — they’re getting celebrated for it (and driving results). Social marketers who consistently post creative content are more likely to say they have a ‘very positive’ impact on the business than those who post creative content less frequently — a sign that their efforts are paying off.
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.
The Outbound Engagement Trend
Brands drop in on creators’ comments to pick up new audiences
These days, you can scroll down to the comments section of almost any social post and find a brand or two chiming in on the conversation.
These outbound engagements (brands commenting on other people’s posts) are picking up steam. But the smartest brands are strategically commenting on creator content, which helps them cultivate community while also putting their brand in front of new audiences.
41% of organizations have been testing out proactive engagements (Source: Hootsuite Social Media Trends 2025 Survey). 1.6x higher engagement when the original creator replies to a brand comment (Source: Social Element).
In 2025, 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.
The Social Performance Trend
Listening launches social pros into their performance marketing era
Unlike performance marketing, which has a crystal clear connection to revenue, social media marketing has remained notoriously difficult to connect to ROI (a.k.a. the numbers that prove business success and win investment from leadership).
However, we’ve seen more social marketers reporting increased confidence in their ability to prove ROI — and it’s not from tracking “vanity metrics” such as likes, shares, and follows. This year, we saw that confidence reach its highest point among social pros who use one specific tactic: social listening.
With its continuous stream of real-time insights, social listening helps organizations better understand their audience, improve their strategies, uncover market gaps to guide product development, spot potential crises so they can quickly take control, even drive sales — and prove it.
62% of social marketers use social listening tools (Source: Hootsuite Social Media Trends 2025 Survey). #2 highest priority on social media for organizations (Source: Hootsuite Social Media Trends 2025 Survey)
In 2025, 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.
The Micro-Virality Trend
Social listening refines the art of trendjacking
Remember when going viral was the be-all and end-all of social media success? These days, though, social marketers know better (for the most part). Chasing random and fleeting moments of virality is both ineffective and inauthentic — and nothing kills a trend faster than the inevitable dogpiling of brands.
Real-time data from social listening helps brands understand if a trend is resonating with their audience, what they’re saying, and how they feel about it — as well as if a trend has reached its peak, is tapering off, or still has some runway.
~1/3 of brands use social listening tools to stay up-to-date with current social media trends (Source: Hootsuite Social Media Trends 2025 Survey). 31% of social listeners say analyzing cultural trends is a primary objective for using social listening tools (Source: The Social Intelligence Lab)
In 2025, brands will strive for smaller-scale, audience-focused virality to achieve goals more effectively.
- AI Trends
The AI Content Trend
Generative AI is off probation and officially on the team
When we released last year’s report, social marketers were just starting to experiment with ChatGPT and a limited number of other AI tools — if their organization let them. At the same time, they were concerned about what AI could mean for their future as social media managers.
Today, AI is considered a major asset. In fact, 69% of marketers now see AI as revolutionary technology that can create job opportunities. And social marketers are adopting countless generative AI tools to help with creativity and impact.
Most notably, use of generative AI for social media content creation has shot way up.
83% of marketers say generative AI helps them create significantly more content than they could without it (Source: Hubspot, cited in Hootsuite content).
In 2025, 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.
The AI Strategy Trend
Social media strategists get a new thought partner
More than three-quarters of those responsible for social strategy (mainly C-level execs and VPs, according to our survey) report using AI to assist with social media activities.
This shows that beyond efficiency, AI has become the thought partner social marketers never knew they needed.
In 2025, 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.
The “state of digital” in Nepal in 2025
This page contains all the data, insights, and trends you need to help you understand how people in Nepal use digital devices, online platforms, and connected services in 2025. Source: DataReportal
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A total of 39.0 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nepal in early 2025, equivalent to 132 percent of the total population. DataReportal
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There were 16.5 million individuals using the internet in Nepal at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 55.8 percent. DataReportal
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Nepal was home to 14.3 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 48.1 percent of the total population. DataReportal
How AI is reshaping Nepali media
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the way media is created, distributed, and consumed in Nepal. In 2025, AI’s role in Nepali media has intensified, particularly on social media platforms, which serve as the primary information source for a large portion of the population. With approximately 14.3 million active social media users, 48.1% of the total population, Nepal has become fertile ground for both the benefits and risks of AI-driven media. Source: Youth Innovation Lab
Emerging Trends in AI and Media
AI is increasingly influencing how content is produced and personalized, especially across platforms like Facebook, Nepal’s most dominant social network with up to 16.48 million users. AI-generated and AI-modified content, ranging from news summaries to visual effects, is becoming commonplace, accelerating the pace and reach of information dissemination. Source: Youth Innovation Lab
Case Examples: Misuse and Misinformation
A prominent consequence of AI’s growth in media is the rise of AI-manipulated content, including deepfake videos and digitally altered images. Viral deepfake videos of Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, which falsely portrayed them in compromising situations, led to public outrage and legal action under Nepal’s cybercrime laws. Fact-checking organisations like NepalCheck are at the forefront of combating this challenge. Source: Youth Innovation Lab
Opportunities and Creative Uses
While AI has raised concerns, it is also being creatively used: fictional AI personas and AI dubbing and voice synthesis have allowed creators to produce engaging videos and novel storytelling formats. Source: Youth Innovation Lab
Conclusion
AI is undeniably transforming Nepal’s media landscape, amplifying creativity, but also magnifying risks tied to misinformation, manipulation, and digital abuse. Balancing innovation with accountability will be key to ensuring that AI serves the public good. Source: Youth Innovation Lab
Practical tactics and local strategy notes (Nepal)
From local guidance and industry recommendations in Nepal:
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“Short-form video is leading the way as the most popular content type on social media in 2025. From viral TikToks to snappy Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, these quick-hit videos are not just popular—they’re essential.” — Cloco Nepal
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“Humanize Your Brand … People are tired of faceless logos and overly polished posts. They’re looking to engage with the real people representing the brand.” — Cloco Nepal
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“Leverage AI Without Losing the Human Touch … Use AI for idea generation, rough drafts, or data analysis. Always review and edit content to match your brand’s tone and personality.” — Cloco Nepal
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“Prioritize Community Building Over Follower Count … Host live Q&As, polls, or AMAs to spark real conversations. Create dedicated groups or communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Discord.” — Cloco Nepal
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“Measure What Actually Matters … focus on engagement rate per follower, conversion rate from clicks or CTAs, video watch time and completion rates, retention and follower loyalty over time.” — Cloco Nepal
These locally focused tactics align with the global trends (content experimentation, social listening, AI) identified by Hootsuite and with Nepal-specific digital reach data from DataReportal.
What’s Your Take?
- Which insight from the Hootsuite, DataReportal, or local Cloco guidance feels most urgent for Nepali creators right now?
- How should Nepali creators balance AI-generated efficiency with human authenticity in their content?
- Do you think “vibe” culture (unfiltered, mood-driven content) will work better than polished posts for Nepalese audiences — why or why not?
- What tools or local practices should Nepali creators adopt to use social listening and AI responsibly while avoiding misinformation?