Social Media Advertising in 2025: How to Get Started
Keeping up with social media advertising in 2025 feels like trying to keep a houseplant alive when you travel every weekend—it’s possible, but only if you’ve got a solid support system. If you’re an eCommerce business owner juggling a website, an inventory, and possibly the never-ending chaos of a TikTok ban, the last thing you need is to babysit Instagram’s latest updates.
TikTok’s On-Again, Off-Again Relationship with the U.S.
First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: TikTok. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok due to national security concerns.
The app briefly went dark, causing widespread panic among creators and businesses. However, it was restored after discussions with service providers and plans to extend the period before the law’s prohibitions took effect.
What does this mean for your advertising strategy? It’s a stark reminder of the volatility in social media platforms.
If you’ve been relying heavily on TikTok for your marketing, it’s time to diversify. Consider exploring other platforms to ensure your marketing efforts aren’t derailed by political whims.
Publicly Displaying Your Likes
Instagram is rolling out a new tab in the Reels feed, where posts that users have liked or commented on will be visible to their friends. Sounds innocent enough—until you realize that liking a niche post about shifting to an all-black wardrobe could become a public affair.
For business accounts, this means users might hesitate to engage with your content if they don’t want their followers to see it. Privacy matters, and if Instagram is determined to overshare on our behalf, the best move is to encourage engagement in other ways.
Try emphasizing saves and shares instead of likes. A well-placed “Save this post for later!” in your caption can push users toward more discreet interactions, keeping engagement up without forcing them into Instagram’s new social experiment.
So Much for Your Curated Aesthetic
Remember when Instagram profiles had a neatly arranged grid that made your brand look polished and cohesive? That’s gone.
The profile grid has officially shifted to a portrait format, meaning your carefully crafted square content is now either stretched, cropped, or awkwardly boxed in with an Instagram-generated border.
If your grid looks chaotic, you’re not alone. The best way to handle this is to adapt your content strategy. Shift toward posting vertical content—Reels and portrait-style images should take priority over traditional square posts.
Tools, like adjust preview, let you control how an image appears in the feed, but realistically, the only long-term solution is creating content designed for the new format from the start. If you want your feed to look put-together, portrait-friendly content is the way forward.
How Instagram’s Algorithm Thinks in 202
Instagram has made its ranking priorities painfully clear: watch time, send rate, and likes. Likes, which were once considered nearly useless, are now back in the spotlight (probably why they’re being put on display in the new Reels tab). But watch time and send rate matter more.
This means content that keeps people watching until the end and gets shared through direct messages will perform better. If you’ve been casually throwing together posts without thinking about how long users will stay engaged, now’s the time to rethink that. Short-form video, engaging captions, and storytelling-based posts should be the focus.
Static posts? Still relevant, but only if they get users to stop scrolling and interact. This shift aligns with what works in other platforms too—just look at how much YouTube values watch time.
Meta AI Profiles: Gone But Not Forgotten
Instagram’s AI-generated profiles were one of the fastest flops in recent history. Initially launched to simulate human interaction, these AI personas were supposed to engage with users in a social, conversational way. Instead, people found them creepy, unhelpful, and unnecessary.
Meta quietly removed most of them, but a few lingered on.
If Meta figures out how to make AI profiles actually useful, they could become a tool for customer engagement. Imagine an AI-powered brand representative that answers DMs, recommends products, and provides real-time updates. Until then, it’s just another example of Instagram throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks.
Keeping Up with the Social Media Joneses
With all these changes, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But don’t throw in the towel just yet. Here are a few tips to help you stay ahead in the game of social media advertising in 2025:
- Stay Informed: Follow reputable sources to keep abreast of platform updates and industry news. Knowledge is power, after all.
- Diversify Your Platforms: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your efforts across multiple platforms to mitigate risk.
- Engage with Your Audience: Foster a community by responding to comments, asking for feedback, and creating content that resonates with your target audience.
- Analyze and Adapt: Use analytics to track your performance and be ready to pivot your strategy based on what’s working (and what’s not).
- Consider Professional Help: If keeping up with the ever-changing social media landscape feels like a full-time job, that’s because it is. Hiring a team of experts can help you navigate these waters and ensure your advertising strategy remains effective.
Social Media Advertising in 2025: What’s Next?
For eCommerce brands, the takeaway here is simple: Instagram’s changes demand adaptability. If you’re running social media advertising in 2025, the strategy should focus on video-first content, shareable posts, and engagement tactics beyond likes. Brands that rely on outdated content styles—especially heavily curated grids and static imagery—will struggle.
The smartest approach? Find a team that keeps up with these shifts, so you don’t have to. Whether you’re looking into organic social media management or debating which platform best suits your brand, keeping your strategy flexible is the key to staying relevant.
Social media waits for no one, and if Instagram is going to keep changing the rules, the best thing to do is make sure your business isn’t playing catch-up.
In the end, the key to successful social media advertising in 2025 is flexibility. The digital landscape will continue to evolve, and those who can adapt will thrive. So, keep your finger on the pulse, stay nimble, and don’t be afraid to try new approaches.
After all, in the fast-paced world of social media, change is the only constant.