Social media platform Dash Social reveals key findings from its report on upcoming trends, emphasizing the rising significance of shares as a crucial performance indicator for brands.
In the ever-evolving world of social media, a significant shift is underway. Brands are increasingly focusing on direct messaging, investing 5-10% of their social budgets in DM advertising, and utilising tools like Instagram Broadcast Channels to scale 1:1 community engagement. This strategy, coupled with a 41% reply rate on Instagram DMs compared to just 1.3% for comments, is proving to be a game-changer.
This transformation away from traditional metrics like follower growth towards shares is driven by their multiplier effect. Shares extend content visibility exponentially, raising other metrics like reach, channel growth, and video views. Shares, in essence, serve as a powerful gauge of content success, indicating active user endorsement and driving exponential reach.
Predictive AI plays a pivotal role in this new landscape. Tools such as Dash Social's Vision AI analyse patterns across content types and engagement data to forecast which posts will generate high shares and engagement. Reports show significant boosts, for instance, a 66% increase in shares on Reels, for content predicted as "high-share" by AI. This technology enables creators and brands to refine content strategies that emphasise entertainment value and emotional impact, which correlates with higher share rates and viral potential.
Creators are at the heart of this transformation. They produce highly engaging, emotionally appealing, and entertaining content aligned with user browsing and sharing behaviours. The focus is on captivating viewers quickly and prompting sharing behaviours rather than simply posting frequently or growing follower counts. Brands with top entertainment scores on platforms maintain higher share rates and content success.
In summary, shares are increasingly becoming a key indicator of content success on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Predictive AI identifies potentially viral, high-share content early, guiding creators to produce emotionally impactful, entertaining content. Creators' alignment with share-driven content strategies fuels this shift, prioritising content that captivates and compels sharing over traditional metrics like follower count.
This evolving landscape means marketers and creators increasingly track shares as a primary KPI alongside impressions, clicks, saves, and engagement, recognising shares as a reliable signal of content resonance and success on TikTok, Instagram, and similar platforms.
Brands like Taco Bell, Rhode, and Breeze Airways are frontrunners in this new social entertainment era, using Dash Social as a social media management platform to stay ahead of the curve. Dash Social's 2025 Social Media Trends Report, titled "Beyond the Feed: Adapting to the Modern Social Playbook," offers insights into this new landscape.
For all those interested in learning more about this transformative shift, the full report can be accessed at the 2025 Social Media Trends Report Issue 2: Beyond the Feed: Adapting to the Modern Social Playbook. For media inquiries or to speak with a representative regarding this press release, contact [email protected].
As we move forward in this new social media landscape, it's clear that the focus is on engagement, entertainment, and predictive AI. Brands that adapt to this new playbook will undoubtedly reap the rewards of increased shares, reach, and virality.
- Brands, such as Taco Bell, Rhode, and Breeze Airways, are using predictive AI tools like Dash Social's Vision AI to identify high-share content and align their content strategies with entertainment value and emotional impact.
- On social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, shares are becoming a primary key performance indicator (KPI) alongside impressions, clicks, saves, and engagement, signifying content resonance and success.
- Creators are producing emotionally appealing and entertaining content that captivates viewers quickly and prompts sharing behaviors, which is contributing to the shift away from traditional metrics like follower growth.
- The 2025 Social Media Trends Report, titled "Beyond the Feed: Adapting to the Modern Social Playbook," offers insights into this new landscape and can be accessed for those interested in learning more about this transformative shift.
