In 2024, brands made significant strides on TikTok, embracing the platform’s diverse community and pushing creative boundaries. The result was a new standard for community engagement that is redefining what’s possible in brand connection and influence. As we step into 2025, TikTok is set to unveil its fifth annual trend forecast, the TikTok What’s Next Report 2025, designed to equip marketers with deep insights into the community’s evolving wants and needs. This report aims to empower brands to not only navigate the year ahead but to shape it, sparking new ways to connect, engage, and inspire.

“In 2025, the TikTok community will unite to create unique, transformative, and year-defining content – reshaping how the industry thinks about ‘marketing’ and the future of business growth — a movement we’re calling Brand Chem. The old playbook of brands telling consumers what they need is over,” TikTok said in a statement on Thursday. “This new era calls for brands to join forces with creators and communities, working hand-in-hand to build content that resonates, drives impact, and ultimately redefines cultural relevance.”

Ng Chew Wee, Head of Business Marketing, APAC, TikTok, emphasized the platform’s potential for creative storytelling. “In 2024, brands embraced creativity, leveraged trends, and built meaningful connections with their communities – but 2025 is set to push the boundaries even further,” he said. “TikTok offers limitless creative storytelling opportunities, and this year, brands and creators will continue shaping culture, igniting fresh ideas, and driving business growth by engaging directly with what resonates most with the TikTok community.”

Trend Signals for 2025

The report zeroes in on the most impactful and sustainable trends, which TikTok refers to as Trend Signals. These signals reflect evolving content patterns that highlight emerging behaviors and interests. Brands can tap into these patterns to shape a forward-looking content strategy. TikTok has categorized these Trend Signals into three key groups:

• Brand Fusion
• Identity Osmosis
• Creative Catalysts

Brand Fusion

A dynamic state where a brand gains renewed vigor, becoming more responsive and ready to build lasting bonds. As TikTok has become a go-to platform for trusted insights, brands are discovering the value of collaborating with diverse creators—from low-key reviewers to dynamic personalities—through TikTok’s Creator Marketplace.

Instead of relying on a single creator, brands can now connect with their community at scale, reaching unique audiences and enabling authentic storytelling. Adding custom codes and exclusive offers further amplifies this reach, allowing brands to create impactful, personalized connections while driving business results.

VietJet, a Vietnamese budget airline, sought to scale its marketing efforts while maintaining cost efficiency and expanding its global reach. By leveraging Symphony Custom Avatars, the airline used authorized footage of brand ambassadors to create avatars that reflected key traits aligned with their brand image. These avatars spoke in multiple languages, allowing VietJet to craft inclusive and impactful messages for both English and non-English-speaking audiences. This solution not only helped expand their global presence but also delivered an uplift in ad recall and brand consideration, effectively engaging diverse audiences at scale.

Beyond authentic content, brands must build genuine rapport with their communities by sharing varied and unfiltered content such as street interviews, behind-the-scenes moments, or thoughtful insights. By doing so, brands can foster trust and community while encouraging audience engagement.

39 percent of TikTok users in Australia find brands that showcase personality more relevant, while 45 percent of social and video platform users feel brand relevance comes from feeling understood—emphasizing the importance of consistent, supportive, and joyful content. Through TikTok’s Creative Exchange, brands can strategically partner with creative experts across specialized niches, making their connections with audiences even more meaningful.

Identity Osmosis

Brands are organically integrating evolving consumer values, allowing these shifting ideals to reshape their identity. TikTok communities are redefining representation by embracing diverse, authentic perspectives and celebrating niche viewpoints, from humorous cultural perspectives to showcasing that people with disabilities are capable of anything. TikTok users are building a more inclusive and empathetic global community.

Brands are also changing how they are showing up for their communities on TikTok, engaging with users directly in the comments and responding to feedback from loyal fans. By adapting to new trends and leaning into these authentic perspectives, brands are able to connect on a deeper level with their communities, expanding reach and value. This open, empathetic exchange between brands, creators, and community is supported by features like TikTok Symphony Dubbing, which enables global brand communication in native languages, enhancing accessibility and emotional resonance.

In fact, 81 percent of users in Australia say TikTok has introduced them to new topics and trends they didn’t know they liked, building a globally connected, engaged community. TikTok is transforming conversations about life stages and identity. It’s changed the ideals around Girlhood from a once-narrow concept into a space of diverse narratives where women embrace TikTok’s “femininomenon” and listen to each other’s first-hand experiences.

From pay transparency to asmr hairstyles, affordable dupes, and designer slurges, TikTok fosters a digital sisterhood in which 72 percent of women on TikTok feel it’s easy to connect and bond with new communities around shared life experiences on the platform. This evolution is prompting brands to reconsider their messaging and enshrine female inclusivity, in part by leveraging amplifier communities like #WomeninSTEM on TikTok.

Other deeply personal topics that have been transformed by conversations on TikTok are personal finance and well-being. TikTok is redefining traditional milestones amid an era of economic change, spurring the community to be more interested in financial literacy. Conversations around student debt, mental health, and personal happiness reflect a shift toward valuing authentic, relatable experiences, with 51 percent of users on social/video platforms seeking content that mirrors their lives.

Creative Catalysts

Untapped tools for marketers to ideate, build, learn, and take more exciting creative risks than ever before. Once met with skepticism, AI is becoming a source of excitement on TikTok, where users and brands explore its potential in everyday tasks like styling outfits, visualizing renovations, or writing scripts with Symphony Assistant. This playful, creative approach turns AI from a sci-fi concept into a practical, engaging tool for daily life, sparking curiosity and creativity. TikTok users in Indonesia are 1.3 times more likely than users on other platforms to look forward to Generative AI in ads, highlighting this growing enthusiasm.

With Symphony Assistant, brands can leverage real-time data on trending content and transform it into creative, ready-to-film concepts, making AI an integral part of TikTok’s vibrant, discovery-driven community.

To generate more creative variations for their products, Meoky turned to Symphony Creative Studio. By combining their business-as-usual assets with those created through Symphony’s Generate & Remix feature, Meoky was able to quickly produce a variety of dynamic ad creatives that highlighted different product features. This streamlined approach led to a 1.8 times higher number of purchases and a 13 percent increase in return on ad spend (ROAS), demonstrating how Symphony Creative Studio helped Meoky efficiently scale their advertising efforts, driving both engagement and improved financial performance.

As content demand rises, brands are shifting from short-lived marketing assets to multifaceted storytelling strategies. With the decline of traditional seasons and on-demand shopping trends like #summerween, brands can experiment with various messages and formats without audience fatigue.

Formats such as Image Ads allow brands to quickly hop into trends and tell new stories by shaking up the format. This approach aligns with TikTok’s user base, where 80 percent of TikTok users in Indonesia enjoy seeing a mix of images and video, enabling brands to maintain relevance and continuously engage audiences. Real-time feedback in TikTok’s comment sections further enhances this strategy, allowing brands to innovate alongside consumers. Tools like Insights Spotlight allow brands to tap into micro-trends, fostering collaboration and trust by turning users into active participants in product development and storytelling.

Practical Applications and Real-World Examples

For U.S. brands looking to capitalize on these trends, the key is to embrace authenticity and community engagement. Brands like Nike and Patagonia have already made significant strides by leveraging TikTok’s platform to create content that resonates with their audiences. Nike’s #JustDoIt campaign, for instance, has been a cornerstone of their marketing strategy, encouraging users to share their fitness journeys and challenges. This not only fosters a sense of community but also drives engagement and brand loyalty.

Patagonia, known for its environmental activism, has used TikTok to highlight its sustainability efforts and eco-friendly products. By sharing behind-the-scenes content and user-generated stories, Patagonia has built a loyal following that values its commitment to environmental responsibility.

These examples illustrate how brands can use TikTok to create meaningful connections with their audiences. By embracing the platform’s creative tools and community-driven approach, brands can stay ahead of the curve and drive business growth in 2025 and beyond.