A new report from Dash Social reveals why shares, not followers, are the clearest signal of content success, and how predictive AI and creators are changing the social media playbook

Dash Social released its 2025 Social Media Trends Report, Beyond the Feed: Adapting to the Modern Social Playbook, revealing a dramatic shift in how brands win on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. As algorithms increasingly reward engagement-driving content, brands are moving beyond traditional KPIs like follower growth and embracing entertainment-first metrics like shares. From Q4 2023 to Q1 2025, TikTok shares increased by 60%, and Instagram shares rose by 10%. Since Q4 2023, follower growth has plateaued, a clear signal that shareability now defines relevance. To compete in this new landscape, leading brands are turning to predictive AI and creator-led strategies to fuel performance at scale.

“Predictive AI is critical to helping brands adopt and succeed with this new entertainment-driven playbook. It empowers marketers to move faster, future-proof strategies, and double down on what works, driving 74% more engagement, 38% greater reach, and 35% more video views across platforms,” said Thomas Rankin, Founder and CEO of Dash Social. “And with creators, brands can take this playbook to the next level. Creator partnerships aren’t just extending reach, they’re redefining brand success, generating 6x times more engagement than branded content, with 3x times higher engagement on TikTok and 6x times on Instagram.”

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The report spotlights brands like Taco Bell, Rhode, and Breeze Airways as frontrunners in social entertainment, backed by data showing their success in producing high-impact content and influencer partnerships engineered for shareability and sustained engagement. AI-powered insights further help these brands identify the content, creators, and campaigns most likely to spark shares, saves, and real conversations, enabling brands to make smarter, data-informed decisions. The result? Organic amplification, stronger community, and broader reach that actually translates to business growth.

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In addition to an in-depth look at how KPIs are evolving for brands, the report highlights key insights surfaced through Dash Hudson’s social media management platform, including:

• Entertainment Drives Explosive Reach on TikTok and Instagram: Content with an Entertainment Score above 7.5 earns 5x more reach on TikTok and 14x on Instagram Reels than content scoring below 2.5.
• DMs Are the Front Line of Brand Trust: With a 41% reply rate on Instagram DMs compared to just 1.3% for comments, brands are shifting focus to direct messaging, investing 5–10% of their social budgets in DM advertising and using tools like Instagram Broadcast Channels to scale 1:1 community engagement.
• Creators Outperform Brands in All Engagement Metrics Across Platforms: Creator partnerships deliver stronger results, consistently outperforming brand content across all major engagement metrics, including engagement rate, EMV, views, and shares on both Instagram and TikTok.