In the fast-moving world of leisure and hospitality, social media remains one of the most influential tools for driving customer engagement, loyalty and sales. As we move through 2025, platforms are evolving quickly and consumer expectations are shifting. To stay competitive, marketing departments need to be agile, data-driven and ready to adopt new trends that meet their audience where they are.
In this blog we have combined the most important social media trends shaping the leisure and hospitality industry in 2025, offering insights and actions to help marketers make the most of every post, platform and partnership.
Vertical Video Content is Dominating Attention
Short-form vertical video continues to lead social media engagement. TikTok remains a powerful platform, but Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have seen significant growth among hospitality brands. According to Hootsuite’s 2025 Global Trends Report, short-form video now accounts for 43 percent of all engagement on social platforms, with an average completion rate of 65 percent when videos are under 30 seconds.
And launched Julu 2025, Instagram’s NEW public professional content will be discoverable on Google Search. This is a massive opportunity to expand your reach beyond the app and drive more visibility for your brand.
Hospitality venues, from restaurants to hotels and attractions, are using vertical video to offer behind-the-scenes content, highlight seasonal experiences and amplify user-generated moments. Marketers should prioritise creative video storytelling that aligns with customer interests such as food, ambience, wellness and entertainment. Content shoots days should enable the video to be sliced and diced to show the wow experience, focus on the product and have a intriguing first 3 seconds. The content should be relatable to your target market & solve their problem “where to the the kids this half term in October”, “the best bottomless brunch in Bristol” ” student nights out in Nottingham” & “great value roast dinners in York”, the list is endless.
Hyper-Local Content and Geo-Targeted Campaigns
As travel remains more experience-led and spontaneous in 2025, local relevance matters more than ever. Facebook and Instagram’s local discovery tools are now widely used to find restaurants, events and activities nearby. Data from Meta shows that geo-tagged content receives 79 percent higher engagement than non-localised posts.
Marketing pros should focus on producing location-specific content, promoting real-time offers and using geo-targeted advertising to reach nearby audiences. Creating community-led campaigns around events, pop-ups or collaborations with local businesses can also help brands increase visibility and build advocacy within their local catchment.
Influencer Partnerships Are Evolving
Influencer marketing in leisure and hospitality is shifting from macro-influencers to micro and nano creators with loyal and niche followings. Research by GWI in early 2025 shows that 61 percent of consumers trust recommendations from content creators with fewer than 50,000 followers more than traditional advertising.
For marketers, this trend offers both credibility and cost-effectiveness. Successful strategies involve working with local content creators who already engage with your target demographic, particularly in the areas of family entertainment, food, wellness and travel. Co-creating content with these partners increases reach and drives bookings.
In the hospitality sector there are a number of cost effective apps to work with. Some of our favourites are Social Cat, Pingfluence & Joli.
Authenticity and UGC Are Key to Trust
Consumers are becoming more selective about who they follow and what content they engage with. Authenticity, rather than polish, is now the winning formula. User-generated content (UGC) remains a major driver of trust and engagement. According to Sprout Social, 75 percent of people say they are more likely to visit a venue if they have seen it recommended or shared by a friend or peer or someone they follow!
Encouraging guests to post and tag your venue, offering incentives for reviews and photos, and resharing customer content not only increases visibility but also builds trust and social proof. Brands should also consider curated guest spotlights, testimonials and experience-led stories to bring real voices to their social channels.
Employee-Generated Content is Strengthening Brand Culture
One of the fastest-rising trends in 2025 is Employee-Generated Content (EGC). Staff stories, behind-the-scenes footage, training snapshots and team celebrations humanise your brand and build authentic connection with your audience. This content performs especially well on TikTok, LinkedIn and Instagram Reels, often outperforming polished campaigns.
According to Social Media Today, EGC has been shown to generate 2.5 times more engagement than branded content. For hospitality teams, showcasing real employees doing what they love fosters trust and authenticity, and supports recruitment and retention by highlighting workplace culture.
Marketing teams should empower staff to contribute creatively, whether through in-venue takeovers, team Q&As or celebrating daily life in the business. This approach not only drives reach but also boosts morale and team pride. Check out Waitrose on Tik Tok, a personal favourite of mine, they are setting the bar with their EGC engaging content!
