Meltwater’s 2025 Global State of Social Media (1,000+ pros) finds most brands run beginner/intermediate programs with small teams; social’s importance is rising, but budgets and headcount are mostly flat. Top goals: brand awareness, engagement, and customer connection. Video and Instagram carousels lead content priorities; Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are the core channels, while X sees reduced focus. Typical posting is 1–4 times per week. Biggest challenges: limited team bandwidth, few established processes, weak video resources, and internal buy-in. Most work stays in-house; some outsource paid and content production. Social listening is used by ~half and growing. Paid social remains widespread, centered on Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn, with single-image ads favored.

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