Social Media Updates - September 2025

For comms and marketing professionals in the public sector, staying on top of every new feature, update, and algorithm tweak can feel like a full-time job. Luckily, Orlo Partner and Social Media Consultant, Luan Wise has rounded up the key developments to keep you informed.

LinkedIn’s Company Page and Recruiter verification has expanded, helping audiences easily identify legitimate employers and talent professionals, a clear win for authenticity and transparency in comms. 

New post ‘Send’ and ‘Save’ insights give you visibility into how your content is being shared and stored, helping refine what resonates most with your audience. 

LinkedIn has also updated its Terms of Service: from 3 November 2025, the platform will begin using some member data, such as profile details and public posts, to train its content-generating AI models. Private messages will not be included, and members can opt out at any time in their settings. For comms professionals, this signals a continued integration of AI into LinkedIn’s ecosystem, with potential benefits for content recommendations and visibility, but also the need to stay informed about how data is used.

Meta has introduced new advertising opportunities across Reels and Threads, offering fresh ways to integrate paid content into short-form video and emerging conversation spaces. For comms professionals, this opens up creative storytelling options and cross-platform campaigns that meet audiences where they’re scrolling. 

Meta also confirmed that Facebook and Instagram users in the UK will soon be able to opt for an ad-free experience for £3.99 per month. This change is part of Meta’s response to evolving privacy regulations, giving users more control over whether their data is used for ad targeting. It’s an important shift to monitor as fewer users seeing ads could impact paid campaign performance.

Instagram hit an impressive 3 billion monthly active users this month, putting it on par with Facebook’s numbers.

A useful feature update: users can now also pin their own comments, offering a simple but powerful way to highlight key messages or encourage specific community interactions.

Threads continues its rapid evolution, challenging X (formerly Twitter) with new long-form posting capabilities (up to 10,000 characters) and more prominent link displays, making it a more viable platform for announcements and thought leadership.

It has also now surpassed X in daily users, a meaningful milestone that signals where real-time public conversation is shifting.

Threads are also experimenting with Communities, designed to spark more topical engagement and help users connect around shared interests.

TikTok is getting ready for Halloween early, announcing expanded in-app activations for October. Expect themed filters, challenges, and creative effects to take over feeds. TikTok will be hosting a month-long celebration for the launch of Taylor Swift’s new album, with themed content and interactive features throughout the app. Both updates show how TikTok continues to position itself at the centre of cultural moments, driving engagement around major events and entertainment releases.

YouTube packed September with updates designed to enhance creator control, accessibility, and live engagement. The platform’s multi-language audio feature for dubbing videos is now available to all creators, making it easier to reach global audiences without needing multiple uploads.

New Studio tools include likeness detection, lip-synced dubs, and improved creator collaboration options, signalling YouTube’s commitment to responsible use of AI and streamlined workflows.

Added comment filters and stream highlights make managing community interaction smoother, while the option to hide end-screen recommendation pop-ups gives brands and comms teams more control over the viewer experience.