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Social media is constantly evolving, and with it so do design trends that capture attention, engage users, and enhance brand identity. As we move through 2025, new aesthetics, technologies, and user behaviours are reshaping how brands and creators present themselves online. Whether you’re a marketer, designer, or content creator, staying…

Social media is a double-edged sword when it comes to creativity. On one hand, it’s a relentless scroll of comparison and noise. On the other, it’s an endless well of inspiration, if you know where to look. The key is curating your feed to work for you, not against you.

Let’s face it, social media is a visual playground. If your posts are looking a bit meh, it’s time to jazz them up! Whether you’re a small business owner, a marketer, or just someone who loves creating content, the right design tools can turn your social media game from bland…

Ah, the retro aesthetic. It’s like finding an old vinyl record in your attic – instantly nostalgic, undeniably cool, and somehow still relevant. In the world of social media design, retro aesthetics have made a triumphant comeback, and honestly, we’re here for it. Whether it’s the neon glow of the…

As the cheese fog settles and the calendar flips to January, many of us feel an itch—a restless desire to start afresh, reinvent ourselves, or simply shake off the cobwebs of the past year. It’s not just about resolutions (though we’ll get to those later) but something deeper: a creative reset. A chance to clear the slate, find our spark, and move forward with a little more purpose—or at least with fewer regrets about how many mince pies we devoured in December.

If you think you know your audience, think again. Social media audiences are evolving faster than you can say “algorithm change,” and relying on generic customer profiles just won’t cut it anymore. That’s where synthetic personas could come into play. Now, before you roll your eyes at another “silver bullet” marketing solution, hear me out. I’m not here to sell you a dream. Synthetic personas can be powerful, but let's be pragmatic – they’re not a guaranteed success and in fact may just be a fantasy.

in today's blog, I thought I'd share a few of my go-to sites that I like to visit when I need a little help getting out of those creative ruts. These are the places that never fail to offer a fresh perspective, a bit of inspiration, or simply a much-needed break from whatever I'm currently working on.

Effective communication is crucial for the success of social media campaigns. In this blog, we will cover ways to optimise communication among clients, marketers, and designers. Clear, concise briefs and streamlined workflows will save you time, reduce costs, and ensure high-quality results. Discus Objectives Together Start discussing and documenting with…

Graphic design is more than just aesthetics; it’s a powerful tool that can communicate your brand’s message, evoke emotions, and engage your audience. Here are just a few ways in which good graphic design can help you reach these goals: Brand Identity Consistency Consistent and professional design helps create a…

If you are a Creative, what is it that inspires you? When you have a new project where do you go to look for ideas? As you may have heard back in school studying physics “Nothing is created, nothing is lost, and everything is transformed”. This is also true for ideas…

As we are well into spring 2024, one trend that has been making waves since the beginning of the year up until now is 3D gradients. You may have noticed the subtle yet impactful shift in design across various social media platforms, since the restyling of the Instagram logo in…

Stay in the loop with the ever-changing landscape of social media updates. Explore the newest highlights right here

As we step into spring 2024, the winds of change are blowing across the landscape of social media marketing. One trend, in particular, is making a bold resurgence from the archives of the 90s: heat-mapping. This nostalgic yet contemporary approach to design is transforming social media graphics into colourful canvases…

In this blog post, we're diving headfirst into the realm of creative social media assets and unleashing a tidal wave of fun-filled strategies to turbocharge your online presence. So grab your digital paintbrushes and let's get ready to shake up the social scene with some seriously sensational content!

In this blog we talk about the stormy seas of burnout and look at some ways to help overcome it.

Building Trust in the Social Media Garden Whether you’re a start-up or a seasoned player, weaving sustainability into your online presence is key to turning followers into dedicated customers. Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword, it’s not just a trend; it’s a resonance with the values of the users scrolling through…

Step into the enchanting world of colour as Pantone unveiled its mesmerising choice for the Colour of the Year back in December – none other than the sublime Peach Fuzz! Picture a velvety, gentle peach tone that goes beyond the visual to embrace your mind, body,…

Is it that magical time of the year again where we dust off our crystal balls, wave our design wands, and predict the fantastical trends that will dominate the creative landscape in the upcoming year? Oh, you betcha! Grab your trend-tracking binoculars because we’re about to embark on a wild…

Hey party people! Buckle up for another thrilling ride through the ad universe as we revisit some iconic campaigns that have left an indelible mark on our creative souls. Inspired by The Ad Professor’s thread over on X 🚀 First in the lineup is Chupa Chups…

This summer, our design team was set a challenge - to create a series of snappy company logo idents, to go out across our social feeds to coincide with our summer Friday afternoons off. They chose to use the magic of stop-motion to give these short animations a curious and organic feel.

The Barbie Movie's marketing department has been on fire this summer, they've capitalised on early buzz and really turned the hype around the upcoming movie into a wave of anticipation. In today's blog, we'll break down how they did it!

As you may have seen by now… (and the fact that it’s over 2M trending on Twitter…) Threads is live! Where we are now: Threads, an Instagram app is available for pre-download July 6, 2023 App Store: https://t.co/QzxKwyVQoG…

In today's blog we'll be taking a look at 3D Design. Once thought the preserve of blockbuster film-making 3D design, or CGI (computer-generated imagery) has never been more accessible, and now it's taking over our feeds.

Here at Immediate Future, we love looking at dominant social media trends and really taking them apart. I can’t be the only one who’s noticed the increasing presence of stop motion on their TLs recently, especially in product shoots. It’s popularity – I believe stems from the fact that it…

Instagram is testing out the ability to generate AI custom stickers based on text prompts.

Good Evening Europe! Love it or hate it, Eurovision holds sway over the eyeballs and thumbs of millions of Europeans every year – and still more watching around the world! This offers a great opportunity for brands big and small to get in on the action and use all that…

TikTok's generative AI tool for avatar creation

Have you ever wondered why your social media posts just aren’t performing as well as they used to? Are you looking for ways to get across your information about your brand in a fun, accessible and thumb-stopping way? Maybe an animated video is the right way for you to go.

Over the past few months a debate has been raging on Social Media and across the wider internet on the ethical implications of A.I art. For those sitting in the back, or who have had their phones off for the past six months, maybe a quick précis is in order.

Looking back at some of the iconic women in design history

Hoo boy that was a long cold winter wasn’t it? O.K, it might still be pretty cold BUT at least its getting a bit lighter. Maybe its too early to say the “S” word just yet – I haven’t seen any blooming daffodils or gamboling lambs myself yet – but…

The silver bullet for successful B2B social is…well, debatable. But we can’t just throw technical jargon into post content and expect it to perform to its optimum level – the solution is in fact much simpler than that. I know you’re thinking; “oh here we go, another blog that tells…

OK, so the title is a bit misleading – you’re not a stats bomb – but your B2B marketing campaigns almost certainly should be. We’re not talking about the results of the campaigns or how you report.etc, what we mean is how you’re showing your impactful data to your audience.

It’s nearly that time of year again- the end of it! Today we’ll be looking at some tasty design trends for 2023. It’s always interesting to zoom out and take a look forward to the trends that we think will really stand out next. The fine folks over at…

Discover our best tips for protecting your mental health when you work on digital marketing:

We’ve all had the creeping feeling that our lovingly hand crafted content just isn’t getting out there on the various Social media platforms. It can seem like Instagram, which has been famously mercurial in terms of the types of content they prioritise, is the toughest nut to crack. What puts…

So today we’ll take a look at Metaverse. Metaverse is the new product from Meta, the company behind Facebook. It’s a product that is hoping to do what Facebook did but in the V.R space, creating a virtual world where you can do anything and everything you can in real…

In this blog post I will take you through the process of planning, recording and editing your excellent reel that will get you noticed

Are you looking for better ways to humanize your brand? It can be all too easy to just post on IG about your product or service and see the engagement flag. I think it is important not to lose sight of the human element and spotlight the creative talent behind…

Have you noticed how many blogs there are around? The answer… a lot. Meaning that being seen is getting complicated. Content creators are putting more and more effort into their publications, and positioning the content of a blog is no longer as simple as it was a few…

For today’s blog post, I thought I’d take a look at an interesting new change taking place across some twitter users experience. It looks like Twitter is testing a feature that is set to integrate podcasts into their App. According to App researcher Alessandro Palluzi, they are already…

Social media has evolved and will continue developing throughout the years. So, let’s talk about some of the social media trends we expect to see making waves in 2022: The “creator economy” Over the past decade, big online platforms such as Facebook, Snap, TikTok…

Spooky season is the perfect time to start creating engaging social content that grabs your audience’s attention. There are many reasons why you should consider a Halloween campaign as a marketer, but let’s stick to the obvious one – it’s a significant event that’s celebrated worldwide. Although the…

In light of World Mental Health Day, I wanted to take this moment to talk about creativity and mental health. We’ve all been there with burnout. So often as designers, we think of this as a normal part of the creative process. But I’m just gonna…

Excelling in social media depends on many factors. Precise targeting, elaborated content strategy, proper measurement, and testing, etc. It is a whole structure in which each part must be studied and properly planned to be successful in social. But if you look at paid media, things can get…

… to real growth A few weeks ago we talked about the importance of trusting the process and what it means to the design team here at IF. This week I want to talk a little further about some points we hit on in that specific live,…

Designers know more about ‘trusting the process’ than anyone else. Though what we all need to understand is, there is a process to everything that we do and without trust and patience, we can falter at the first hurdle. When it comes to ‘Trusting the Process’ on social media, we…

If you are starting in the world of social media, you may have already heard that before converting, you must set up a presence. However, it’s possible your social strategy isn’t working properly, which means the investment does not translate into the desired results. More visits,…

No brand is a stranger to the realm of social media likes, but it seems like 2021 will be the year to kick them to the curb. While introduced to help relieve social pressure and improve mental health for its users, it’s difficult to ignore how this impacts advertising across…

Half of marketers worldwide have turned to social listening to understand consumers’ changing preferences during the pandemic. 63% of social media marketers believe listening will become even more important over the upcoming year. In this quick blog, I wanted to touch on the increasing importance of Social Listening and discuss…

Do you want to have more reach on Instagram? Do you want to understand how Instagram ranks feed posts? Then you should know how the Instagram algorithm works in 2021. Now, what is the Instagram algorithm? In short, the Instagram algorithm is a mechanism that classifies content according to what…

“If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” Of course, Maya Angelou’s famous quote was actually four lines of prose. The purpose of her abbreviated statement was clear though, respect and understand the past, to help you move to a better future. This is the essence of business networking.

82% of people agree social media is a vital channel for delivering exceptional customer experience. We know consistently delighting customers is a complex task – requiring skills in leadership, tech and a healthy dose of agility. Often, though, the idea of focusing on the customer experience through social isn’t shared…

Hashtags remain one of the most effective ways to generate engagement on your Instagram posts in 2021. A report says that a post with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than posts without any. So, it’s worth including them in your content strategy. They can…

Well, we could simply say… research, plan it, write it, check it, check it again, post it. But there’s really much more to writing for social media than many people think. Here are our top tips, and what not to do! First Thought What is the first thing, or the…

There are new social media marketing tactics popping up every day. When first getting started in social, it can be tough to define which ones are right for your brand and audience. Influencer partnerships can have a huge impact on boosting your…

In our recent webinar, Big Brand Secrets For Creating Audacious, Killer Content, Katy Howell, Laura McNally, and Karly Boyce sat down to talk about how brands can create bold, brave, and daring content. The conversation delves into what bold looks like to them, the process involved in creating killer content,…

On social, its crucial for brands and identities to sometimes stand out from the crowd, to create content that engages users and makes an impact. Making the same content as others can appear stale and overdone, so there is a lot of pressure to create content that can be thought-provoking…

It’s that time of the week again – time for your social snapshot! We’ve got a round-up for all of the latest happenings on social media. So grab a coffee and get up to speed Facebook announces new features for IWD With International Women’s Day coming…

With so much change, disruption, and discussion around what’s next all around the world, it can be difficult to stay in touch with what really matters at the moment. For a brand on social, if you aren’t on top of key trends, how people are feeling and why your audience…

59 million people used Snapchat’s AR tools during the recent Super Bowl in the United States, the platform reported this week. When you take into account that Snapchat has 92 million users in the US, that’s a whole lot of activity. At the top of the list…

Here we go again! Another rundown of the latest happenings in social media from the past week. So, sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy another edition of Social Snapshot! Twitter is caring for the customer Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular and this means your digital…

Social media trends are quite often fleeting. Some find ways to adapt and evolve and stay relevant. Others are gone with the click of the fingers. One thing that is here to stay is influencer marketing. In 2021 brands are well aware that connecting with the consumers is paramount…

To save you a long read if you are not here for the why: there isn’t really a best time to post on social media, or rather, if there is one, it can change overnight, depends on a lot of factors, and ultimately, doesn’t really matter. Let’s explore. The issue…

Going into 2021, companies might be looking at rejigging how they approach their audience on social media. It’s a tumultuous time, with many looking to their favourite businesses for signs they are adapting and changing their way of working to meet the needs of both their customers and their employees.

We’re just about ready to down tools and dive into the mince pies! BUT, before we do, we’ve got one last round up of the news, updates and announcements on social this past week. TikTok adds ‘Year in review’ In many ways, 2020 has been a year…

Many of us will be happy to see the end of 2020, but it’s still important to reflect on the happenings in social media from the last twelve months. Facebook year in review Unsurprisingly, a major theme for Facebook/Instagram this year was Covid-19. The Instagram Stay Home sticker was used…

Over the years, as social media has become the be-all and end-all of where online content is consumed, the quality and style of creative imagery have continued to advance and achieve a wide range of results. As social is an ever-evolving landscape, trends and fads come and go from…

Fleets are finally here, make your Messenger chats auto-disappear and receive help from Instagram – let’s take a look at it all in today’s Social Snapshot: Facebook adds new ‘vanish mode’ for Messenger Facebook has announced a new ‘vanish mode’ for Messenger, in which your messages will…

With the groundbreaking election taking place across the pond, we are reminded to vote and to share with others the importance of voting through our social channels. Platforms are giving us factual information, and sometimes something creative to show support. These sort of social media events have been going on…

That title is not nearly as scary as it sounds (though there’s plenty to be concerned about with social media, but that’s not the subject of this blog) – it’s just a reference to a new feature from Facebook called ‘Neighborhoods’. Certain users in select locations are getting the option…

Social media reactions have become a staple across all platforms, as a new way to engage with content from brands and friends. These reactions give better context to how you feel about the content and a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn’t work. Gone are the days you…

It’s been a whopping ten years since Instagram launched and changed the face of social media. Feel old yet? WE DO! So, first things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Instagram! From the selfie revolution to the rise of the influencer, IG has helped shaped the digital revolution and has been there to…

You know the question – anyone working in an agency that specialises in social media has heard it before. Do you have a quick social media guide I can send through the company? Or Is there a one-sheet with all of the image sizes for each platform? You understand why…

Much like Vine before it, TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape – with an estimated 500 million users across the globe today. Naturally, a slice of that pie is up for grabs and Facebook jumped in with Instagram Reels in August (though some were seeing a different, earlier version…

New features galore this week – join us as we go through all the tools you’ll be playing with in coming months with our Social Snapshot: Instagram has replaced Nametag Codes with QR Codes to quickly connect users Back in 2018, Instagram launched what it called ‘Nametag…

Twitter is rolling out new settings that will allow all users to control who can reply to Tweets. It’s a feature they tested earlier in the year, but now we’ll all be able to start limiting who replies to our content. So, what does this actually mean? We see two…

OMG! Have you seen the latest lockdown content from Nike? Wow! Now this is the content we need to entertain us. https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1288845608694902786?s=20 I know Nike have deep pockets, but you don’t need to have big budgets to create attention grabbing content on social. We’ve been saying since the…

The B2B landscape is an interesting one. There’s a common misconception that B2B organisations are low on usable content, but it’s simply not true. The landscape is actually flush with more information and eye-catching, challenging content than perhaps a lot of businesses realise. What do I have right now? Think…

No time to go through all the social media news of the past week? Don’t worry – we’ve collated it all for your easy perusal. Take a look: Facebook’s Q2 results beat estimates Facebook has beat its Q2 estimates, reaching $18.69 billion in revenue and 2.7…

Call-out or cancel culture has been around for some years now. But like many things in marketing, it’s accelerated in importance over the last few months. Brand values have moved centre stage and what you stand for matters more than ever. The impact of #cancel is seen whether…

A few months ago we wrote about Fleets, Twitter’s answer to ‘Stories’ – which is Instagram’s answer to Snapchat! Whilst Fleets still haven’t rolled out to everyone, they are now working on creating a ‘collaborative’ version: “We are testing something new for some people using Fleets in…

Sounds mad doesn’t it? Who’d of thought that now is the time to start your Christmas campaigns. Usually you are finalising plans in July for Q4, but not advertising. Things are indeed strange. A look at the social conversations and latest insight from Facebook and Pinterest makes it…

LinkedIn has been historically reticent to give in-depth follower information, or it has at least limited follower-specific features. When it brought back the option to invite your connections to follow your company page late last year, it implemented a limit of 50 invites per page manager, per day. The limit…

Social has been hit by a perfect storm. A triumvirate of changes that have set it on a new path. Covid-19, which has more of us on social, spending a lot more time and increased activity is likely to stay; More polarising content has made it a hard…

So many insights and developments in one week – let’s get right to it with our Social Snapshot! TikTok reveals how its algorithm works TikTok is working hard to demonstrate it is a transparent company, with this week providing another level of transparency – explaining how its recommendations…

We all must know that at some point Google will take a formula that’s been well received and try to emulate it, which is exactly what’s happening with Keen – Googles latest offering, “a place to grow and share your interests with loved ones, and…

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the big players in social media are finding new ways to monetise their platforms. The shift towards full eCommerce platforms has been particularly apparent in recent weeks, with the introduction of new storefront features. So, what’s new? And more importantly, what…

In recent months, the workplace has shifted more than we’ve ever experienced. Some have found this shift towards remote working productive, while others have found it unmotivating; no employee experience is the same and we’re all scrambling to adjust to the new normal. And while information is available and frequent…

We’ve all likely noticed the upswing in social media traffic – but we now we have hard statistics on the massive surge happening in recent months. A look at monthly traffic, Google’s new digital skills training sessions, Facebook’s redesign and more! Media habits are changing Across all…

Don’t let the title fool you, we’re not suggesting that you simply reintroduce old content into your social feeds. In fact, we feel so strongly against this that we went as far as dedicating an entire Serious Social podcast episode to NOT repurposing content. There is, however, a way…

Few will be surprised by this statement. So why haven’t more acted on this knowledge in recent years? It is as if some marketers have been caught in a cavity of boring and until someone senior to them instructs otherwise, inside the cavity they will stay. Some years ago, B2Bs…

We take creativity seriously at Immediate Future. Not only because we’re a team comprised of artistic people, but also because it’s needed to make social work. In an industry where audiences are flooded with an endless stream of promotional messaging, your campaigns need to stand out. Creativity is no longer…

Let’s take a break from the unsettling news that’s been bombarding us from every angle and focus on some of the good that’s going on. Yes, this is no doubt a challenging time. But it’s also a time where communities have come together to support one another – particularly online.

Though lockdown is in full swing, we haven’t all gone mute as a result. In the B2B tech sector, conversations around AI, cybersecurity, cloud, etc. are all staying strong – but have the discussion points changed, and what can you do to adjust your messaging so you remain relevant with…

Last Friday, we broadcast the latest episode of our Serious Social Facebook Live. Having moved from an edited weekly publication to a live broadcast. We’ve joined the brilliant British public response in flexing around Covid-19 requirements, whilst continuing our commitment to surface, address and offer solution to the key issues…

Navigating through today’s societal challenges as a marketer is no easy task. Driving business objectives while also remaining respectful and providing support to audiences is a delicate balance that can easily be threatened with one wrong move. In recent podcast “Marketing in the time of Coronavirus” with…

(…in which the author has nostalgic ramblings) Well it’s about time, Facebook! The company has now announced that Messenger for desktop is available for download for both Windows and Mac OS machines. In a quote from Facebook: “people are using technology to stay in touch with the…

75% of users never go beyond page 1 of a Google search query. To reach your audience effectively, the key is to know what their interests are, and what questions they have. To achieve that balance, you need experience and a few choice tools that can make all the difference.