The 2025 Social Scroll Got Weirder—and That’s a Gift to Local Marketers

Read Time: 9 minutes

For a brief stretch in January, TikTok went dark in the U.S.—less a blackout than a flashing warning light. A platform that had become the default “top-of-funnel” for entire categories could, under the right mix of politics and policy, simply vanish—then return—then remain in limbo. Reuters+1

That jolt set the tone for the year: more volatility, more noise, more weirdness—and a growing realization inside agencies and brand teams that the safest growth strategy is the one you can still execute when the algorithm changes its mind.

What took over feeds in 2025 wasn’t a single platform or format. It was a mood: outrage as a growth hack, absurdity as a coping mechanism, shopping as entertainment, brands acting like studios, and marketers building escape hatches into newsletters, DMs, and niche communities. Oxford University Press put a name on the first part, naming “rage bait” its Word of the Year for 2025.

For MarketingInsights.Info readers—local media sales reps and local ad agency professionals—the practical question isn’t “Is this trend dumb?” It’s: How do we turn it into plans, products, and proof for local clients who need customers, not comments?

Below are the 2025 themes that mattered, plus a local-market playbook you can sell in 2026.

1) Rage bait went mainstream—and brand safety became a local advantage

Rage bait isn’t persuasion; it’s provocation. It’s content designed to ignite anger, juice engagement, and ride the algorithm’s love of comments. Oxford says usage surged as polarized, outrage-driven posts became a dependable attention engine.

The problem: rage is a terrible long-term media strategy for most local businesses. Your orthodontist doesn’t need a discourse cycle. Your bank can’t afford a screenshot that lives forever. And your local retailer can’t “engagement” its way out of a slow Tuesday.

The 2026 opportunity for local media: a premium on environments that feel human and stable. Local news, trusted personalities, local sports, and community publications don’t just deliver reach—they deliver context. In a year when feeds felt like a perpetual argument, context became a product.

Local Market Translation

Who buys it: Banks/credit unions, healthcare, auto dealers, home services, education, municipalities
Best formats: Sponsorships (weather/traffic/sports), newsletter presence, host-read podcast/radio, community content series
CTA that works: Appointments, calls, quote requests, “book now,” showroom visits

2) “Brain rot” and absurdism didn’t fade—it became brand language

Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year—“brain rot”—aged like a prophecy. The internet’s appetite for nonsense, lore, and unserious humor didn’t disappear in 2025; it became a default tone in many categories.

This is where a lot of local creative gets stuck. Local advertising often assumes it must be earnest, explanatory, and safe. But audiences in 2025 showed they’ll reward brands that feel like a person—not a pamphlet.

You don’t need to turn the local tire shop into a meme account. You do need repeatable content that feels alive:

• “Three things we saw this week” (quick, funny, real)
• “Customer questions we hear every day” (short, human answers)
• “Behind the counter” (the people make the brand)

Local insight: absurdity works best when the stakes are low and the brand remains trustworthy. Think “warm quirky,” not “internet feral.”

Local Market Translation

Who buys it: Restaurants, specialty retail, gyms, salons, entertainment, events, QSR
Best formats: Short vertical video series, on-air personality integrations, social + newsletter rhythm
CTA that works: “Try it this week,” limited-time offers, reservations, memberships

3) The blind-box economy: unboxings turned shopping into a show

Labubu—the monster keychain craze—wasn’t just a toy story. It was a format story: mystery + reveal + collectability + social proof. Pop Mart projected roughly $4.18 billion in 2025 revenue amid Labubu mania, and the social fuel came from unboxing and blind-box reveals.

Local retail can borrow this without copying it:

• Mystery bags (“$50 value for $25”)
• “Pick a key, unlock a discount”
• Limited drops with numbered items
• “Reveal nights” hosted in-store

But 2025 also reminded marketers that events can go sideways fast. The American Dream mall’s crowd chaos around a young influencer’s beauty launch became its own cautionary headline.

Retail-as-Content Safeguards

If your client wants drops, reveals, or meetups, bake in the operational plan:

• Capacity limits and timed entry
• Clear rules: quantities, age limits, refunds, rain plan
• Staff scripts + signage + check-in flow
• Security/permits where needed
• A “we’ll end the line at X time” policy (and communicate it early)

Local Market Translation

Who buys it: Retailers, restaurants, boutiques, auto accessories, collectibles, seasonal businesses
Best formats: Event + local influencer + live social + recap article + email follow-up
CTA that works: Store visits, “first 50,” reservations, loyalty signups

4) Brands stopped “posting” and started producing entertainment

In 2025, a growing number of brands behaved like studios. Bilt’s scripted “Roomies” series was treated as entertainment first and marketing second—complete with its own account identity and multi-season planning. Los Angeles Times+1
Tower 28 pushed scripted comedy as a way to break through the sameness of product demos. Marketing Brew+1

Local marketers should see this as permission to sell episodes, not ads:

• A restaurant runs “Kitchen Confidential: 8 nights, 8 dishes.”
• A realtor runs “Open House Therapy.”
• A home services brand runs “Fix-It Mythbusters.”

Measurement That Clients Accept

If you’re going to sell “episodes,” sell the scoreboard:

• Branded search lift (before/after)
• Email/SMS list growth per episode
• Call tracking + form fills
• Coupon/offer code tied to each release
• Video completion rate (not just views)
• Foot-traffic lift where available
• Appointment-set rate from retargeting

Local Market Translation

Who buys it: Healthcare groups, financial services, auto, real estate, education, major retailers
Best formats: 6–10 episode vertical series + CTV cutdowns + newsletter distribution
CTA that works: “Book,” “schedule,” “get pre-approved,” “visit this weekend

5) New frontiers: newsletters, DMs, and “direct” channels

As feeds became more chaotic, marketers started building calmer, controllable channels. 2025 saw more brands launching Substack newsletters—part brand storytelling, part commerce, part community. Marketing Brew+1

Instagram broadcast channels—the one-to-many DM format—became another “direct” lane for brands to reward loyal followers with early access, exclusives, and drops.

This is a local-market gift, because local media already has what brands are chasing: an owned audience (newsletter lists, site visitors, listeners, viewers).

Platform Fragility: The TikTok Lesson

TikTok’s temporary January shutdown was the reminder: rented audiences can evaporate.
So the pitch in 2026 becomes: Use social for discovery, but route people into channels you control.

Local Market Translation

Who buys it: Everyone who needs repeat business (restaurants, gyms, clinics, retail, dealers)
Best formats: Newsletter sponsorship + on-air mentions + social retargeting + SMS/email capture
CTA that works: Opt-ins, loyalty programs, “text to join,” “get the weekly deals”

6) BeReal, Reddit, and the “no platform left unturned” era

BeReal moved deeper into advertising, selling authenticity as an ad environment and attracting big-brand tests before expanding its U.S. push. Marketing Dive+1

Local lesson: you don’t need to chase every new platform. You need a repeatable system:

1. Social listening (what are people actually saying?)
2. One or two discovery channels
3. One owned channel (email/SMS/newsletter)
4. One conversion engine (search/retargeting/lead capture)
5. One local trust layer (local media, community, sponsorships)

7) The local creator economy: the fastest path to “looks native”

Creators didn’t replace advertising in 2025. They replaced stiffness. In local markets, creators work best when they’re treated like:

• Hosts (store walkthroughs, tasting menus, “day in the life”)
• Translators (explaining a service in human language)
• Proof (showing the experience, not claiming it)

Local Creator Deal Points You Should Standardize

Agencies—and media sellers who bundle influencer networks—win when they make this boring and clear:

• Flat fee + performance bonus (calls, bookings, code uses)
• Usage rights (can the advertiser run it as paid?)
• Whitelisting/Spark Ads rules (who runs spend, who approves edits)
• Brand safety guidelines (topics, language, disclosure)

8) AI ads became more normal—and still got judged harshly

Generative AI showed up more in creative workflows, and even in public-facing ads, but audiences remained quick to call out work that felt lazy, uncanny, or emotionally hollow. Nielsen Norman Group documented backlash dynamics around AI-generated advertising and why audiences react strongly when the work reads as “cheap” or “fake.” Nielsen Norman Group

What’s Acceptable Now (and What’s Risky)

Generally safe uses:

• Storyboards, concept variations, headline testing
• Background assets where nothing is deceptive
• Editing assistance (cuts, captions, versioning)

High-risk uses (especially local):

• Synthetic testimonials or “fake” customer stories
• Anything that implies a person said/did something they didn’t
• Regulated categories (health, finance) without careful review

Local brands can use AI to move faster—but should still sound like they live in the community, not in a server farm.

9) A simple “Rage-bait vs. Brand-safe” decision framework

When a client says, “We need something that pops,” this is how you keep the conversation professional:

Keep it if:

• The hook is surprising, but not insulting
• The brand still looks trustworthy in a screenshot
• The joke is on the situation, not the customer
• You can explain it in one sentence

Kill it if:

• It depends on misunderstanding to get clicks
• It plays with identity, stereotypes, or humiliation
• It could trigger a local backlash (neighbors talk)
• You wouldn’t want your best customer to see it first

10) A local crisis-and-controversy playbook (because “going viral” isn’t always good)

Local blowback moves faster because the audience is tighter and the reputational loop is shorter.

First 2 hours:

• Pause scheduled posts and paid spend if needed
• Get facts (screenshots, timeline, who posted what)
• Assign one spokesperson (no “committee comments”)
• Acknowledge quickly if harm is real; don’t litigate in comments

Next 24 hours:

• Publish a clear statement on owned channels first (site/email)
• Respond selectively; don’t feed trolls
• Document everything for internal review

This isn’t pessimism. It’s operational maturity.

What to Sell in 2026: Packaged Offers Local Clients Can Buy

Here are three bundles that turn 2025’s chaos into a clean invoice:

1) The Trust Bundle

Local news/site + newsletter + radio/podcast host-read + retargeting
Best for: Banks, healthcare, home services
Proof: Calls, appointments, branded search lift

2) The Entertainment Bundle

8-episode vertical series + CTV cutdowns + newsletter distribution + paid social
Best for: Auto, real estate, retail, restaurants
Proof: Completion rate + opt-ins + foot traffic + offers

3) The Drop Bundle

Mystery/drop event + influencer host + live coverage + recap + email capture
Best for: Retailers, QSR, seasonal businesses
Proof: Store visits + list growth + redemption rate

The bottom line

2025 rewarded the loud, the weird, and the provocative. But it also quietly boosted the value of what local media has always sold at its best: trust, community presence, repeat exposure, and real-world action.

If you want the most defensible marketing plan in 2026, it won’t be built on rage. It’ll be built on relationships you can measure—and channels you can still use even when the platforms get unpredictable