3 Social Media Trends You Need to Know for 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: Social Media Marketing Podcast Episode: 3 Social Media Trends You Need to Know for 2025
Host/Author: Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner
Release Date: January 11, 2025

---

Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Social Media Marketing Podcast, host Michael Stelzner sits down with Sean Cannell from the Think Media Podcast to delve into three pivotal social media trends anticipated to shape the landscape in 2025. Drawing from their extensive experience in the digital marketing arena, Stelzner and Cannell explore how evolving algorithms, the rising demand for authenticity, and the disruptive power of artificial intelligence (AI) are redefining strategies for marketers, entrepreneurs, and content creators.

---

Trend 1: Changing Social Media Algorithms

Overview:
The duo begins by addressing the significant shifts in social media algorithms that have led to declining reach and visibility for content across major platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.

Key Points:

• Declining Reach and Increased Competition:
  Creators are experiencing reduced visibility, making it challenging to achieve their marketing goals. This decline is universal, affecting content reach regardless of the platform.

• Vanity Metrics vs. Meaningful Engagement:
  Traditional metrics such as follower counts and subscriber numbers are becoming less impactful. The focus is shifting towards attracting the "right" audience rather than amassing large numbers of followers that do not convert into meaningful engagement or sales.

• Algorithmic Preference for Engaging Content:
  Platforms prioritize content that retains users longer, often favoring highly entertaining or novel content over niche or established channels. This phenomenon is referred to as the "For You" feed on TikTok, where content is curated based on user behavior rather than subscriptions.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean Cannell at [03:18]:
  "The social platforms want you on the platform so that they can monetize you."

• Michael Stelzner at [09:09]:
  "So the new reframe now is not more is better. It's not more subscribers, more followers, more this, more that. What's the new reframe is right is better than more."

Implications for Marketers and Creators:

• Strategic Content Creation:
  Emphasis should be on creating content that resonates deeply with a specific audience rather than chasing broad appeal.

• Sustainable Marketing Models:
  Relying solely on ad revenue or follower counts is insufficient. Diversifying income streams and building a sustainable business model is crucial.

---

Trend 2: Authenticity Matters More Than Ever

Overview:
Stelzner and Cannell highlight a growing consumer demand for authentic, genuine content that offers real stories and emotional connections, contrasting sharply with the polished, high-energy content that dominates many social platforms.

Key Points:

• Shift Towards Raw and Unpolished Content:
  Audiences are seeking behind-the-scenes glimpses and authentic narratives that they can relate to on a personal level.

• Emotional Engagement:
  Sharing personal struggles, vulnerabilities, and real-life challenges fosters a stronger bond between creators and their audience.

• Case Studies and Examples:
  Channels focusing on niche topics, such as experiences of individuals over 40 dealing with issues like menopause or life reinvention, are gaining traction by prioritizing depth and authenticity over virality.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean Cannell at [13:25]:
  "The audience... is looking for raw, authentic stories that they can connect to on an emotional level."

• Michael Stelzner at [15:08]:
  "Authenticity is the new currency."

Strategies for Embracing Authenticity:

• Vulnerability in Content:
  Creators are encouraged to share personal stories, mistakes, and lessons learned to create a more relatable and trustworthy persona.

• Engagement Through Meaningful Interactions:
  Engaging with audiences through rich comments and conversations fosters a loyal community and enhances content reach organically.

• Content Diversification:
  Utilizing various mediums such as written text, audio, and video to share authentic narratives ensures broader reach and deeper connections.

---

Trend 3: AI Will Disrupt Everything

Overview:
The conversation shifts to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on content creation and marketing strategies. Stelzner and Cannell discuss how AI tools are revolutionizing the way marketers and creators operate, offering unprecedented efficiency and creativity.

Key Points:

• AI as a Game-Changer:
  AI technologies like ChatGPT are automating a significant portion of marketing tasks, enabling creators to produce content at an accelerated pace.

• Expansion of the Creator Economy:
  The accessibility of AI tools lowers the barrier to entry, allowing a surge of new creators who can generate high-quality content without extensive resources.

• AI Beyond Text:
  AI's capabilities extend to creating photorealistic images and videos, further enhancing the creative process and content diversity.

• Competitive Landscape:
  With AI democratizing content creation, competition is expected to intensify tenfold in the coming months, making it imperative for creators to adopt AI tools to maintain a competitive edge.

Notable Quotes:

• Sean Cannell at [26:06]:
  "In the same way, Photoshop opened up the world of photography... OpenAI is going to allow people to become creators that never realized that they were creators."

• Michael Stelzner at [28:37]:
  "We are at the early stages of a creative renaissance that is powered by artificial intelligence. It will disrupt everything."

Action Steps for Leveraging AI:

• Adopting AI Tools:
  Integrate AI-powered applications to enhance productivity, creativity, and content output. Tools like ChatGPT, Adobe's AI features, and other specialized software can streamline content creation processes.

• Continuous Learning and Adaptation:
  Stay abreast of AI advancements to utilize new features and capabilities that can further optimize marketing strategies.

• Diversifying Content Strategies:
  Use AI to experiment with different content formats and styles, ensuring a dynamic and adaptable content strategy that meets evolving audience preferences.

---

Conclusion: Key Takeaways for 2025

1. Prioritize the Right Audience Over Numbers:
   Focus on attracting and engaging a targeted audience that aligns with your business goals rather than chasing high follower counts.

2. Embrace Authenticity:
   Share genuine stories and connect with your audience on an emotional level to build trust and loyalty.

3. Leverage AI for Competitive Advantage:
   Integrate AI tools into your content creation and marketing strategies to enhance efficiency, creativity, and output, ensuring you stay ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

4. Adapt and Innovate Continuously:
   The digital marketing environment is in constant flux. Embracing change, learning new technologies, and adapting strategies are essential for sustained success.

---

Final Thoughts:

As the social media ecosystem continues to evolve, understanding and adapting to these emerging trends is crucial for marketers, entrepreneurs, and content creators aiming to thrive in 2025. By focusing on meaningful engagement, authentic storytelling, and harnessing the power of AI, professionals can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape and achieve their marketing objectives.

For more detailed insights and strategies, listeners are encouraged to attend the Social Media Marketing World 2025 event and explore upcoming episodes that delve deeper into these transformative trends.

Transcript

[Michael Stelzner]

Got big marketing goals for 2025, but you're not sure how to achieve them. Learn what works from the brightest minds in marketing by attending Social media Marketing World 2025 this March. That's where you'll learn how to apply AI to your work, the latest in organic and paid marketing and strategies you can put to work right away. Secure your future by getting your tickets at social media marketing world.info I hope to see you there.

[Sean Cannell]

Hey everybody.

[Michael Stelzner]

Michael Stelzner here with a special episode. The story behind this is as follows. I was on my friend Sean Cannell's podcast, the Think Media Podcast and he interviewed me focusing on three social media trends that marketers, entrepreneurs and creators need.

[Sean Cannell]

To know for 2025. Now this video recently came out and.

[Michael Stelzner]

Went crazy viral on his channel. As of today's recording, it already has had 32,000 views.

[Sean Cannell]

And there is a second part of.

[Michael Stelzner]

This interview that's already had 10,000 views.

[Sean Cannell]

That just dropped a few days ago.

[Michael Stelzner]

So with Sean's permission, I am bringing you today the actual interview that I did with him.

[Sean Cannell]

I hope you enjoy the show.

[Unknown Speaker]

Social media and YouTube is rapidly changing.

[Sean Cannell]

Are you prepared these numbers now? Followers subscribers are useless. The social platforms are showing your followers and your fans completely different content.

[Unknown Speaker]

We are seeing more content from strangers than we are from the channels we're subscribed to.

[Sean Cannell]

I'm here to tell you that I think large audience of people that spend a lot of time on the social platforms are getting a little fed up with the hypey crazy stuff that they see every day and they're looking for something different in order to counter the really high entertainment content that so many creators feel like they cannot do. There is a alternative path.

[Unknown Speaker]

In today's episode of the Think Media podcast, we're gonna be talking about 3 mega social media trends you need to know for 2025 and how you can ultimately apply these. If you are starting a brand new channel or different platforms, if you're trying to break through a plateau, maybe you're not getting views like you used to, maybe you're not getting reach like you're used to and you're trying to figure out what's changed. How do I innovate? And we're gonna be getting into some micro tactics throughout this episode. My guest today is Michael Stelzner, who has founded multiple different projects including Social Media examiner and runs the globally renowned event Social Media Marketing World and has done a lot of really cool things. Michael. Welcome to the podcast, Sean.

[Sean Cannell]

Thank you, man. It's great to be here.

[Unknown Speaker]

So I'm so excited to dive into these three mega trends. You're a social media expert and this is part one of a two part conversation. So I recommend people checking out the show notes where we go really deep in some of the newest stuff you've been going deep in and that is AI. But let's kick it off with big theme number one and that is that the social media algorithms have changed. Can you break that down?

[Sean Cannell]

Yeah, it's a, it's a really, really big problem. If you are seeing declining reach, views, exposure across all the platforms, first of all, you're not alone. That's the first thing. It's happening everywhere. The truth of the matter is that this creates a lot of problems for anyone who creates content, whether you're a creator, entrepreneur or marketer. First of all, we all create content for a purpose. Right? And it's not just getting more views typically, it's ultimately trying to hopefully sell a product or a service or whatever your back end business model is. And when you post content and it's not seen as much, that means not as many people take the action that you want them to take, which might be going out and checking out your, your services or your products. And typically what happens in a lot of people's minds is they're like, they say, okay, well I'm going to try to game the system by increasing the frequency at which I post. So instead of posting just one time a week, I'm going to post one time a day. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh my gosh, I gotta post multiple times a day. And then all of a sudden what.

[Unknown Speaker]

Starts happening is you realize your reach is going down and what you desire is more and more reach because you want to be in front of more people. And what often happens, Sean, is burnout.

[Sean Cannell]

And I've seen it, you've seen it. It happens all over the place where people feel like they get to the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Point in their head where they're like.

[Sean Cannell]

Why am I doing this? I don't understand what's happening. Something isn't working.

[Unknown Speaker]

And here's kind of what's going on.

[Sean Cannell]

The social platforms, all of the social.

[Unknown Speaker]

Platforms, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, you name it, they are deprioritizing content from the friends, for example, if it's a social network, they're deprioritizing it from businesses and they're also deprioritizing it from subscribers. And everybody on YouTube that has worked really hard to grow A big subscriber base can understand this. And Sean, you know this really well, right? You've got like a million plus subscribers on one of your channels, and you and I both know that they do.

[Sean Cannell]

Not see ever all of the content.

[Unknown Speaker]

Despite all this work and all these years of work that you put in. So. So this is happening because really, TikTok kicked this off with this for you feed, right? So what they started doing is they started showing content based on what they believe you're interested in.

[Sean Cannell]

And.

[Unknown Speaker]

And the social platforms have eventually learned this, right? They've learned that despite the action that you take to follow a page or YouTube channel or whatever, they kind of learn what you're interested in based on your behavior. And what they do is they show you more and more of that behavior. And the result of that is often you see content from people you've never heard of before. But it's interesting, it's entertaining, it's exciting. And what that does is it changes kind of the metrics that we used to care about, because the metrics that everybody used to care about, they want to get one of those silver play things, which I've got one, you've got one, you know, and. Or they want a gold one, right? Or they want to get 100,000 subscribers or followers or whatever, or a million.

[Sean Cannell]

And the problem is that that has become a metric that's not as important anymore. It's a vanity metric. So the one value of having a fair amount of followers and subscribers is a concept known as social proof. Robert Cialdini, who wrote the book Influence, which is a great book, he coined the term social proof. And the concept behind social proof is.

[Unknown Speaker]

That when someone doesn't know who you.

[Sean Cannell]

Are, they look for social signals to indicate that this is someone important, this is something that is valuable. And traditional social proof is like testimonials, comments, YouTube reviews. But other forms of social proof are how many people are following them. If more people seem to follow them or they have more subscribers, I should pay attention. Because there's a signal that says this is important. Because if other people think it's important, it must be important. That's a valuable thing. But I'm here to tell you it's a vanity metric when it comes to ultimately anything, any. Any real form of marketing, you know, it doesn't matter. And anybody who's ever achieved that number and begins to realize with it doesn't come more fame, with it, doesn't come more money, with it, doesn't necessarily come more opportunities. They have to kind of reframe what is important, right? So these numbers now, followers, subscribers, size of network are useless outside of social proof.

[Unknown Speaker]

So.

[Sean Cannell]

This is what's happening instead. What's happening is the social platforms, as you know, are showing your followers and your fans completely different content. And this is the challenge that we're up against, is that we as creators.

[Unknown Speaker]

Whether you be a YouTuber or a.

[Sean Cannell]

Podcaster or writer or a photographer, we're up against this entertaining concept, this entertaining content that is out there. And it's the kind of stuff that.

[Unknown Speaker]

You see when you get stuck on TikTok or Instagram Reels or any other.

[Sean Cannell]

Kind of algorithmic content. And this stuff tends to be highly entertaining. It tends to be almost impossible for your average creator to make because a.

[Unknown Speaker]

Lot of it is so fantastical that.

[Sean Cannell]

What it does is it kind of sends this signal into the brain of.

[Unknown Speaker]

Creators that I could never do that.

[Sean Cannell]

You know, I don't know what to do. And the truth of the matter is.

[Unknown Speaker]

The social platforms know this kind of content is addictive. And what the platforms care about is retaining people on platform. Sean, we've been talking about this for years. The most important metric on YouTube is what? Retention, Right? So moral of the story here is that all the platforms want you on the platform so that they can monetize you.

[Sean Cannell]

Because the longer that you stay on.

[Unknown Speaker]

The platform, the more you're going to see advertisements.

[Sean Cannell]

And let's be clear, ads is the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Main way that all of these platforms make money. So if they cannot retain people on.

[Sean Cannell]

Platform with your content, they're gonna give.

[Unknown Speaker]

That content to someone else, because all.

[Sean Cannell]

Of these people have a limited amount.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of time on the platform. So we need to reframe our mindset, because what happens is the entertaining content gets bigger, everything else gets pushed out, everything else gets smaller. So the new reframe now is not more is better. It's not more subscribers, more followers, more this, more that. What's the new reframe is right is better than more. The right people is greater than more people. And that's really important. You need to attract the right people, no matter how big the number is. If you can attract the right people, then you can accomplish whatever your mission is, right? So if your mission is to sell more of your books, you need to attract the right people. If it's to sell a consultancy, it's the right people. It's not about the more people, because when you attract the more people, generally speaking, it means broader topics and it means they're probably not likely going to buy Whatever it is you have to sell. So small is the new big. That's the first concept.

Well, I want to unpack a few things before we go on to the next macro trend. It's so fascinating. Basically what you're saying is that we are seeing more content from strangers than we are from the channels we're subscribed to because content is what's rising to the top. Now there's downsides, downside to this. If you're established and you've been in this a while like you and I have, because there is this quote of subscribers don't matter. And there's a lot of truth to that, that you might have a lot of subscribers but you're not actually getting the views or the reach. The opportunity is that brand new channels can post content that can get discovered. It's sometimes been called the TikTok ification of social because TikTok was so known of people going from zero to a lot of exposure without having to take years to build a following. So the content becomes the variable. Am I getting that right?

[Sean Cannell]

Yes, you are. And it's not about the new channels, it's about the right kind of content. Right. Just because you have a new channel with the wrong content, it's not going to work. I think a new. I think anyone who creates the right kind of content can get views and exposure. But I think what I'm trying to tell everybody is views and exposure alone are not going to be sufficient to sustain a long term objective here as creators, as entrepreneurs, as marketers. Instead, it's all about the right numbers. So that's the most important thing. So don't get caught up in one.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of your YouTube videos getting tens or.

[Sean Cannell]

Hundreds of thousands or even millions of views. Because there's a pretty good chance that that probably is a very broad video and it's probably not necessarily attracting the kind of people that will ultimately buy your products and services. So it's much better for you to get a thousand people, watch a few videos, or even hundreds of people of the right people to watch a few videos and then ultimately want to do business with you than to get millions of people watching the wrong videos and never wanting to do business with you.

[Unknown Speaker]

I understand. And so that's really one of the new ways forward in 2025. It's not necessarily about more views, it's about the right views and it's also then about the right business model. Thinking through that, you're, you're probably losing from the start. If you're depending on the TikTok Creator Fund or YouTube ad revenue. Because even if you are good at generating views in the short term, if you don't diversify your income streams or really think about a deeper and more diverse foundation financially in the creator economy, you're in trouble to the ups and downs of CPMs and RPMs and ad revenue and trends. And there's so many creators that have had 15 minutes of viral fame, but they were there yesterday and they're gone today. They're just, they're, they're. They didn't create a sustainable creator business.

[Sean Cannell]

Yeah, it's like magnesium, you know, it puts off a lot of light, but it lasts for a microsecond.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay, so the second macro trend is authenticity matters more than ever. Explain what you mean here.

[Sean Cannell]

Okay, so in order to counter this. I don't know, Mr. Beastification, I know we've used this term before, or whatever you want to call it, in order to counter the really high entertainment content that so many creators feel like they cannot do, there is a alternative path, which I have done pretty extensively, and I'll talk about an example of it in a minute. But I'm here to tell you that I think the, the, the audience, large audience of people that spend a lot of time on the social platforms. And I'm not just talking YouTube, I'm talking all the social platforms are getting a little fed up with the, the hypey, crazy stuff that they see every day. And they're looking for something different. And I think what they're looking for is raw, authentic stories that they can connect to on an emotional level. And it's true that stories have always been really, really valuable, but I feel like now they're even more valuable than ever because most of the content that the social platforms focus on is like short, 30 second or less content that's designed to shock and awe people. Right? But I'm talking about something that's a little longer and something that's a little more raw and real. And we're talking about unpolished content here. We're talking about the kinds of content that most people would be afraid to share. Raw, real. And this stuff works because people crave authenticity. There's so much fakeness on the social platforms, and if anything, TikTok has made it worse.

[Unknown Speaker]

Right?

[Sean Cannell]

Short form video has made it horribly bad, bad. And what really, really people want is they want to hear the real, true behind the scenes. What are the struggles that are going on? And I'm going to tell you an example of one that I wrote about recently and here's what I said.

[Unknown Speaker]

This person, quote unquote, said, tell me.

[Sean Cannell]

Why I should recommend your event.

[Unknown Speaker]

Again, he said. Those are the words I heard from.

[Sean Cannell]

A passionate friend and former customer while in a crowded bar last night. We proceeded to chat for a long while.

[Unknown Speaker]

The message, he said, was clear. There were only two events he recommended to everyone.

[Sean Cannell]

VidSummit, the event I'm at now, and Social Media Marketing World. But something happened that made him change.

[Unknown Speaker]

And I went on to talk about.

[Sean Cannell]

Why he felt like Social Media Marketing.

[Unknown Speaker]

World was not for him anymore. Now here I am, the founder and creator of this conference and I'm publicly.

[Sean Cannell]

Sharing a customer story from someone who.

[Unknown Speaker]

Really cares about me and said, I.

[Sean Cannell]

Don'T think this event is for you anymore.

[Unknown Speaker]

Right. And this is what I do every single week. I share these real stories of behind the scene challenges that I I face as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. I do it through text and I do it across X, LinkedIn and Facebook because those are the only three platforms that support long form. Written text. Even threads is not long form. So I share these long things every single week and there's always a little lesson in it and I've always got my one of my products worked into the middle of it, generally speaking. Now, if I was good on video and I feel like it's not my craft, I'm not going to lie, I would probably share these very same stories on video. But my craft is the written word because I'm a writer and I'm also a podcaster. So this kind of content gets enormous engagement but doesn't get a lot of reach. So what I mean by that is I get really rich comments from people and I engage with every single comment. And people are excited because they get a chance to share their thoughts on what I just wrote about. And here's what ends up happening. What ends up happening is people private message me and say, whoa, I didn't realize you were dealing with that. Or I'm dealing with that too. That's amazing. And what it does is it draws a bond between you and your audience in a way that is really, really strong. Now, I want to pause here. I don't know, Sean, does anybody do this in the YouTube world?

[Michael Stelzner]

Do you ever feel like no one understands your marketing challenges? Do you wish you had people you could talk to about AI content creation or marketing strategy? That's exactly what you'll find at Social Media Marketing World. Mallory Bezit said, quote, I love the overall atmosphere and that everyone was so willing to share and network with each other. Imagine having a network of expert marketers you can turn to whenever you need advice or inspiration. This becomes your reality when you attend Social media marketing world. Don't go it alone. Grab your tickets now@social mediamarketingworld.info does this.

[Unknown Speaker]

Stuff work in this world?

Yeah, I mean we said a quote at growth video live, our event this past year. Authenticity is the new currency and we've been seeing in the YouTube world some of the videos. Getting very specific to YouTube is if you're over 40, why you should start a YouTube channel if you're over 40. And there's this massive wave of creators that are maybe in their 50s, 60s even talking about empty nesters, talking about struggle.

[Sean Cannell]

Right?

[Unknown Speaker]

Struggle.

Talking about maybe kind of being lonely, maybe kind of reinventing themselves and it's just blowing up. And then you're seeing that across every vertical. You're seeing some. Because it's also the counter trend to, you know, social media on steroids eventually has a video titled, you know how rich overnight, right? Yeah. How I became a millionaire at age 13. You know, how I, I bought my first 10 rental properties as a 15 year old. You know what I. And like just this ridiculous. And so exactly what you're doing in long form text is really happening in YouTube. Some people are calling it YouTube easy mode because easy mode means the production value. That's not the challenge. It's not a lot of editing. Maybe there's some jump cuts because you're still trying to like just like you would edit text, like you're sitting down and typing, it's flowing from the heart. But you kind of, you craft the message a little bit, but it's just raw. It's your heart bleeding out of just the real thing that's happening. And one of our students, Rena, was really started to tap into stuff when she started talking about menopause and just getting really real about. She kind of has a over 40s message to her community and as she got into topics and not just to chase views. And that's not even the point. Right, because we're talking about depth, but we're talking about vulnerability, we're talking about authenticity. And so absolutely the video format. And let me just say as you go deeper though that these posts resonate with me at a deep level. Like these ones show up in my feed and I'm thinking about Facebook here and the, especially the entrepreneur stuff. When you talk about the mistakes in business and the money lost or the challenges or the Self doubt or the insecurity. The funny thing is everybody listening to this. Like we all have that. Like, it's like we all are and we're like, man, it's so people don't talk about that.

[Sean Cannell]

Right? Exactly. Yeah. And by the way, this is the key part of it. The algorithms love this, okay? The reason they love this is because people are actively engaging with this content.

[Unknown Speaker]

This episode is brought to you by streamyard. Streamyard is our go to platform here at Think Media for live streaming to Facebook and YouTube and for recording our video podcast. It has an incredibly easy to use interface for built in branding, transitions, text, lower thirds and seamlessly bringing on guests. And they just added an awesome new feature called Local recording. This allows you to take the quality to another level by separating out your audio and video from your guests, giving you more control over your content for later use. This feature is perfect for video and podcast creators. And so to get a special deal on streamyard right now and to see all the features that are included, just go to stream with think.com that is.

[Sean Cannell]

Streamwiththink.Com and what's good about the social platforms is they will find the right audience for this content. And sometimes the comment section is richer than the post itself. And a lot of people end up sharing my posts and say, read the comments. You know, people want a place where they can share like Cheers, you know, they want to sit around the virtual bar and they want to share the stories and the struggles and stuff like that. So that's my second thing is that start experimenting with being vulnerable. And every single thing that happens in your business is a potential lesson. Every little thing that goes wrong is a potential story. And you can start posting about these all over the place in whatever medium makes the most amount of sense for you. Audio, written word, video, it doesn't matter. I think it'll work everywhere.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know what I love about this tactically is I actually heard Alex Hormozi share a powerful social media framework. And it was, he said one of the big shifts in social was instead of saying how to say how I. And you know, because, because not that it is preachy, but if you say how to get views on YouTube, you're saying it's 100%.

[Sean Cannell]

Nobody cares about how to anymore. They care about why they want to know the story. That's, that's the key to the whole thing.

[Unknown Speaker]

When the story is you're not what.

[Sean Cannell]

Happened to me, you know, blah, blah, blah. Or this is. This was a hard lesson for me. You know, you Start with something like that, boom, you're going to hook people in.

[Unknown Speaker]

And if you're listening and you're like, well, I don't have any extraordinary results, how I, in your terms of your failures, mistakes and lessons can be incredibly powerful. Powerful. So if you're on the journey, here's.

[Sean Cannell]

The one thing I learned from this.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, here's the one thing I learned. And so that is a, a definite 2025 trend. And even as a, as a social media hook, instead of saying, here's how to get more views on YouTube, you could say, here's how I just got a thousand views this last month. Or here's how I was ended up doing three sales even though my channel shrunk. Here's how I shrunk my YouTube channel, but increased my sales in the last 30 days as like an opening hook of content.

[Sean Cannell]

Or it could even be, here's the thing that absolutely crushed. Here's the thing that killed my channel and what I did about it. I mean, like, tell the horror stories. Trust me, everybody wants it.

[Unknown Speaker]

So that's really, really good. And so authenticity is the new currency. And as we go to number three, I do want to pose a couple questions. If you're listening to this, how can you stop chasing more views but start actually positioning your content to get the right views? Because right is greater than more and the algorithms are changing. And then the second big theme is authenticity matters more than ever. So what areas could you maybe create some of your next videos, some of your next content in sharing the real and the raw and really connecting with people? And then the third big mega trend is AI will disrupt everything. What do you mean by that?

[Sean Cannell]

Well, first of all, it's quite literally true. And if you don't believe it, if you don't believe me now, you will believe me later. Here's first, how I want to frame this. If everybody could go back in time and talk to a younger version of themselves, let's say five, 10 years ago, would you tell yourself, hey, this YouTube thing is going to be kind of big. Get started now. Or would you tell yourself, hey, this TikTok thing, this musical ly thing, it's kind of big. I think you should start now. You know, what would you tell your younger self, given what you know now about what is hot and popular right now? Well, I'm here to tell you that this is your chance to do that to yourself without having to go back in time. Because almost exactly two years ago, from the moment this video goes live was 11-30-2022. And you probably remember what I'm about to talk about, because you probably learned about it in December or January. That's when Chat GPT came out. And Chat GPT was one of those what the heck is this, this is a big deal kind of moments for a lot of us, right? But listen to what Sam Altman, who is the CEO of the company that actually introduced ChatGPT, said in March of 2024. Here's what he said. 95% of what marketers use, agencies, strategists and creative professionals for today will be easily, instantly and at almost no cost be handled by AI. Okay?

[Unknown Speaker]

That's a quote. That's a quote is insane.

[Sean Cannell]

Okay, here he is, okay? And here's what you need to know about him. Okay? OpenAI is yet to release the beast, okay? They chat GPT the way you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was probably been in production for two years, okay?

[Sean Cannell]

So you have to understand that there are stuff that they're working on behind the scenes that they know that we do not know.

[Unknown Speaker]

So you have to ask yourself, what.

[Sean Cannell]

Does Sam Altman know that the rest of the world doesn't know yet? What's this wake up call that's going to come? And this is what this really means.

[Unknown Speaker]

What this really means is that a whole new class of creators is about to be born. They're not here yet.

[Sean Cannell]

In the same way, Photoshop opened up the world of photography in a way.

[Unknown Speaker]

That we could never imagine, because all of a sudden, Photoshop made everyday people amazing photographers. And Photoshop allowed incredible creative things to happen. And we all probably use Photoshop if we're doing thumbnails and all this kind of stuff, right? And we understand the power of it, right? And it's only getting better. Well, guess what? OpenAI is going to allow people to become creators that never realized that they were creators, because it's going to give them all the tools that they need to be able to produce content in mass. And if you think there's a lot of competition today, mark my words, it's going to 10x in the next 12 months, okay? You're going to see creators popping up left and right, and they're going to go from ideation to execution faster than you could ever possibly imagine. And that's a really, really big deal. Secondly, right now, people think of AI and they look at it from the wrong perspective. They think AI is Chat GPT and it's just a flashing cursor on their screen and they put in a sentence and it outputs Text and makes up lies. They have no idea that AI can do so much more than text. AI can create photorealistic images that I guarantee you, you would not know were AI generated. I showed some to Sean when we were prepping for this show and his mind was blown. AI is already beginning to do video. As a matter of fact, within a matter of weeks from when this show came out, Photoshop released their AI stuff for Adobe Premiere Pro. And they can now extend shots by a couple of seconds, you know, and they can carry on that stuff. I mean, there's so much stuff you can do with AI. We are at the early stages of a creative renaissance that is powered by artificial intelligence. It will disrupt everything. And I'm not just talking about the creative industry. Quite literally, it's going to disrupt everything.

Well, I want to encourage listeners to be a part of part two, because we're going to go deep on AI, but if we unpack this at a trends level, I think there's probably some skeptics and I'm curious what you would say to them. If they think that AI is being overhyped right now or it's not coming as fast as we think, what would you say?

[Sean Cannell]

Well, there's 250 million people that are using ChatGPT paid. Okay, 250 million. That's almost the entire population of the United States that are using ChatGPT paid right now. So I'm just. I'm just honoring the ignorance of it. I get it. But trust me, I track this stuff every day. I've got a podcast called AI Explored where I'm tracking this stuff. And I am a bit of a futurist. I can see where this is going. I've been tracking this for over two years. You just need to do a little bit more research and I think your eyes will be opened.

[Unknown Speaker]

My other question here is for those that are feeling overwhelmed, obviously listen to part two of our podcast because we're going to talk about some of the tools and how you can implement. Implement this. The quote you said was pretty, in a way, scary. You said, competition is going to increase 10x in the next 12 months. I agree with you. I think that sounds pretty overwhelming when it feels like already competition is fierce. But if I'm understanding what you're saying, you're not. You at least are on a level playing field with the competition because the reason it's going to increase is because this is a new generation of creators embracing AI. And so the reason you would not be able to keep up with competitors is because you're sitting on the sidelines, not continuing to learn, not diving in right now and not your opportunity is.

[Sean Cannell]

To actually sprint right now. That is your opportunity because you will have the competitive edge. Because you're listening to this video, you're listening to the audio version of this, you have the chance to learn and get ahead so that you can increase your productivity, increase your creativity and ultimately increase your output. Because Sean and I know this, we can, we've already probably twice increased our productivity because of artificial intelligence. And those creators that are, that are really good with creating content have a chance to really take it to the next level. And you will have an edge over those that do not. And you know, you don't. What's amazing is it's not going to take as much time. That's the most important thing. The big fear that's holding people back from creating great content is the amount of time. And now that can all be solved.

[Unknown Speaker]

Very, very quickly as we land the plane. Just to put a little context around this, you know, I do think that in some cases AI seems overhyped. Like there's a lot of surface level chatter. There's not a lot of depth there. I'll say this, I think that probably some of my favorite credit card charges that I pay every single month, willingly and gladly is I pay for ChatGPT, I pay for Gemini Advanced, I pay for vidiq and the AI coach. And my productivity has at least 2 to 4x and I'm already an assassin. I think already amongst maybe some they might say, you know, you're putting out a decent amount of content, you're putting out a decent amount of consistently ranking videos, reinventing yourself. But AI has blown my mind. And I recently had a conversation with, you know, Benji Travis, co author of YouTube Secrets as well, and I was talking about how, you know, I think the mistake people make in AI is they, they think, like you said, it's a blinking cursor and they just put the sentence into it. I said I'm giving five minute prompts. I'm talking to AI all the time right now. Might sound funny, but I talk to AI more than my friends and I talk to AI. Verbal audio prompts.

Yeah.

[Sean Cannell]

And it talks back to you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I talk to AI and I have business conversations, I have strategic conversations. It's making me a better communicator. With my team in Slack consolidating my ideas, I'm able to. I recently just planned out 20 videos in depth, raising the quality of the videos based off Questions that I just found on the Internet and, and, and creating content around that, I'll admit the learning curve is real. So like you said, you gotta sprint. And I think probably one of the biggest vulnerabilities, you know, I'm 40 and I could just say, as I age, you can feel the temptation to be like, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. And sometimes you wish it was like it used to be. Sometimes. I started editing video back when Adobe premiere came on CD ROMs, and it was not. There was no creative cloud. There was actually no cloud. You ordered the CDs, they were shipped to your house or business, and you put them in your CD ROM to install your software. And now even the embracing of the fact that what used to take three hours in video editing in some context takes three minutes and, and realizing, man, I got to reinvent myself. I got to keep learning. That's one thing I respect about you, is that you understand that, that like, man, if you. Eric Rees, who wrote the Lean Startup, said the only way to win is to learn faster than anybody else.

[Sean Cannell]

There's one thing I need to share here, which is really fascinating for any skeptic. Google just bought a nuclear power plant, okay? And big corporations are spending billions of dollars buying Nvidia chips. Nvidia is now one of the largest companies in the world. It's the second largest company in the world by market cap, behind Apple. Okay? They are the ones. Why are, why is Google buying nuclear power plants? Why are these huge corporations spending tens of billions of dollars buying Nvidia chips? Because they understand what we do not yet understand, that artificial intelligence requires enormous amount of power and requires enormous amount of investment. If these huge corporations, the biggest corporations in the world, Elon Musk, spent billions developing factories, for lack of better words, that power these AI chips so we can get in the race. Mark Zuckerberg is spending billions of his riches to develop open source AI models. This is the biggest land race that has ever happened in the history of the world. So if they are doing that, they see something the rest of us do not. And it's crazy. All you got to do is a little research on what I just talked about this. It's an incredible opportunity. It's going to transform everything. And now is the time to get in.

[Unknown Speaker]

Well, listen, check out the show notes to watch part two, or listen and it'll be out perhaps in a week, depending on when you listen to this episode. Michael, if people want to follow you, follow your podcast. All the different stuff you're doing. Give it a shout out and roll call.

[Sean Cannell]

Yeah, AI Explored Wherever you listen to podcasts or you can check out our YouTube channel, which is small right now.

[Unknown Speaker]

At aiexaminer Amazing and Think Media Podcast. Subscribe like share, review wherever you watch or listen. Make sure to check out the second part of my conversation, all about the best AI tools for creators and how to start learning about this so you can sprint and seize this opportunity. My name is Sean Cannell. Your guide to building a profitable YouTube channel. This is the Think Media Podcast and we'll catch you in the next one.

[Michael Stelzner]

By the way, Sean Cannell and I will both be speaking at Social Media Marketing World, so if you want to meet us, be sure to get your ticket and join us there. Social media marketing world.info is where you.

[Sean Cannell]

Can get the ticket.

[Michael Stelzner]

And by the way, if you go to social mediaexaminer.com think you can go ahead and listen to the rest of this special interview on YouTube where I talk about all the AI trends again. Social mediaexaminer.com think catch you next time. Make 2025 your best year ever. Grab your discount tickets to Social Media Marketing World right now by visiting social media marketing world.info.