Whether you’re still living your Brat Summer or are already getting ready for the spooky season: here you’ll find a summary of the social media trends of late summer and you can look at tips and successful examples. We also show you popular video sounds.
The Olympic Games in Paris are already some time ago, Hoa Hoa and Gen Z marketing fill many a content feed and Heidi Klum’s iconic Halloween party is still to come. Just in time for the change of seasons, social media platforms are also experiencing a turnaround that is noticeable through new features, seasonal trends and prominent marketing campaigns. Based on the Trend Research Reports in August and September from Beautiful Berlin we show you which developments particularly catch the eye and remain in your mind.
The social calendar: Fashion Week and Olympic Games
After Fashion Week in Copenhagen at the beginning of August, the counterpart in New York at the beginning of September was not long in coming. The spring and summer trends for 2025 were presented on the catwalks of the metropolises. And attentive fashionistas have already marked the period from September 23 to October 1 for #ParisFashionWeek. Because the city of love has a lot to offer even after the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The NFL, the National Football League, is also doing similar sports. TikTok is still the official partner for the new season that just started, as it was recently at Gamescom, which took place in Cologne in August. These partnerships are quite lucrative for both parties. For example, gaming livestreams on TikTok were viewed almost 76 million times a day in August. TikTok not only offered a digital stage for the NFL, but the ByteDance app was also represented on site at Gamescom on a stage where various talks and panels were held.
@nfl PRESEASON IS FUN #sanfrancisco49ers #lasvegasraiders #nfl ♬ original sound – NFL
Two kinds of party: seasonal trends
TikTok also provided a platform for the US elections, especially for candidate Kamala Harris. The Democrat moved into the spotlight together with her team, the “Harris HQ”. Through the “Brat” rebranding on TikTok and other social platforms, she was able to reach primarily younger target groups in an unconventional and exceptionally direct way. Inspired by Charli XCX’s trend album Brat Harris adopted a rebellious, hedonistic aesthetic that gave her campaign not only political but also cultural relevance.
@kamalahq trump: hi it’s me you’re all in danger
Who can top that? Heidi Klum, of course! With her iconic Halloween party, which is guaranteed to attract attention every year, interest in costumes and spooky themes is increasing rapidly. Hashtags like #spookyseason and viral make-up tutorials dominate the feeds, while brands are already planning their campaigns around the event.
Late for Pilates, on time for trends
The summer drink of the year seems to be the undisputed Iced Matcha Latte, as sung by Shirin David. With her latest song Belly, legs, butt The artist particularly reached 18- to 24-year-olds from the DACH region and contributed to the total of 169 million views. At the same time, summer hashtags and travel inspirations such as #summernails, #spf and #summervibes were trending in August, which were gradually replaced by #fall, #autumn and #spookyseason just in time for the annual Spiced Pumpkin Latte Season. Companies and brands were able to showcase their autumn appreciation with the Hoa Hoa trend, which captures the twilight vibe. O2 is implementing the trend like this:
@theo2official Our favourite time of the year has arrived. #UpAtTheO2 #HoaHoaHoa ♬ Blue Foundation Eyes On Fire – JTHM1987
TikTok, Reels and Shorts users may have already noticed the Gen Z marketing trend, where employees present their company in a humorous way using slang and witty overlays that are meant to reference scripts written by Gen Z. This trend shows that authenticity and humor can create a welcome connection with the younger target audience. The Gen Z video from Currys, an omnichannel retailer of technology products, has already garnered well over 250,000 likes.
@currys The end #general #genzlife #currys #tech #uk #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – Currys
Gen Z Report:
Insights into social media, streaming and AI
The Gen Z marketing trend largely reaches a target group of 18 to 24 year olds, primarily from the UK. The insights into the video trend show that it generated millions of views in just a few days and promoted search queries such as “gen z marketing video” and “gen z marketing script”. Specifically, the insights into the video trend are as follows:
And this is what the late summer trends sound like
A mix of different genres is currently trending on social media platforms. However, the most popular songs on Instagram in August and September are not royalty-free (which makes them problematic for commercial use). That’s why Joli suggests royalty-free alternatives that match other trending sounds:
- Sparks by Aves (as an Instagram alternative in September)
- Fulfilled by Buddha Kid (as an Instagram alternative in September)
- Open Up by JZAC (as an Instagram alternative in September)
- Primax’s childhood Turn the Lights (als TikTok-Alternative im September)
- Get Lucky von Jane & The Boys (als TikTok-Alternative im September)
- call me josephs when im with you in the instrumental version (as a TikTok alternative in September)
- Aves – Home (as an Instagram alternative in August)
- Ramol – A Beautiful Day (as an Instagram alternative in August)
- Yestalgia – A Place to Be (as an Instagram alternative in August)
- Derek Minor – Made Me Better (als TikTok-Alternative and August)
- Maxi Zee – Can I Flex feat Tayeb Santo (als TikTok-Alternative and August)
- EYE – Brooklyn Dream (als TikTok-Alternative and August)
The currently trending audios include songs by reunited bands such as Oasis or variations on contemporary historical statements such as those absurd ones by US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Source: onlinemarketing.de
