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This page may include affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n SocialDay\u2019s SocialMedia Fest is a 3-day social media and influencer marketing festival. The event takes place in London (a different venue every year) and is filled with talks, panels and networking opportunities. The event is mainly aimed at social media managers those working in-house and agency side, and attracts both employees and freelancers.<\/p>\n As a generalist marketer I don\u2019t usually prioritise going to a conference that focuses on just one type of marketing. However, in 2024 I attended brightonSEO and spent the day learning about all things SEO and this year I decided to attend SocialDay\u2019s SocialMedia Fest and learn about all things social media and influencer marketing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n My main reason for going to SocialMedia Fest 2025 was to learn. Whilst I am a generalist marketer and I swear by the importance of having a multi-channel marketing approach I used social media to market my own business and 95% of my clients are also using social media marketing as a way of marketing their business. And social media marketing is forever changing. I thought it would be a great opportunity to find out people\u2019s recent experiences across social media platforms and leave with some learning to help with my own marketing and helping my clients.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Over the 3 days I attended A LOT of talks:<\/p>\n Day 1 \u2013 Setting the Scene<\/strong><\/p>\n Day 2 \u2013 Strategy, Impact and Results<\/strong><\/p>\n Day 3 \u2013 Purpose, People and Making Social Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n B2B Theatre Breakout \u2013 hosted by Luan Wise and Andy Lambert<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As you can tell I went to a lot of talks and panels, and in true Charelle fashion I had my notebook open and was scribbling away.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Takeaway 1 \u2013 Short-form video continues to grow<\/strong><\/p>\n This didn\u2019t come as a surprise, but I hadn\u2019t seen any recent data so it was good to have confirmation. Short-form content has been a big focus on social media in recent years and there are no signs to suggest that is going to change. There has been a slight change in relation to the duration of videos. The days of being limited to a minute for short-form videos has changed and now multiple social media platforms are now encourage longer short-form videos with some platforms encourage 3+ minute videos.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Takeaway 2 \u2013 Social search is on the rise<\/strong><\/p>\n For a long time social media and search lived in very different worlds but TikTok changed that. Now all brands on social media should be thinking about their social search strategy. This is important not only for improving discoverability within a platform, but also in Google too.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Takeaway 3 \u2013 Don\u2019t let AI do everything<\/strong><\/p>\n It will come as no surprise that AI was mentioned in lots of talks. However, what was repeated over and over again is that AI has changed the game for content creation, but the real power is found when combining humans and AI. Someone spoke about the idea of content creation should start with humans, then use AI, and then have a human check before posting. This HUMAN \u2013 AI \u2013 HUMAN approach makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Takeaway 4 \u2013 Shift from followers to interests\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For years the aim for brands was to get as many followers as possible. More followers meant more people seeing your content. But that isn\u2019t necessarily true anymore. Many of the social media platforms are now shifting to be more interest focused. This means the amount of followers you have is playing a smaller role in the total number of people who will see a piece of content. Instead a piece of content will be shared based on the interests and if it performs well it will be pushed out further and further (regardless of your follower count). I personally know this to be true as in 2024 I had a TiKTok video that went viral and got over 2.5M views even though I have less than 300 followers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Takeaway 5 \u2013 People are engaging more privately<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a rise in people engaging privately. The days where the number of likes and comments proved how popular a piece of content was is long gone. Now people might like a piece of content so they save it to refer back to or share it with someone else, but won\u2019t like or comment on it. For content to perform well you want to be thinking about creating content that is saveable and shareabale.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n SocialDay\u2019s SocialMedia Fest 2025 was held at Phatom Peak in Canada Water, London. This was a very unusual venue for a conference and set the tone for an unconventional conference. There was an indoor maze, the opportunity to \u2018hook a platypus\u2019 and there was a trial where you could collect stars for visiting specific things (and then be entered into a prize draw).<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure how many people attended (maybe around 300) but I found the vibe to be quite chilled compared to other events I\u2019ve been to it<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hotel Advice<\/strong> \u2013 London is well known for being expensive for hotels so book as early as possible.<\/p>\n Travel Advice<\/strong> \u2013 London is a city that is easy to travel around on public transport. Depending on where the venue is next year don\u2019t be afraid to have to travel a little bit to attend every day.<\/p>\n Evening Activities<\/strong> \u2013 There was a social happening the day before the conference started, but notihng happened on the Tuesday or Wednesday evening. This shocked me as I am used to multi-day conferences having some time of \u2018unofficial\u2019 evening activity. One of the things that really shocked me was there<\/p>\n Food<\/strong> \u2013 Brunch was provided on the first day, and lunch was provided on the second and third day. The queues for food were very long.<\/p>\n Working Out Your Schedule<\/strong> \u2013 The days are very long and the talks are all recorded. Think about whether it is best for you to attend everything or it makes sense to give yourself a lie in one day, leave early one day, or give yourself a longer lunch break.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Tickets for SocialMedia Fest 2026 are not on sale yet, but you can join the waitlist here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Going to events are an investment \u2013 both of money and time. As an extrovert I love going to events, but I have to be selective because you know I have to do work too. I learnt a lot from SocialMedia Fest 2025 as you\u2019ve seen and am excited to use that new knowledge.<\/p>\n I hope reading this blog post has been valuable whether you just wanted to find out what I had learnt at the event or you wanted to find out more about the event before signing up to go in the future.<\/p>\n If you decide to go to SocialMedia Fest 2026 let me know. You can message me on LinkedIn<\/a> or Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m a Business and Marketing Strategist that specialises in helping online, service-based business owners to market, and run, thriving online businesses.<\/p>\n If you want to work with amazing clients, make great money and have a business that supports living your best life \u2013 I can help you!<\/p>\nSOCIALDAY\u2019S SOCIALMEDIA FEST 2025: KEY TAKEAWAYS AND HONEST REVIEW<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
What is SocialDay\u2019s SocialMedia Fest?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
My Personal Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo by Emily Dews Photography<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nKey Takeaways
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<\/span><\/h2>\nThe Vibe: What It\u2019s Really Like<\/h2>\n
Tips for First-Time Attendees<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Thinking of Going Next Year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
That\u2019s it. You now know my key takeaways and honest review of SocialMedia Fest 2025.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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