Eleni Pappa • January 23, 2025

Crafting Connections: Leveraging Social Media & Experiential Marketing to Tell Powerful Brand Stories in 2025

New year, new inspiration! To take your social media and marketing efforts and turn them into a powerhouse, we asked our PR and growth experts for their advice for 2025.

This expert panel is a curated selection of trending social and experiential tactics that resonate with audiences and foster deep connections.

• Combine engaging social media content with engaging experiences
• Experiential events create conversation
• The Social-Experiential Power Duo
• Combine in-person and digital experiences
• Create immersive pop-up events
• Host virtual events with social media
• Embrace maximalist and authentic content
• Use video brochures for storytelling
• Involve audience in live experiences

Combine engaging social media content with engaging experiences

Emily Reynolds-Bergh, Owner at R Public Relations

"Social media is not what it used to be! Competition on the platforms is fierce, and brands need to be highly innovative to stand out. Still, at the end of the day, I believe shareable content is king. I am recommending my clients find ways to combine engaging social media content with engaging experiences so that consumers far and way can participate in brand activations. A simple way to do this is to run polls on social media that influence the final details of in-person activations. You can also go Live on social media during events and run exclusive giveaways during said livestreams. Make every part of your experiential marketing moments, from the in-person side to the digital side, feel special and exclusive. I also think authenticity will be a key factor in 2025 events. Being your brand’s authentic self and embracing your values and vibes will be the best way to cut through the clutter and stand out."

Experiential events create conversation

Paige Arnof-Fenn, Owner at Mavens & Moguls

"Experiential marketing will have more impact because when the target audience is able to interact and engage with your product/service at an event or in a hands on way you can build an emotional connection to the brand and distance yourself from competitors. A cohesive theme aids in outlining the brand story and the narrative you’re trying to create. PR generates media and social coverage that aligns with the objectives of your event, ultimately aiding in telling your brand narrative. If your event’s objective is brand awareness, this could include a media blitz with pre-, during and post-event coverage. A sales-focused goal might include best practices with influencer marketing creating content around the event and the host brand’s offerings to grow the brand’s audience and increase sales once the event wraps. Events aren’t over once attendees head home. Re-marketing is important so that content captured during the experience can be shared with mailing lists/in newsletters/with media contacts/across social media. Those who weren’t able to attend can catch up online and will become more aware of the brand after.

Experiential events are more than just a promotional business practice they create conversation and raise the value and associations of an organization with their target audience. With social media experiential can go further by showing what you stand for too. It is more effective to show vs tell in my experience."

The Social-Experiential Power Duo

Dr Trenice Brinkley, Publicist at Two Queens Media

"The real magic happens when social media and experiential marketing collide. Use one to amplify the other and create a feedback loop of engagement.

1. Use Social Media to Build Hype

Before your event, get people excited with sneak peeks, countdowns, and teaser campaigns. Branded Hashtags: Encourage users to share their anticipation using your hashtag. Exclusive Content Drops: Tease the event with behind-the-scenes clips. Collaborations: Partner with influencers to create buzz.

2. Make the Experience Shareable

Your event should be a content goldmine. Think Instagram-worthy photo ops, hashtags, and live streaming. Create FOMO: Post live updates so non-attendees feel like they’re missing out. Encourage UGC: Incentivize attendees to share their experiences online. Capture the Moment: Hire photographers or videographers to create recap content for future promotion.

3. Keep the Buzz Alive

After the event, the story isn’t over. Use follow-ups to keep your audience engaged. Post-Event Highlights: Share the best moments on your channels. Exclusive Offers: Give attendees discounts or access to limited-edition products. Feedback Loops: Ask for input to refine your next event. If social media is the trailer, experiential marketing is the blockbuster. It’s all about how you make your brand unforgettable."

Combine in-person and digital experiences

Matt Harrison, VP of Global Operations & Marketing at Authority Builders

"I believe businesses in 2025 will increasingly use hybrid experiences to engage consumers by combining in-person and digital experiences. This enables companies to transcend the geographical constraints associated with one single location and additionally, it provides very personalized interactions to cultivate closer ties not only with the immediate market but also on a global scale.

For example, Netflix provides a big case point of this for its "Squid Game 2" campaign. Combining the physical presence of live experiences with the vast reach of virtual space can allow brands to develop "layered campaigns" that connect with their audience on multiple fronts. Netflix made the series real through life-size physical installations based on the series, immersive experiences of the game that let fans quite literally feel like they were crossing into the world of the series! Meanwhile, Netflix supercharged the experience online, with behind-the-scenes footage, interactive challenges on social media and exclusive digital content, generating buzz among global audiences.

It's safe to say that fusing analog and digital generated millions of conversations and created a real experience for players and fans. The secret here is synergy—every in-person experience should carry an element of the digital story, reframing the experience long after that first touchpoint."

Create immersive pop-up events

Talia Arnold, Managing Director at Exverus Media

"Experiential marketing and social commerce are the perfect pair! In-person experiences bring a brand off the screen and into the real world, where they can be touched, smelled, tried on, and interacted with. Create a memorable, immersive pop-up or event, and your Gen Z and millennial audience will gladly share all about it organically on social media, which means free exposure and brand loyalty for you. Last summer, one of our biggest clients, Premier Protein, held a pop-up ice cream shop in New York City to launch their new line of protein ice creams. Passersby got to sample the new flavors, take home some merch, and of course, take photos around the highly-Instagrammable scenery, resulting in tons of free media impressions."

Host virtual events with social media

Sahil Sachdeva, CEO & Founder at Level Up PR

"Brands in 2025 can use social media and experiential marketing to tell compelling stories by creating interactive, personalized experiences that resonate emotionally with their audience. One specific strategy is hosting virtual or hybrid events integrated with social media engagement.

Brands can organize virtual events, like live Q&A sessions, product launches, or workshops, where users actively participate via platforms like Instagram. During these events, interactive features such as live polls, AR filters, or gamification elements can be incorporated to engage audiences. For instance, a beauty brand could host a live makeup tutorial where users try on products virtually through AR filters and share their experiences using a branded hashtag.

For example, we could create an "Inside the PR World" virtual event, where users get a behind-the-scenes look at crafting PR campaigns. They could engage with participants through live sessions on LinkedIn or Instagram, share success stories interactively, and answer questions in real-time. This not only tells their brand story but also positions them as industry leaders, fostering trust and community among their audience.

This strategy combines the immediacy of social media with the immersive nature of experiential marketing, creating memorable and relatable brand narratives."

Embrace maximalist and authentic content

Flynn Zaiger, CEO at Online Optimism

"If you're a brand looking to tell a compelling story through social media and experiential marketing in 2025, here's some key insights based on my last decade of experience:

Stop trying to be minimal and perfect on social.

The end of 2024 has been colorful, chaotic, and real. For 2025, think maximalist design, overlapping elements, and authentic behind-the-scenes content that might've been “too messy” for 2023 aesthetics.

Find the small moments of joy. People are overwhelmed by negative news—they want to see real happiness.

Local influence beats national reach. We've had food clients get better results partnering with a New Orleans blogger with 5K followers than a national influencer with 500K. The local creator knew exactly which streets to tag, what festivals to reference, and how to speak to the right community in an authentic voice.

Create content for individuals, not audiences. Instead of broad event recap posts, consider doing personalized thank-you stories tagging each attendee with a specific memory. Takes more time? Yes. But the engagement and relationship-building make it worth it."

Use video brochures for storytelling

Adam Kubat, President at Cards in Motion Inc.

"In 2025, brands will lean more toward experiential marketing to forge deep emotional connections with their audiences. Video brochures—combining the tactile appeal of print with the dynamic engagement of video—are an innovative tool to tell compelling brand stories that resonate. These multi-sensory marketing assets allow businesses to deliver personalized and immersive storytelling experiences, making them highly effective in making a lasting impression.

Video brochures are particularly impactful because they create a memorable unboxing experience. The tangible nature of the brochure engages the recipient physically, while the embedded video captures their attention visually and emotionally. This hybrid approach appeals to multiple senses, making the brand's message more memorable. In an age where consumers value authenticity and connection, the immersive storytelling facilitated by video brochures enables brands to showcase their values, purpose, and humanity in a way that feels intimate and genuine.

One strategy to enhance the effectiveness of video brochures is personalization. By tailoring the content of the brochure—both its design and video messaging—to the recipient, brands can create a sense of exclusivity and relevance. For instance, a luxury car brand could send a prospective buyer a video brochure featuring a personalized greeting and a virtual test drive of their preferred model. The brochure could also include touchpoints like interactive buttons to go over certain features or learn about financing options. This level of customization transforms the brochure into a meaningful and interactive experience.

To enhance engagement, brands can design multi-page video brochures where each page reveals a new video as it is turned, offering a dynamic storytelling experience. Additionally, embedding QR codes or NFC tags adds an interactive layer, seamlessly connecting the physical brochure to digital platforms. These technologies invite consumers to explore the brand story further, whether through extended online content, product demonstrations, or virtual consultations, creating a richer and more immersive experience.

Ultimately, video brochures in 2025 go beyond traditional marketing tools—they become storytellers, experience creators, and conversation starters. By strategically crafting their design and integrating emerging tech, brands can ensure their story captivates and resonates with their target audience."

Embrace livestreaming for authentic engagement

Kelly Roach, Founder & CEO at Kelly Roach International

"Livestreaming is set to be the cornerstone of brand strategy in 2025, as shifts in buyer psychology, sales cycles, and the online landscape demand a fresh approach.

Long-form, unscripted, and authentic content will be key to building genuine "know, like, and trust" relationships with audiences. This raw, real-time interaction allows brands to connect in a more compelling and impactful way, fostering deeper engagement and loyalty."

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