CHICAGO, Dec. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sprout Social (Nasdaq: SPT), an industry-leading provider of social media management and analytics software, today released its first-ever Social Media Dictionary, a comprehensive analysis of the words, phrases and viral movements that shaped global culture in 2025.
Sprout’s analysis, based on a year of interactions across platforms, illustrates how hyper-niche trends, AI-driven discovery, and community-led content changed language and culture. The Dictionary shows how social intelligence not only shows what was popular in 2025, but also helps marketers stay ahead of the curve by predicting the new trends that will keep them competitive in the coming year.
The Best Words of 2025
Aura is Sprout’s 2025 Word of the Year, and it got 31.9 billion views on various social networks. The term’s rapid ascent, from “aura-farming” to “aura-maxxing,” shows how quickly viral micro-moments can become worldwide cultural events.
Paul Quigley, General Manager of Listening at Sprout Social, remarked, “Social media didn’t just reflect culture in 2025; it made it.” “The Social Media Dictionary shows that big changes in culture often start in small groups, like the Aura, which started with sports fans and fashion lovers before becoming popular.” It’s very helpful to keep an eye on these new debates to see where society and culture are going and how we can best connect with people and make content that matters.
Labubu, a furry gremlin character made by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese toy firm Pop Mart, was also one of the most popular phrases of 2025. Labubu was not well known at first, but unboxing videos and celebrities helped it become viral. By May to July 2025, it had been mentioned over 5.8 million times online and reached its peak popularity.
There was also a growth in absurdist humor and anarchic digital lingo that year. Younger people started using the phrase “6–7” as a fun inside joke after hearing it in Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot.” It was talked about 3.8 million times in 2025, and it was a type of silly, “brainrot” humor that was popular online.
The Best Marketing Words of the Year
The Dictionary also included the most popular words used by marketers in 2025. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) became a main word, showing how important it is to optimize material for AI-driven discovery. It had 116 billion impressions.
Substack was another big phrase, with more than 117 billion views on social media. This shows how marketers are using their own, small communities to reach very engaged consumers through long-form stories.
Looking ahead to 2026
The Dictionary looked back, but it also looked ahead to the terms that will shape the digital conversation in 2026. AI Slop and Clanker are both words that show doubt about the low-quality and fake stuff that AI makes. This shows that people are getting more and more frustrated and want content made by people in the new year, with more than 2 million mentions combined.
At the same time, phrases like “Group 7” are showing how popular exclusive, exclusive, and personalized online communities are becoming. This tendency will continue to rise in 2026.
You can read the whole 2025 Social Media Dictionary [here] or find out more about Sprout Social [here].
About Sprout Social
Sprout Social is the best company in the world in making software for managing and analyzing social media. This is because they believe that “All Business is Social.” Sprout’s easy-to-use platform gives almost 30,000 brands access to powerful social analytics so they can have a bigger, faster effect on their business. Sprout was named the #1 Best Software Product by G2’s 2024 Best Software Award. It has all the tools you need for publishing and engagement, customer service, influencer marketing, advocacy, crisis management, and AI-powered, predictive business intelligence. Sprout’s software works on all of the most popular social media sites and digital platforms.
