The biggest social media changes of 2025 and 2026 all push the same direction: toward vertical video, recommendations to people who don’t follow you yet, and automated ad targeting. Instagram now allows three-minute Reels, shows profiles in a taller grid and caps hashtags at five. Facebook treats every video as a Reel, and TikTok’s US business now runs through a new majority American-owned joint venture. For a local business, the job is the same as before: post original vertical video people actually want to watch, and give the platforms good material to recommend.
The short version
| Change | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels up to 3 minutes | January 2025 | Use the extra time only when the content needs it |
| Instagram vertical profile grid | January 2025 | Check how your covers and pinned posts crop |
| Instagram trial reels | December 2024 | Test new formats on non-followers first |
| Instagram Edits app | April 2025 | A free phone editor if you don’t have one |
| Facebook videos all become Reels | Announced June 17, 2025 | Plan one vertical video workflow, not two |
| Facebook unoriginal content crackdown | July 2025 | Post your own footage; stop reposting viral clips |
| Meta removes detailed targeting exclusions | Phased out 2024 to 2025 | Exclude custom audiences instead; test more creative |
| Instagram hashtag limit of five | December 2025 | Pick three to five specific tags |
| TikTok US joint venture closes | January 22, 2026 | Reassess TikTok if you paused over ban fears |
Where local businesses actually spend their time
Before chasing every change, it helps to know where your peers are. LocaliQ’s Big Small Business Marketing Trends Report for 2026, based on a survey of more than 300 small business owners published in February 2026, found over 90% use Facebook, up from 76% the year before. Instagram rose to 74% from 63%, and LinkedIn to 48% from 43%. TikTok went the other way, falling to 22% from 34%, which LocaliQ tied to growing competition on the platform and uncertainty about a ban. More than half of respondents (53%) said they plan to invest more in video marketing.
For most Metro Detroit restaurants, shops, venues and service businesses, that points to Facebook and Instagram as the core, with TikTok as an option worth testing if your customers skew younger.
Reels can run up to three minutes
What happened. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced in January 2025 that Reels could run up to three minutes, up from 90 seconds, saying the old limit was “just too short for those who want to share longer stories,” according to Engadget.
What it means. You now have room for a full kitchen walkthrough, a property tour or a start-to-finish project video without splitting it into parts.
What to do. Treat three minutes as a ceiling, not a target. A longer Reel still needs a reason to keep watching in its first few seconds. Save the long format for content with a natural arc, and keep most promotional posts short.
The profile grid went vertical
What happened. In the same January 2025 update, Instagram replaced its square profile grid with taller rectangular thumbnails. Mosseri explained that most photos and videos uploaded to Instagram are vertical, and square crops were cutting off too much of them.
What it means. Your profile is often the second thing a new visitor sees after a Reel. Covers and graphics designed for squares may now crop awkwardly, with text cut off at the top or bottom.
What to do. Look at your profile on a phone. Re-crop pinned posts, choose Reel cover frames with the subject centered, and keep any text on covers well inside the edges.
Trial reels let you test on strangers first
What happened. Instagram introduced trial reels in December 2024. A trial reel is shown to non-followers first and does not appear on your grid or Reels tab unless you choose to share it. After about 24 hours you can see views, likes, comments and shares, and you can set it to share automatically if it performs well within 72 hours.
What it means. You can try a new format, like a talking-head explainer or a menu reveal, without cluttering your profile if it flops.
What to do. Use trial reels for experiments, not for time-sensitive posts like event announcements, which your existing followers need to see.
Edits, a free video editor from Instagram
What happened. Instagram launched Edits, a free video creation app for iOS and Android, on April 22, 2025. You sign in with your Instagram account, and it offers a timeline editor, effects and watermark-free export.
What it means. A small team can shoot, cut and caption vertical video on a phone without paying for editing software.
What to do. If staff already edit in another app, there is no need to switch. If nobody edits at all, Edits is a reasonable free starting point.
Five hashtags, maximum
What happened. Instagram began limiting posts and Reels to five hashtags in December 2025, according to Social Media Today. Instagram’s stated reasoning: “Using fewer (up to 5) more targeted hashtags, rather than many generic ones, can improve both your content’s performance and people’s experience on Instagram.”
What it means. The old habit of pasting 30 tags in a comment is over, and it was not doing much for discovery anyway.
What to do. Choose three to five tags that describe the post specifically, such as the neighborhood, the product and the occasion. Then write captions that name the same things in plain words, so the post makes sense to both people and the platform.
Every video is now a Reel
What happened. Meta announced on June 17, 2025 that all videos on Facebook would be shared as Reels, rolling out over the following months. Meta said Reels on Facebook “will also not have any length or format restrictions,” renamed the Video tab the Reels tab and added an audience choice when posting. Previously uploaded videos stay on profiles and Pages, and Meta said the change “won’t change what videos we recommend to you.”
What it means. There is no longer a separate decision between “video” and “Reel.” A 40-second promo and a six-minute event recap go through the same flow and land in the same Reels feed.
What to do. Build one vertical-first video workflow for Facebook and Instagram. When you post, check the audience setting so public posts are actually public.
Reposting other people’s content now costs you reach
What happened. On July 14, 2025, Facebook said it would act against accounts that repeatedly reuse other people’s videos, photos or text without permission or meaningful changes. Penalties include reduced distribution and temporary loss of monetization. Facebook said simply stitching clips together or adding a watermark does not count as meaningful enhancement.
What it means. Pages that fill their feeds with viral clips from elsewhere are the target. Original footage from your own business is what the system is built to reward.
What to do. Shoot your own. If you share a customer’s video, ask first, credit them and add something of your own, such as commentary or context. Our guide to short-form video covers how to produce a steady supply without a studio.
Meta ads: fewer dials, more automation
Detailed targeting exclusions are gone
What happened. Meta began removing detailed targeting exclusions, the option to exclude people based on interests, behaviors or demographics, from new campaigns in 2024 and phased them out of existing campaigns in 2025, as Social Media Today reported. Meta said its internal testing found median cost per conversion improved by 22.6% without them. Custom audience exclusions and account-level controls remain.
What it means. You can still target by location and still exclude lists you own, like past customers or website visitors. You can no longer carve out, say, people interested in a competitor category.
What to do. Build custom audiences for current customers and recent site visitors so you can exclude them from prospecting ads. Keep your location targeting tight to the area you actually serve.
Advantage+ is the default direction
What happened. In February 2025 Meta introduced a streamlined Advantage+ setup across sales, app and leads campaigns, renamed Advantage+ shopping campaigns to sales campaigns and added Advantage+ leads campaigns, which it said produced a 10% lower cost per qualified lead in early tests, according to Search Engine Land. Those figures are Meta’s own.
What it means. Meta’s system decides more of who sees your ads. The practical lever you have left is the ad itself.
What to do. Give the system several distinct creative options, especially vertical video, and let it find what works. Feed it real outcomes such as leads, calls or bookings, not just clicks. Check placement and location reports regularly, because broad delivery can drift outside your service area. For budgeting, see our guide to social media management costs in Detroit.
TikTok’s new US ownership
What happened. The TikTok USDS Joint Venture closed on January 22, 2026, according to TechCrunch, under the executive order approving the sale of TikTok’s US operations. In TikTok’s announcement, Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each hold 15%, ByteDance keeps 19.9%, and the venture is responsible for US user data, retraining the recommendation algorithm on US data, content moderation and software assurance. TikTok’s global entities keep commercial activities including e-commerce, advertising and marketing. TikTok said the deal lets more than 200 million Americans and 7.5 million businesses keep using the platform. The venture also introduced new terms and a new privacy policy that, CBS News reported, permits collecting precise location data if a user enables it.
What it means. The threat of a US shutdown that hung over 2024 and 2025 is resolved for now. Ad accounts and TikTok Shop continue under TikTok’s global business. The algorithm is being retrained on US data, and TikTok has not said how recommendations will differ, so expect some shifts in what performs.
What to do. If you paused TikTok because of ban risk, it is reasonable to test again. With only 22% of small businesses on TikTok in LocaliQ’s survey, fewer local competitors are posting there. Reuse the vertical video you already make for Reels, remove other platforms’ watermarks and judge results on your own numbers after a few months.
What hasn’t changed
Every change above rewards the same habits. Post original vertical video on a steady schedule. Show real people, real places and real products. Answer comments and messages. Use local specifics, like the street, the neighborhood or the event, because that is what makes a Detroit business stand out from national accounts in the same feed.
The businesses that struggled with these updates were mostly relying on tactics that were already fading: hashtag stuffing, reposted content and hand-built ad audiences. The ones that were already making their own video barely had to adjust.
Where RDG fits
We make short-form video and run social accounts for Detroit businesses every week, so these changes show up in our planning as they happen. If you want a production partner for the video these platforms now favor, see our short-form video production services. If you would rather hand off the whole account, see how our social media management works or talk to us.