Q3/2025 marks a significant shift in the landscape of social media marketing, driven by the rise of short-form videos, meme marketing, and viral patriotic campaigns. While these trends present exciting new opportunities, they also pose considerable challenges for businesses trying to keep pace. Join Smartcom as we explore the full picture and discover strategic solutions to thrive in the digital age.
I. Social Media Marketing Trends in Q3/2025
In Q3/2025, social media marketing experienced explosive growth in both user engagement and content trends, creating an increasingly competitive landscape among major platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. In this dynamic environment, meme marketing and short-form video content quickly emerged as dominant formats, capturing attention thanks to their viral potential and strong appeal among younger audiences.
II. Meme Marketing – The “Secret Sauce” for Driving Engagement in Social Media Marketing
1. Popular Types of Memes in Marketing
a. Trending Memes: The Fast-Track Weapon for Viral Engagement
Trending memes are humorous, entertaining content formats that leverage current viral trends circulating on social media marketing. In today’s fast-paced digital environment, especially with the explosive growth of social media platforms, leveraging trending memes has become a powerful tactic for brands to connect with audiences quickly and generate instant viral impact.
The key to success with trending memes lies in speed – the quicker a brand can identify, adapt, and publish content aligned with a trending topic, the more likely it is to dominate the social media conversation. However, much like “instant food,” trending memes often have a short life, typically only staying relevant for a few days before the trend cools off. This demands that marketing teams stay alert, continuously monitor cultural moments, and react with agility to stay ahead of the curve.
A clear example of this occurred in June 2025, when VPBank sparked a social media frenzy by posting an image of a broken daisy flower—a symbol associated with G-Dragon (BIGBANG), hinting at the K-pop icon’s appearance in Hanoi. Instantly, numerous Vietnamese brands jumped on the “daisy” trend, releasing creative meme posts that attracted hundreds of thousands of engagements.
Although the trend lasted only a few days, this case demonstrated the immense power of trending memes in boosting brand visibility and reinforcing positioning in the fiercely competitive landscape of social media marketing.
b. Original Memes: When Brands Create Signature Content to Build a Unique Identity
Rather than chasing viral trends or repurposing external content, some brands choose to develop original memes that reflect their own unique voice and personality. This long-term strategy allows brands to stand out, define a distinctive tone, and establish a clear identity on social media marketing.
A prime example is Duolingo – the globally renowned language-learning app. Instead of jumping on short-lived trends, Duolingo transformed its green owl mascot into a meme icon. The brand’s posts often use humor and even lighthearted intimidation to remind users to complete their lessons. This distinctive content style quickly won over the online community. As a result, Duolingo not only strengthened user engagement but also built a brand image that is fun, witty, and unforgettable – an undeniable success in the realm of social media marketing.
c. Repurposed Memes: Leveraging Pop Culture to Amplify Brand Messaging
Repurposed memes are a type of content that draws from familiar pop culture references, such as movies, TV shows, or iconic celebrities. Instead of creating entirely new content, brands recycle well-known moments and add customized captions or messaging that align with their brand voice and campaign objectives.
The strength of this strategy lies in familiarity. Audiences instantly recognize the characters, settings, or situations in the meme, which creates an emotional connection and makes the content naturally engaging. In the fast-paced world of social media marketing, where users scroll through endless streams of information, repurposed memes help brands stand out and remain memorable.
A notable example of this approach is Netflix. The streaming giant frequently uses stills or scenes from its original shows and movies to craft clever, humorous memes. From beloved characters to viral plot moments, Netflix skillfully transforms these cultural touchpoints into entertaining content that also reinforces brand messaging.
This strategy not only promotes its shows organically but also makes Netflix feel more relatable and conversational, positioning the brand as a movie-loving friend who shares the same sense of humor and cultural awareness as its audience on social media.
d. Niche/Relatable Memes: When Memes Become a Shared Voice Within Industry Communities
Unlike mainstream memes that target a broad audience, niche memes – also known as “insider memes”, are tailored to a specific group of people, typically those working in the same industry, sharing similar interests, or leading comparable lifestyles. These memes often depict painfully funny, highly relatable scenarios, the kind of “unspoken truths” only insiders truly understand.
In Vietnam, community pages dedicated to creatives, agency workers, or marketers serve as prime examples. Memes about chasing deadlines, clients constantly changing briefs, or pulling all-nighters hit home for many, not only sparking laughter but also evoking a sense of empathy and mutual understanding. Over time, these platforms have become digital “safe spaces” where professionals connect, vent, and foster a sustainable sense of belonging.
Recognizing the power of this approach, brands like Ahamove and Be have successfully integrated niche memes into their social media marketing strategies. Rather than focusing solely on service promotion, they craft humorous, relatable content that hits the emotional sweet spot of their key audience, drivers and delivery personnel. From scorching weather conditions to unpredictable delivery challenges, these memes reflect real, everyday experiences, earning the brands not only recognition but also long-term trust and organic engagement from their communities.
2. The barrier between creativity and offensiveness: Lessons from notable campaigns
Memes are becoming one of the most popular and effective tools in social media marketing today. They help brands become relatable, interesting, and easily create interactions with users. However, humor if not well controlled can turn memes into a “double-edged sword.” Just one piece of content that is out of context or offensive can cause controversy and damage the image that the brand has painstakingly built. So how to use memes correctly is fun but still safe?
First, memes must be suitable for the target customer group. A good meme is not just funny content but also must be “right person – right psychology.” When viewers feel the content is related to their experience or values they care about, they will easily interact and share. If the content does not match the audience the brand targets, the meme will seem out of place or even confusing.
Next, brands need to clearly understand their position and industry nature. Memes may suit retail, F&B, technology industries, but are not easily applicable in fields requiring high trust like finance, healthcare, or legal. In these cases, if memes are used clumsily, brands may be judged as unprofessional or unreliable.
Equally important is maintaining brand identity and tone of voice. Memes should reflect the communication style the brand pursues. If you are a young, fun brand, memes can be the perfect highlight. Conversely, for brands positioned as premium or serious, memes need to be used moderately, ensuring professionalism is still conveyed.
Speed is also a vital factor when making memes, especially with “trending” content. However, fast does not mean careless. A meme created too hastily, without checking context, images, or messages carefully, can cause misunderstandings and unnecessary crises. A review process is needed to ensure the content is both on-trend and safe.
Moreover, memes should not be the “main dish” in content strategy. Posting too many memes can cause your communication channel to lose focus, becoming a place for entertainment rather than delivering value. Consider memes as a “spice”—appearing at the right time to create highlights and keep viewers engaged.
Finally, respecting culture and social values is a principle that cannot be ignored. Memes absolutely should not touch on sensitive issues such as religion, politics, gender, or controversial content. A joke with friends may be harmless, but to others it can be offensive. Humor should come with civility and kindness.
Meme marketing is the fastest path for brands to stand out on social media, but also the shortest path to crisis if used incorrectly. To exploit it effectively, brands need to be both creative and cautious so that every meme posted brings positive value and fits the image they want to build.
III. Patriotic Themes: Seemingly Hard to Viral, Yet Exploding on Social Media
1. The surprising rise of “National Day” and “Proud to be Vietnamese” trends on social media
According to data from YouNet Media’s Social Trend platform, from August 1st to August 20th, 2025, discussions related to the September 2nd National Day attracted over 1.47 million mentions and reached 8.23 million interactions, making it one of the top trending topics on social media marketing in recent days. Within the framework of this major celebration, numerous large-scale, well-organized cultural and artistic events have been held continuously since early August. These programs not only offer high-quality entertainment experiences for the public but also help to widely spread the spirit of national pride across the online community.
Standout activities include national concert series such as “The Homeland in My Heart” with more than 4,440 mentions and the “Proud to be Vietnamese” concert attracting 2,210 mentions. Additionally, events like the “Peaceful Capital Festival” generated 1,700 mentions; the politically themed artistic program “Under the Glorious Flag” with 1,300 mentions; and the “Peace Festival” organized by the Ministry of Public Security also drew nearly 763 mentions.
However, the biggest highlight remains the military parade and march commemorating the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2nd, which attracted over 7,890 participants in discussions and generated a total of 24,840 mentions across social media platforms. Videos showing rehearsal footage at Ba Dinh Square on the evening of August 21st, along with information about high-level delegations from China, Russia, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and Belarus attending the event, also garnered significant attention.
Data from YouNet Media’s SocialHeat platform indicates that Facebook and TikTok are the two social media marketing with the highest volume of discussions about the September 2nd National Day event, accounting for 81.4% and 16.8% of the discussion share, respectively. On TikTok, besides discussions about the event’s schedule, locations, and viewing tips for the parade and march, users showed particular interest in choosing outfits and accessories to “dress up” for the occasion. Alongside traditional items like red flags with yellow stars, national flags, and banners, this year saw the emergence of new products such as scarves featuring holiday motifs, plush toys wearing national flag shirts, light sticks, and patriotic hair ties.
2. Brand Cases That Successfully Leveraged Patriotic Themes to Boost Sales & Engagement
a. KATINAT – Dominating the Social Media Marketing Race
With 298,491 mentions and a positive sentiment score (NSR) of 99%, KATINAT has become a standout “social media marketing star” during the holiday season. This figure is nearly three times that of Phê La and eleven times higher than Highlands Coffee.
The brand’s limited-edition cup collection “Đoc Lap – Tu Do – Hanh Phuc” (“Independence – Freedom – Happiness”) featured traditional red hues and iconic landmarks from Vietnam’s three regions, creating a powerful ripple effect, especially on Facebook, which accounted for 96% of all mentions. KATINAT didn’t just sell a product, they crafted a cultural and historical narrative, positioning themselves as an emblem of national pride across social media marketing channels.
b. Phê La – Tapping into Gen Z Power and TikTok
Although Phe La ranked second with 96,825 mentions and an NSR of 98%, the brand made a significant impact on TikTok, representing approximately 5% of total mentions.
The campaign “Đong Long Đi Chill”, which included a limited-edition wristband and upsize offers, offered a unique lifestyle experience that resonated strongly with Gen Z. Phe La successfully turned patriotic sentiment into a modern, relatable expression of youth culture, especially through their TikTok presence.
IV. Conclusion
Q3/2025 marks a significant turning point in social media marketing, driven by the explosive rise of short-form videos, meme marketing, and viral patriotic campaigns. While these trends offer valuable opportunities, they also present numerous challenges for brands and businesses. To stay ahead and capitalize effectively, adopting smart and agile social media marketing communication solutions is essential.
With extensive experience in this field, Smartcom partners with businesses to implement effective, creative communication campaigns that are always attuned to market trends. Smartcom’s creative services deliver unique and impactful solutions that help brands distinctly define their identity. These campaigns not only capture attention but also build deep emotional experiences, fostering strong connections and positive engagement with target audiences, thereby enhancing brand value and strengthening relationships with the community in an increasingly competitive digital environment.
Source: Brands Vietnam
