The State of Social Media in 2025

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The State of Social Media in 2025

For years, I’ve loved working in social media because it’s constantly changing and you never get bored. But sitting here in 2025, I’m starting to feel like we’ve had enough changes! Social media is getting harder and harder to keep up with, and its influence on the real world continues to grow. These aren’t just silly little apps we all waste time on; they have a massive impact on society and culture. Today on the blog, I’m sharing the latest updates on how social media is changing in 2025, my recommendations as a marketer, and my personal opinions as a human.

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5 Books About How Social Media Shapes Our Culture & World

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5 Books About How Social Media Shapes Our Culture & World

This fall, I’m teaching a college-level social media course at Nazareth University. The students and I are both learning lots, and it’s been a great experience so far! The midterm project I assigned was pretty unconventional for a social media class: the students had to read a book about social media from a list of five suggested titles and then review it in a traditional paper and an Instagram post or TikTok. My goal was to encourage them to think critically about the platforms we use every day in our professional and personal lives. It was fascinating to read my students’ observations, discuss the books as a class, and see the intersections between them! Today on the blog, I’m sharing a little about each book and what it tells us about the myriad ways that social media shapes our culture and our world. 

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The TikTok Experiments, Volume 9: Using Trending Sounds on Every Video for a Week

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The TikTok Experiments, Volume 9: Using Trending Sounds on Every Video for a Week

In an effort to understand TikTok’s mysterious algorithm, I regularly conduct experiments to learn which tactics help videos gain traction. I’ve experimented with 3 minute videos, CapCut templates, an SEO hack, and more. In September, I experimented with a core component of TikTok videos: trending sounds. I don’t use trending sounds often; they’re not usually conducive to the kind of content I make. But trending sounds are supposed to be important in getting your videos seen, so for one week, I used trending sounds on every video I shared. To be frank, the results were surprising. 

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The Rise of Unhinged Marketing on Social Media (& How Your Brand Can Try It)

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The Rise of Unhinged Marketing on Social Media (& How Your Brand Can Try It)

This year, things have gotten unhinged on social media. The internet has always been a strange place, but it’s extra unusual lately. Recently, there’s been a shift to brands creating weirder and weirder content. No, I’m not talking about the snarky Wendy’s Twitter from the mid-2010s; I’m talking about the unhinged chaos of brands on TikTok and beyond. Today on the blog I’ll define ‘unhinged,’ explain the origins of the madness (and the rationale behind it), share examples, and offer guidance for when and how to try it. Let’s dive in!

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The TikTok Experiments, Vol. 5: Posting Only 15 Second Videos for a Week

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The TikTok Experiments, Vol. 5: Posting Only 15 Second Videos for a Week

I’m on a roll conducting TikTok experiments and recently completed my fifth. I’m hoping to learn a few tips and tricks for what the algorithm prioritizes so that I can share my knowledge with others. Is a higher posting frequency truly necessary? Do shorter videos perform better than longer videos? Those are just a few of the questions I’ve been trying to answer. In my latest experiment, I posted videos that were only 15 seconds or less to see what would happen.

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Here's What I'm Reading for the March 2023 Trans Rights Readathon

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Here's What I'm Reading for the March 2023 Trans Rights Readathon

2023 has seen a massive and terrifying rise in anti-trans rhetoric and legislation. To show support for trans people and raise funds for trans rights organizations, author Sim Kern organized a Trans Rights Readathon that runs March 20-March 27. The goal is to read and uplift trans authors and stories and to donate to a cause based on how many pages, chapters, or books you read. I’ll be joining the readathon next week and wanted to share my reading list in case you’d like to join too!

If you decide to participate, be sure to fill out the Trans Rights Readathon Survey. For the fundraising component, I’ll be donating 10 cents per page read to the Transgender Law Center. Here’s what’s on my reading list.

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The TikTok Experiments, Vol. 2: I Posted on TikTok 5x a Day for a Week. Here's What I Learned.

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The TikTok Experiments, Vol. 2: I Posted on TikTok 5x a Day for a Week. Here's What I Learned.

TikTok’s algorithm continues to amaze users with its uncanny ability to recommend content that feels perfectly tailored to your interests. Everyone’s FYP is a different experience. So how do you get your videos to land on more people’s FYPs? I’ve embarked on a series of experiments to find out!

I often see other social media professionals recommend posting 5-7x per day on TikTok in order to grow your account. That cadence seemed aggressive and unsustainable to me, but I decided to give it a try for one week. You probably have a lot of questions about how it went, so let’s dive in!

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9 Things Not to Do on Facebook

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9 Things Not to Do on Facebook

Although TikTok is the hot new app right now, good old Facebook continues to serve as a reliable foundation for social media marketing. Despite what you might assume, Facebook is still widely used by over 2.9 billion people per month! Folks spend an average of 33 minutes per day on the platform, and the largest age group is 25-34 year olds. Surprised? There’s no need to discard Facebook just yet.

My blog post “11 Things Not to Do on Instagram” has been one of my most popular posts for a few years running, so I figured it was time to write a Facebook version! While it may seem like Facebook is easy and intuitive, there are several things you’ll want to avoid when managing a Facebook business page. Without further ado, here are 9 things not to do on Facebook.

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A Conversation with Erica Allen-Lubman: On Creativity, Viral Videos, & Mental Health as a TikTokker

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A Conversation with Erica Allen-Lubman: On Creativity, Viral Videos, & Mental Health as a TikTokker

This is the 15th post in the “A Conversation With” series, where I interview smart humans about their experiences in marketing and social media. You can read past features here.

This month, I interviewed Erica Allen-Lubman (they/she), a talented musician who goes by Boy Jr. and has gained a following of 291,000 on TikTok with their hilarious, creative videos. In this blog post, we dive into how to get started on TikTok, tips for getting your videos to take off, and how to deal with the mental health impact of growing a large following online.

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4 Reasons Why You Should Try "Good Enough" Marketing

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4 Reasons Why You Should Try "Good Enough" Marketing

Many small business owners struggle with marketing themselves. It can feel uncomfortable to be self-promotional, it’s time-consuming, and there’s a desire for your marketing efforts to be perfect. If you’re going to put in the time, you have to get it right…right? Well, not exactly. But what could be better than perfect? You may be wondering. Done. Done is better than perfect.

What is “good enough” marketing? Exactly what the name sounds like–marketing that you’ve gotten done. It may not be the most unique and memorable piece of content ever published, but it’s done. You published it. It’s good enough.

Here are 4 reasons why you should try good enough marketing.

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