Preparing the Social Media chapter of my marketing audit course, I had a revelation.
In 2025, social media has become an ALL IN or ALL OUT marketing channel.
By ALL IN, I mean that to get results from organic social media (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn), brands (read: marketers) need to work hard.
By hard work, I mean a 100% dedication to a social platform: 3-5 high-quality posts per week that can compete with big brands’ social teams & digital creators.
As I argued in my LinkedIn post (now 60,000+ impressions OMG (✪‿✪)):
In 2015, social media marketing was an intern’s job because the CMO was busy with strategy and paid ad campaigns. In 2025, social media is still an intern’s job because the CMO doesn’t know how to do it.
The Great Complexification of social media marketing 2015-2025
In the past 5 years, paid ads have become easier to manage as Meta and Google add automation.
Meanwhile, the complexity of social media marketing has skyrocketed.
↳ Social media is now 10x more competitive v.s. 5 years ago. Think professional creators posting high-production videos, hyper-engaging brand UGC in Reels and TikTok, celebrity collabs, etc.
↳ People who started marketing careers in 2010 struggle to keep up with Gen Z social media aesthetics, discourse, lingo. It’s become hard for 40y olds to talk the language of 18y old consumers. (I’m 31y and even I think it’s hard…)
↳ In 2025, social media marketing is complex and high-value expertise that companies hire special talent & teams for. Even the size of Facebook posts has become more complex.
In my article on 2025 marketing trends, I wrote: “The key social media trend in 2025 will be: less is more.
I am not so sure about that anymore.
But surely, what is out is easy audience growth from posting unoriginal ideas with basic static designs.
What does “good” social media mean in 2025?
Here are 5 brands winging the social media game.
Check out their IG profiles if you’re not quite sure what “good social media marketing” means these days. Hint: lots of videos.
- Oatly
- Liquid Death
- Feeld
- Sephora
- ClickUp
What does it mean for marketers?
As a small brand’s marketing manager, you probably don’t have the skill set of a seasoned social media marketing expert.
So, it’s quite hopeless to compete against big brands and professional Instagram creators on your own.
You just don’t have the time to keep up w/ all best practices, come up w/ hyper-creative ideas, and create (write, film, design) high-quality social media content. You also don’t have a video production team.
Should you give up on social media?
Hold your horses. But do consider the ALL IN or ALL OUT approach.
↳ Go ALL IN for a 3-month test period. Although some social media agency people commented under my LI post that it should be a 6-month period, I don’t buy it.
↳ Look at social media as a 3-month experiment into which you invest €3-5k per month.
↳ Shift some paid ads budget to social media. Say you spend €10k per month on paid ads. Shift €5k of that budget to social media as an experiment for 3 months.
↳ Hire a freelance social media expert or agency for that 3-month period and let them work their magic. They’ve got the knowhow, social-media-creative brain, and teams and tools to create high-quality content.
↳ See how far the experiment takes you in 1-2 channels you’ve asked the experts to manage. You may as well see that this €5k is better spend on social media expert’s fee than paid advertising. You can measure the results via general high-level results, blended CPA, and obviously social media growth KPIs.
Pay to play
In 2025, social media is one of the most lucrative growth channels.
But as with any marketing channel, paid or organic, you’ll have to pay the entry price in order to play the game.
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