July 21, 2025
Where the Wild Things Are - Rethinking Social Media in 2025
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Title: Where the Wild Things Are - Rethinking Social Media in 2025Episode Summary:
Social media platforms have changed dramatically, leaving many public relations and marketing professionals questioning their next steps. On this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR, and Michelle Kane explore the current state of social media and offer practical advice for staying relevant and strategic. They discuss the platforms worth keeping an eye on, how to align your presence with your client's audience, and the importance of balancing professional engagement with personal values. Whether you're an advocate of LinkedIn or wary of TikTok, you’ll gain clarity on the evolving landscape and actionable insights to guide your strategy.
Episode Highlights:- [00:18] – Welcome! Karen and Michelle kick off with a relatable chat about unpredictable summer weather.
- [02:09] – Transition to the hot topic of managing professional social media strategies in a turbulent environment.
- [03:04] – Is LinkedIn still the safe space for PR pros, or has its engagement also shifted?
- [05:55] – Exploring generational divides in media consumption and why multi-platform strategies are critical today.
- [07:35] – The surprising continued relevance of Facebook in niche and community-focused marketing strategies.
- [11:07] – Why emotional assessments are key when re-evaluating your social media presence mid-year.
- [12:08] – Karen and Michelle’s parting advice on standing by your values while staying adaptable for clients.
- Assess which social media platforms best align with your audience and professional values before committing your resources.
- Diversify your strategies—don’t rely solely on one channel to reach target audiences.
- Regularly re-evaluate your PR and marketing approaches in response to evolving platform dynamics and audience preferences.
- Community and connection are as important as algorithm-driven reach; prioritize authentic engagement.
- Balance professional obligations with personal ethics when working with or recommending specific platforms.
- Episode 284: How PR Pros Can Use an Audit to Unlock Social Media Success
- Hubspot: Social Media Trends Report
- Visit Solo PR Pro for tools and resources that help PR pros thrive.
That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, founder of Words For Hire and President of Solo PR, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and advice for solo PR pros navigating today’s dynamic professional landscape.
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Where the Wild Things Are - Rethinking Social Media in 2025
Transcribing live conversations can be tricky so please be forgiving of any typos or errors that you find. Love something here and want to share? Great, please read the notes at the end. Enjoy!
Michelle Kane (00:12):
Hello, and thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with Voice Matters. I'm my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you today? The bell will engage us.
Karen Swim, APR (00:32):
I am here. We are recording this on a Monday, and it feels very much like a Monday, but I'm good. How are you doing, Michelle?
Michelle Kane (00:42):
Yeah, Monday is, Monday, could be worse, could be better. But we're in the thick of summer, and I think in both of our locations, it's like a rainforest. The humidity is not giving up, and I'm asking myself, was it like this last year? And I just didn't care as much, but
(01:01):
It feels like every other day there's a massive thunderstorm warning. I'm really getting annoyed to the point of, wait a second, I like summer because I can actually make and do plans. I don't have to worry about leaving my home in peril, which again is a very cushy East coast thing. And here in Pennsylvania we are very, very fortunate for the most part, natural disaster wise. So I do come from the perch of being spoiled by weather over the decades. But yeah, two Tuesdays in a row, I'm heading to appointments and there are literal tornado warnings, and I'm thinking, look at the sky and think, roll the dice.
Karen Swim, APR (01:39):
Not fun at all. I agree. It's been a really, I'm trying to lean in, but here too, it's just, it's either too hot, too buggy, or it's storming. So we haven't even been able to sit outside and just enjoy sitting in the yard and reading a book because it's just miserable. There's one thing or another. So
Michelle Kane (02:03):
Yeah.
Karen Swim, APR (02:04):
Anyway,
Michelle Kane (02:07):
So awkward segue to other things that annoy us these days. Social media. Social media. This is what we want to talk about today. Just honestly, there's been, as we all know, many of us and our fellow PR pros have gone through all of the emotions with many of the platforms. I mean, X is monstrous anymore, but yet there are still journalists there and there is still information exchange. So we just want to dig in a little bit about the different platforms and what makes sense for us as PR pros. Do we suck it up and still pop in at least on behalf of both widening our knowledge or just knowing what's going on out there and what do we recommend for clients? So that's what we're going to bump into today.
Karen Swim, APR (03:02):
And I think that there's no right or wrong answer. It really has to be a personal decision, but it is getting really difficult in this day and age, find any company that in this space, in the technology space, that you feel good about supporting. So there's plenty of reason to dislike all of the platforms. I think that everyone agrees that LinkedIn has remained a place where they still feel comfortable going and sharing. But let's face it, a big part of our audience, particularly if you're doing consumers are just not there. They're not participating on LinkedIn. The people who work in corporate jobs are not on LinkedIn during the day. In the same way that people like us who work for ourselves or professionals who have a stake in being there, it's not the
Michelle Kane (03:59):
Norm. Right? It's very true. Very true. And even use of the platforms, the rest of the platforms is sporadic at best for a number of reasons. I think enough time has passed that the shiny has certainly worn off of social media because if you go back, what, 15 years, everyone was like, oh yeah, no one's going to pick up anything print or look at anything else ever. And as we've moved through this, we're realizing that's not true. And I'm not sure that all types of businesses have fully caught up with that. I know I've come across many who think, well, no, social media is where it's at. It's our silver bullet. It's going to build my business. No, it's just yet another way to reach people. Talking with a sales rep just the other day about that, about how you really do need to remember to diversify your media buys, billboards still matter broadcast to a certain extent, depending on how you do it, still matters. And that you really do need to keep that in mind because especially as the generations flake off, flake off is not a good word to say, but the demographic breakout, if I might be more professional, but younger people aren't on Facebook and certain some people aren't on Instagram, and TikTok is who the heck knows anymore.
Karen Swim, APR (05:29):
It's interesting that you've said that because I think that that's the other big part of this equation, and it's an issue. And again, you have to consider this for your clients and for what makes sense for you. We do have multi-generations that we're marketing to, that we're working with, and they are very different in the way that they consume information. So in my own family, I have people, seniors that actually watch the broadcast news.
(06:00):
I was visiting with a relative in the hospital and they had the news on, and I was like, what are you doing? Because it just seems weird to me, and they're telling me all the stuff that happened that I really didn't need to know. So in my mind, none of this is important to me. Who are these people and why are you watching this? But that group really relies on broadcast for information, and that's where they get marketing. Now, they also choose some social media channel. And then with my family, I have people that TikTok shop is how they find out about products. It's where they get information. Other people, it's Facebook. Facebook is a very, very vibrant place. For example, if you market to the black community and you're not on Facebook for a big part of that community, you're missing them. They're just there. That's where they go. They show up. They're posting constantly. They're engaging, they're using the stories. And we've all run away from a lot of these platforms. We don't want to be there. But we've reached the point. It's like, okay, well there's nowhere else to run, and some of our people are actually over here, so I don't want to lose either my community or lose the opportunity to be part of these conversations on behalf of my clients or on behalf of me and my job and my work.
Michelle Kane (07:35):
Right, right. No, it's true. And I think it all comes down to the core principle of where is your audience that you're trying to reach, spending their time and making sure that you are there. And this is especially true with the growing demise of local print media, which even the people that love to hate it, they rely on it because I see it. People saying, well, I didn't know about that. How would I find out about that? And I think, yeah, that did play a bigger part than you even realize. And how we all get on the same page, so to speak, information. And I'm talking about events and things or even staying engaged as far as your local school board matters and things like that. Right now, you have to seek that information out, so you have to be inclined to look for it. And I think the issue there is the juxtaposition is we are still to a certain extent, even though solid print readers may be raging out, I don't know. They say Gen Z likes print. Anyway, my point being, I think we're still attuned to, well, no, the news will come to me. I don't have to go seek it out. And then of course, you've got the misinformation. When people do seek it out, sometimes they hit on the treasure trove of misinformation, and you have the current hot mess of our world.
Karen Swim, APR (09:02):
And I don't know that to be a downer in the time that we have today is something to really think about. And to really, again, it has to be a personal decision. If you have ethical reasons for not being on specific platforms, stand by your ethics. Stand your ground. You have to live out your values. But if it's just like a, I don't really care for whomever, we might need to rethink that for the purpose of still putting the people, I guess, above the platform, because it just, we're boycotting everybody. The list grows so long, and then you talk to different groups of people and they're like, we are boycotting them. I didn't know. So it's even getting hard to keep track of like, okay, who are we boycotting?
Michelle Kane (10:02):
Wait for, for why, for how? And I kind of think of it this way from the professional point of view. And like you say, unless there's some adamant reason when you're thinking, oh my gosh, it's just we can't. And there certainly are those reasons out there for sure. I think of it this way, yeah, I don't have to buy time on a radio station that I, sorry, my brain just broke. I don't have to listen to a radio station to buy time on it for our client. I might not like the genre of music, but I'll still pursue radio spots for them.
Karen Swim, APR (10:44):
So
Michelle Kane (10:45):
Trying to think of it that way. If you're doing the work for your client, it's like, oh, okay, I don't spend much time here, but I'm going to post this content and keep an eye on it. So in that realm, it's a similar vein, but the luster has certainly fallen off social media. And I think too, as we've discussed as well, just the energy and time it takes, I think the pros and cons of that, we're starting to think, eh, I'd rather go be with people for an hour instead.
Karen Swim, APR (11:15):
And we want that for you. We want you to not increase your utilization, save yourself, save your mental health. Go read a book, take a walk, laugh with somebody, sit in silence and meditate anything but spending hours, doom scrolling. That's just not healthy for any of us. But I would say that in this second half of the year, as we're reviewing PR strategies and what really works and what really works for you in building community, because we need support too, and we need that sounding ground, take a look at some of the platforms and see today with an assessment that is not emotional. And again, barring those platforms that you really are like, I cannot just take a look and assess, has my audience stayed there or have they returned there? Were they migrating? And what might make sense for me to reexamine?
Michelle Kane (12:16):
Exactly. Exactly. And we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what you're experiencing. Tell us how you are feeling. Hit us up@solopro.com. You can send us some notes there, and please do share this around if you got any value of it at all. We value that you take the time to listen every week. We really do. It's incredible. So until next time, thanks for listening to that solo Life.
We ask that you honor the following if you want to use the transcripts for this or any episode.
You are more than welcome to share the transcript (up to 500 words) in media articles (e.g., PR News, O’Dwyers), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Substack), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “That Solo Life” and link back to the soloprpro/podcast URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
But please note that no one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use That Solo Life’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Got questions? Email us at info@soloprpro.com.
Transcribing live conversations can be tricky so please be forgiving of any typos or errors that you find. Love something here and want to share? Great, please read the notes at the end. Enjoy!
Michelle Kane (00:12):
Hello, and thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with Voice Matters. I'm my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you today? The bell will engage us.
Karen Swim, APR (00:32):
I am here. We are recording this on a Monday, and it feels very much like a Monday, but I'm good. How are you doing, Michelle?
Michelle Kane (00:42):
Yeah, Monday is, Monday, could be worse, could be better. But we're in the thick of summer, and I think in both of our locations, it's like a rainforest. The humidity is not giving up, and I'm asking myself, was it like this last year? And I just didn't care as much, but
(01:01):
It feels like every other day there's a massive thunderstorm warning. I'm really getting annoyed to the point of, wait a second, I like summer because I can actually make and do plans. I don't have to worry about leaving my home in peril, which again is a very cushy East coast thing. And here in Pennsylvania we are very, very fortunate for the most part, natural disaster wise. So I do come from the perch of being spoiled by weather over the decades. But yeah, two Tuesdays in a row, I'm heading to appointments and there are literal tornado warnings, and I'm thinking, look at the sky and think, roll the dice.
Karen Swim, APR (01:39):
Not fun at all. I agree. It's been a really, I'm trying to lean in, but here too, it's just, it's either too hot, too buggy, or it's storming. So we haven't even been able to sit outside and just enjoy sitting in the yard and reading a book because it's just miserable. There's one thing or another. So
Michelle Kane (02:03):
Yeah.
Karen Swim, APR (02:04):
Anyway,
Michelle Kane (02:07):
So awkward segue to other things that annoy us these days. Social media. Social media. This is what we want to talk about today. Just honestly, there's been, as we all know, many of us and our fellow PR pros have gone through all of the emotions with many of the platforms. I mean, X is monstrous anymore, but yet there are still journalists there and there is still information exchange. So we just want to dig in a little bit about the different platforms and what makes sense for us as PR pros. Do we suck it up and still pop in at least on behalf of both widening our knowledge or just knowing what's going on out there and what do we recommend for clients? So that's what we're going to bump into today.
Karen Swim, APR (03:02):
And I think that there's no right or wrong answer. It really has to be a personal decision, but it is getting really difficult in this day and age, find any company that in this space, in the technology space, that you feel good about supporting. So there's plenty of reason to dislike all of the platforms. I think that everyone agrees that LinkedIn has remained a place where they still feel comfortable going and sharing. But let's face it, a big part of our audience, particularly if you're doing consumers are just not there. They're not participating on LinkedIn. The people who work in corporate jobs are not on LinkedIn during the day. In the same way that people like us who work for ourselves or professionals who have a stake in being there, it's not the
Michelle Kane (03:59):
Norm. Right? It's very true. Very true. And even use of the platforms, the rest of the platforms is sporadic at best for a number of reasons. I think enough time has passed that the shiny has certainly worn off of social media because if you go back, what, 15 years, everyone was like, oh yeah, no one's going to pick up anything print or look at anything else ever. And as we've moved through this, we're realizing that's not true. And I'm not sure that all types of businesses have fully caught up with that. I know I've come across many who think, well, no, social media is where it's at. It's our silver bullet. It's going to build my business. No, it's just yet another way to reach people. Talking with a sales rep just the other day about that, about how you really do need to remember to diversify your media buys, billboards still matter broadcast to a certain extent, depending on how you do it, still matters. And that you really do need to keep that in mind because especially as the generations flake off, flake off is not a good word to say, but the demographic breakout, if I might be more professional, but younger people aren't on Facebook and certain some people aren't on Instagram, and TikTok is who the heck knows anymore.
Karen Swim, APR (05:29):
It's interesting that you've said that because I think that that's the other big part of this equation, and it's an issue. And again, you have to consider this for your clients and for what makes sense for you. We do have multi-generations that we're marketing to, that we're working with, and they are very different in the way that they consume information. So in my own family, I have people, seniors that actually watch the broadcast news.
(06:00):
I was visiting with a relative in the hospital and they had the news on, and I was like, what are you doing? Because it just seems weird to me, and they're telling me all the stuff that happened that I really didn't need to know. So in my mind, none of this is important to me. Who are these people and why are you watching this? But that group really relies on broadcast for information, and that's where they get marketing. Now, they also choose some social media channel. And then with my family, I have people that TikTok shop is how they find out about products. It's where they get information. Other people, it's Facebook. Facebook is a very, very vibrant place. For example, if you market to the black community and you're not on Facebook for a big part of that community, you're missing them. They're just there. That's where they go. They show up. They're posting constantly. They're engaging, they're using the stories. And we've all run away from a lot of these platforms. We don't want to be there. But we've reached the point. It's like, okay, well there's nowhere else to run, and some of our people are actually over here, so I don't want to lose either my community or lose the opportunity to be part of these conversations on behalf of my clients or on behalf of me and my job and my work.
Michelle Kane (07:35):
Right, right. No, it's true. And I think it all comes down to the core principle of where is your audience that you're trying to reach, spending their time and making sure that you are there. And this is especially true with the growing demise of local print media, which even the people that love to hate it, they rely on it because I see it. People saying, well, I didn't know about that. How would I find out about that? And I think, yeah, that did play a bigger part than you even realize. And how we all get on the same page, so to speak, information. And I'm talking about events and things or even staying engaged as far as your local school board matters and things like that. Right now, you have to seek that information out, so you have to be inclined to look for it. And I think the issue there is the juxtaposition is we are still to a certain extent, even though solid print readers may be raging out, I don't know. They say Gen Z likes print. Anyway, my point being, I think we're still attuned to, well, no, the news will come to me. I don't have to go seek it out. And then of course, you've got the misinformation. When people do seek it out, sometimes they hit on the treasure trove of misinformation, and you have the current hot mess of our world.
Karen Swim, APR (09:02):
And I don't know that to be a downer in the time that we have today is something to really think about. And to really, again, it has to be a personal decision. If you have ethical reasons for not being on specific platforms, stand by your ethics. Stand your ground. You have to live out your values. But if it's just like a, I don't really care for whomever, we might need to rethink that for the purpose of still putting the people, I guess, above the platform, because it just, we're boycotting everybody. The list grows so long, and then you talk to different groups of people and they're like, we are boycotting them. I didn't know. So it's even getting hard to keep track of like, okay, who are we boycotting?
Michelle Kane (10:02):
Wait for, for why, for how? And I kind of think of it this way from the professional point of view. And like you say, unless there's some adamant reason when you're thinking, oh my gosh, it's just we can't. And there certainly are those reasons out there for sure. I think of it this way, yeah, I don't have to buy time on a radio station that I, sorry, my brain just broke. I don't have to listen to a radio station to buy time on it for our client. I might not like the genre of music, but I'll still pursue radio spots for them.
Karen Swim, APR (10:44):
So
Michelle Kane (10:45):
Trying to think of it that way. If you're doing the work for your client, it's like, oh, okay, I don't spend much time here, but I'm going to post this content and keep an eye on it. So in that realm, it's a similar vein, but the luster has certainly fallen off social media. And I think too, as we've discussed as well, just the energy and time it takes, I think the pros and cons of that, we're starting to think, eh, I'd rather go be with people for an hour instead.
Karen Swim, APR (11:15):
And we want that for you. We want you to not increase your utilization, save yourself, save your mental health. Go read a book, take a walk, laugh with somebody, sit in silence and meditate anything but spending hours, doom scrolling. That's just not healthy for any of us. But I would say that in this second half of the year, as we're reviewing PR strategies and what really works and what really works for you in building community, because we need support too, and we need that sounding ground, take a look at some of the platforms and see today with an assessment that is not emotional. And again, barring those platforms that you really are like, I cannot just take a look and assess, has my audience stayed there or have they returned there? Were they migrating? And what might make sense for me to reexamine?
Michelle Kane (12:16):
Exactly. Exactly. And we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what you're experiencing. Tell us how you are feeling. Hit us up@solopro.com. You can send us some notes there, and please do share this around if you got any value of it at all. We value that you take the time to listen every week. We really do. It's incredible. So until next time, thanks for listening to that solo Life.
We ask that you honor the following if you want to use the transcripts for this or any episode.
You are more than welcome to share the transcript (up to 500 words) in media articles (e.g., PR News, O’Dwyers), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Substack), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “That Solo Life” and link back to the soloprpro/podcast URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
But please note that no one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use That Solo Life’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Got questions? Email us at info@soloprpro.com.