Episode Summary

TikTok has officially been sold, and the short-form video landscape is shifting. In this episode, Liz and Mike walk through what the sale means for everyday users, content creators, and small business owners — covering everything from algorithm changes to data privacy concerns and what platforms you should have on your radar.

Key Takeaways

1. TikTok's algorithm is being retrained on American user data, which will cause a period of instability — Expect glitches before things stabilize.
2. The new privacy policy grants TikTok broad rights to collect sensitive user data (including age, gender, health, religion, and immigration status) and to use content — even unpublished drafts — for their own purposes. Read it and decide your comfort level.
3. The Twitter/X sale offers a cautionary tale: rapid ownership changes, mass layoffs, a shift to pay-to-play discoverability, and a toxic atmosphere that drove millions of users off the platform.
4. Diversify now if TikTok is your only platform. At minimum, start reposting content to YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels to build a presence elsewhere.
5. Smaller platforms like Upscrolled (growing fast) and Skylight Social (decentralized) are worth keeping an eye on for early-mover advantage.
6. SEO on TikTok is going to matter more than ever as the algorithm relearns its audience — make it easy for the platform to know what your content is about.
7. People won't stop consuming short-form content. The question is just where they'll do it.

Platforms Mentioned

1. TikTok / TikTok US
2. YouTube Shorts
3. Instagram Reels / Facebook Reels
4. Threads
5. X (formerly Twitter)
6. Bluesky
7. Mastodon
8. Upscrolled
9. Skylight Social

Connect with Us

1. Liz Bachmann: Wildflower Social Media
2. Mike Albuquerque: Bear Double

In this episode of Marketing From X to Z, Mike and Liz reflect on the marketing strategies and tactics that actually worked in 2025 — and why they mattered. From scalable website builds to serialized social content, email newsletters, paid ads, and hyper-local SEO, this conversation focuses on practical approaches that delivered real results for small businesses.

Rather than chasing every new trend, this episode breaks down how intentional structure, clear perspective, and smart reuse of content helped drive growth across multiple channels.

Lower-barrier website strategies

1. How entry-level, stackable websites helped small businesses establish a professional digital presence without waiting until everything was “perfect.”

Serialized social media content

1. Why short, intentional content series (instead of one-off posts) improved engagement and helped guide audiences through a narrative.

Using your website beyond conversion

1. How websites can support sales teams and operations through private pages, asset libraries, and non-indexed content built specifically for the sales process.

Email newsletters that actually drive conversations

1. How value-focused newsletters led to re-engagement, replies, and new opportunities—without sounding salesy.

Building content to be repurposed from the start

1. Why creating long-form content with reuse in mind made it easier to generate blogs, emails, social posts, and training materials from a single source.

Meta advertising experiments that paid off

1. A look at instant-form lead ads, paid lead magnets, and how reducing friction improved conversion and follow-up opportunities.

Hyper-local marketing and SEO

1. How focusing on specific neighborhoods and localized perspectives helped businesses stand out in crowded industries.

The importance of perspective in marketing

1. Why clearly stating what you believe, how you work, and what you won’t compromise on became a key differentiator—especially in competitive markets.

Key takeaway

You don’t need to do everything to market effectively—but you do need clarity. The strategies that worked best in 2025 were rooted in strong perspective, intentional structure, and making marketing assets work harder across channels.

If you’re deciding where to focus next, start by identifying what makes your approach different—and build from there.

Instagram keeps changing, but the fundamentals are clearer than ever: make content people want, not posts the algorithm might tolerate. Liz (social strategy) and Mike (branding/web) unpack what’s new and what lasts—trial reels, longer watch times, smarter keyworded captions, fewer hashtags, DM-first engagement, and why “comfort creators” are winning over mega-polished feeds.

You’ll learn

1. Why quality beats low-effort trend-chasing (and how AI “slop” is pushing audiences toward real, useful content).
2. Trial reels 101: reaching non-followers on purpose and crafting “if you’re new, here’s what we do” hooks.
3. Followers: social proof and feature unlocks still matter, but engagement and watch time drive reach.
4. Search over hashtags: write keyworded, contextual captions; expect a 5-hashtag ceiling; optimize name/bio fields.
5. Zero-click reality: when to keep people on-platform and when to convert—with ManyChat-style DMs, link stickers, and smart follow-ups.
6. Length and retention: why 60–180s reels can outperform short clips when they hold attention.
7. Community tools: DMs, broadcast channels, and subscriptions for deeper connection.

Quick wins

1. Record one trial reel that introduces who you help, the result you deliver, and a soft next step. (check to make sure you have access to this feature)
2. Rewrite one caption with natural keywords your customer would actually search; add up to five precise hashtags.
3. Turn a top-performing reel into a carousel (and vice versa) to see which format drives longer attention.
4. Add one DM automation flow with proper opt-ins (comment keyword → resource → light nurture).
5. Audit your profile: update name and bio for search, swap in seasonally current photos, and pin three evergreen posts.

Key takeaway

Stop chasing every tweak. Tell better stories that serve your audience, use trial reels to meet new people, write captions for search, and build relationships in DMs. Do that consistently, and the algorithm shifts become minor adjustments—not total resets.