How Politics Is Shaping Your Marketing Strategy (Whether You Like It or Not)
If it feels like marketing your business in 2025 has become more unpredictable, you’re not imagining it. Politics isn’t just influencing your feed—it’s actively disrupting your marketing strategy. From unexpected tariffs to looming TikTok bans to election-year ad chaos, the line between business and government has never been blurrier.
And if you’re an entrepreneur, you’re not just watching it unfold. You’re feeling it in your invoices, inboxes, and insights.
Let’s break it down.
Politics, tariffs, & Entrepreneurship whiplash
The start of the year hit American, Canadian, Chinese, and Mexican business owners with a not-so-fun surprise: tariffs. Inside the Kiss My Aesthetic Facebook group, we saw firsthand how quickly fear set in:
Non-essential projects were paused or canceled overnight.
People who were hired on DEI initiatives were being questioned about their jobs.
Expenses for packaging and imported products ballooned.
Legal citizens and immigrants were being deported or disappeared overnight.
And across the board? More downtime. Less certainty. Shrinking profit margins.
This isn’t something we’re studying in history class; this is a real-time lesson in how fast political decisions can disrupt creative livelihoods.
TikTok: to ban or not to ban (that is the question)
Since it gained popularity during COVID-19 lockdowns, the threat of the U.S. government banning TikTok has been possible. While they state the reasoning is because of user data privacy concerns, the real threat for Americans is the human rights issues at stake if the app is banned.
This is the setup for infringing on American’s constitutional rights under the First Amendment. TikTok has become a vital platform for marginalized communities to express themselves and share their stories. It’s where activists inform people about what’s happening worldwide.
And it’s also where millions of American businesses market their brand and have it reach new audiences without dishing out thousands of dollars on ads.
This whole back and forth has only caused anxiety from the unknown. One minute, it’s getting banned. The next? Unbanned (for 75 days) with a slice of dystopic welcome back messages praising the exact person who initiated the ban in the first place.
The government's deadline for TikTok to be sold to an American company has recently been extended by another 75 days.
If trust is the currency of digital marketing, this cruel PR stunt has sent inflation soaring.
In the Beyond the TikTok Ban, Episode 155 of the Kiss My Aesthetic Podcast with Amber Figlow and Ashli Pollard, we dissected the political theater, the power grab behind it, and most importantly—the lesson: do not build your empire on rented land. TikTok, Instagram, and X are tools. Not homes.
You need to diversify your strategy so you can still thrive regardless of the social marketing landscape at any given time. This is precisely what we work on with our social media clients: to remain flexible and resilient in the face of change. If you’re ready to adapt your social media strategy to one that is advantageous in the current political climate, check out our 2025 social media webinar and reference guide (typically exclusive for our social clients, so don’t miss out!).
Social media is political (even when you’re not)
In Episode 186 of the Kiss My Aesthetic Podcast, Branding Lessons from Presidential Campaigns, I dove into the branding lessons we can learn from presidential campaigns.
Why? Because politics is branding.
🪧 This ethos is what inspired the No Kings Protest Poster Series (& corresponding merch designs) —a visual rebellion against apathy and a reminder that design is activism. Whether you’re a protestor or a business owner, you’re telling a story. You’re planting a flag.
Political Marketing Campaigns:
Use bold design systems tailored to specific demographics. All boiled down to communicating messages effectively to an audience—proving that the message will benefit them to the point where they become ambassadors of the message.
Use repetition, simplicity, and emotional triggers.
Go where their audience is: TikTok, podcasts, Instagram lives.
Create moments worth clipping, sharing, and talking about.
These are the cornerstones of smart and savvy branding.
The paid ad tsunami of Q4 2024 🌊
Q4 in 2024 saw an 84% increase in paid political content across social platforms. Yes, the same platforms you were sharing your product launch and brand awareness campaign. Yours and everyone else’s content was swimming upstream against million-dollar election ads, emotionally charged hot takes, and algorithmic chaos.
No wonder your reach tanked. No wonder your content flopped. It’s somewhat impossible to think you’d be able to float to the top of everyone’s feeds.
And that’s a critical point for marketers in 2025: you need a new game plan.
What innovative brands are doing now 🧠
For your brand to survive and thrive in this current political climate, you need to:
Diversify your content distribution. Think TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Reels and blog content. Podcasts and Pinterest. Relying on one platform amplifies your risk of losing your audience base if the app suddenly gets shut down.
Get vocal about your values. Neutrality doesn’t build customer trust. And in a sea of uncertainty, clarity wins. Wondering how this looks in practice? Check out the Instagram carousel we created on our core beliefs.
Start building circular ecosystems. Mention your podcast in your newsletter. Promote your newsletter on TikTok. Tease your blog in an Instagram Reel. Connect the dots so people know where to find you.
Market within your community. In Episode 198 of the Kiss My Aesthetic Podcast, Marketing Without Social Media, I dive into the ways you can build your brand beyond social media. Think workshops, events and classes. Establish partnerships with aligned brands and host a cross-promotional event to widen your audience. Create an experiential event like how Falk Ruvin Gallagher hosts cooking classes for community members who have worked with their real estate services. Hosting events consistently is a fantastic way to generate buzz off-screen.
Aside from hosting, sponsorships are another great way to show off your brand values in the real world. Sponsor an event. Buy a billboard at your local community centre. The number of ways your brand can be relevant off-screen is truly endless.
Politics is now a marketing variable 🗳️
Gone are the days when you could ignore politics and still succeed in business. Being an entrepreneur or brand strategist in 2025 means that politics isn’t just on your radar—it’s in your revenue.
So here’s your reminder to:
Stay informed.
Speak up.
Adapt boldly.
Feeling the algorithm whiplash? Book a discovery call to work with us for a brag-worthy social media strategy.
