I’ve spent the last few months learning about and analysing the social media strategies of major podcast networks to determine what’s actually working in 2025. My colleague, Lucy Antonatos has recently published an article on the podcast discoverability dilemma, which sums up nicely the key ways podcasts can increase their discoverability. Currently, there’s a pretty hot debate within the industry around whether podcasts should remain audio only or also include video. This debate is interesting and worth following – my colleague Chloe Sackur has produced a succinct overview in a LinkedIn post that has attracted discussion from some key figures from the industry if you want to learn more. But as more podcasts seem to be producing video content alongside the audio, it makes me wonder, how are the smaller Indie (Independent) podcast companies going to compete and reach new listeners with less capacity and fewer resources to produce such regular and demanding content?
Major networks like Spotify, iHeartMedia, and SiriusXM seem to have doubled down on flooding social media with their visual podcast content. Recent reports from Edison Research show that these companies are putting approximately 65% of their marketing budgets toward social media campaigns, with a particular focus on short-form video. Spotify alone reported spending $23 million on digital marketing for their original and exclusive podcasts in Q1 2025. According to Podtrac’s Q1 2025 report, the top 20 podcast publishers are posting an average of 43 pieces of social content per podcast episode. That’s a staggering amount of content repurposing that requires dedicated social teams.
The big networks are also heavily investing in what they call “social-first listeners” – people who discover podcasts primarily through social media rather than podcast apps. As Sounds Profitable’s State of Podcast Advertising noted in March, an estimated 42% of new podcast listeners in 2025 discovered their first show through social media clips, up from 31% in 2024.
While these numbers might sound discouraging for independent creators with limited resources who may be feeling dejected by these stats, let’s take a pause and look at the flip side. Perhaps it is better to work smarter not harder?
The Podnews Report Card 2025 Results (February 2025) suggest that indie shows with the highest growth aren’t necessarily those posting the most content. Instead, they’re the ones using an approach with more ‘targeted authenticity.’
What does this mean? Rather than trying to be everywhere with generic clips, successful independent podcasters are focusing on:
- Platform specialisation: Instead of spreading themselves thin across every social channel, they’re focusing on 1-2 platforms where their specific audience actually hangs out.
- Community cultivation: 76% of growing independent shows prioritise direct engagement with listeners over pure content volume.
- Creative formats beyond clips: While big networks rely heavily on the “best moments” formula, successful independents are creating platform-native content that complements their podcasts rather than just excerpting them.
Can it be true that, paradoxically, there is an advantage that comes from having fewer resources to saturate peoples algorithms? According to the Podcast Listener Report 2025, listeners who discover shows through personalised recommendations or community engagement have a 78% higher retention rate than those who find shows through algorithmic recommendations or advertisements. I find this is true of my own experience. My friend recommended Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis’s podcast, The Wolf and Owl to me last year, which I listened to and loved, and have now recommended to another friend who is currently traveling in Australia. It has become something that we both listen to and feel connected by and we often message each other about things that came up in the episode.
More authentic engagement can make limited social media content perform better algorithmically despite lower production values or posting frequency.
So, what’s the best approach for Indies?
It is always going to be difficult for small Indies to compete with the big industry giants for peoples attention. However, there are some tactics that they can employ to increase their chances. Based on this research, prioritising the following in your social media strategy is probably best:
- Choose 1-2 primary platforms based on actual audience research
- Create distinctive, platform-native content (not just clips)
- Leverage listener communities as distribution networks
- Focus on engagement metrics over view counts (this leads to community!)
- Experiment with collaborative approaches that pool resources with complementary shows
Another seemingly effective method that could be used by mid-sized indie podcasts is creating groups of 4-6 complementary but non-competing podcasts that cross-promote and share social media resources (a bit like individual YouTuber’s have done to grow their audience).
Audience! Don’t forget about your Audience!
Another insight I’ve gathered is that platform importance varies dramatically by genre. While some may believe that TikTok is essential for growth in 2025, that’s simply not true across all podcast categories. You have to think about who your audience is! It is likely that a podcast about the menopause won’t find a huge audience on TikTok because that’s not where the podcast’s intended audience are, so why bother using resources to promote content on there when that is not a luxury the podcast team can afford? It is better to use the resources you have more efficiently and focus it on say, Instagram and Facebook, if that’s where middle-aged women are predominately online. The most successful independent podcasters are those who’ve matched their limited resources to the platforms that specifically drive results in their category, rather than trying to be everywhere.
So, it seems that independent podcasters have a unique opportunity that bigger branded podcasts don’t. While they can’t match the content volume of these larger networks, they can leverage authenticity and community in ways the bigger players struggle to replicate. While the major networks continue to invest millions in flashy video setups and professional social teams, there remains an audience hungry for the intimate, authentic connection that independent podcasters can offer more. However, it is still not an even playing field among the Indies – some content lends itself more to community building than others, so it will be easier for some Indies to build intimate communities online than others.
I’d love to hear your experiences as either podcast creators or listeners. Are you finding the big network shows increasingly indistinguishable from each other? Do you connect more deeply with independent creators? What social platforms are actually driving your podcast discovery in 2025? Let me know in the comments below!
