By now, most marketing teams are a little wary of “trend” content. Too often it’s vague, overly optimistic, or focused on surface-level culture shifts that don’t really change how you plan campaigns, allocate budget, or measure success.
The past few years have left consumers tired, sceptical, and very good at filtering out anything that feels forced or lazy. At the same time, AI has quietly reshaped how content is produced, how search works, and how people discover brands, whether we’re fully comfortable with that yet or not.
For marketers, the most useful trends heading into 2026 are the ones that show up in day-to-day decisions: how you structure accounts, where you invest time, how you protect performance when platforms shift, and what actually cuts through crowded feeds. So let’s jump into the trends we predict we’re going to see in 2026, and how you can use them in your marketing strategy to get the most out of this year.
People are looking for a bit of a break. Between cost of living pressures, global news, and everyday stress, audiences respond to content that feels lighter and more human.
A little humour or playfulness can go a long way. Even small moments that make someone smile, laugh, or feel understood help your brand cut through crowded feeds. We’ve already seen this in joy-seeking consumer behaviour, and it’s likely to continue through 2026.
Brands that do it well tend to get attention and build trust more naturally than those only pushing features or promotions. That being said, this in no way means that we all need to be comedy brands, this works best when humour or warmth already fit your brand. If it does, it’s worth experimenting across paid creative, social, and email.
People enjoy it when brands join a social trend, as long as it feels natural. When every brand jumps on the same trend regardless of fit, it quickly becomes boring and forced, like when your parents try to use slang. In fact, 88% of people in VML’s top 100 report said they value experiences that feel meaningful, not just entertaining.
For a long time, reach was the main goal. Brands wanted to be shared, stitched, duetted and recommended as widely as possible. Viral visibility was seen as success.
That approach is starting to lose its shine.
As trends come and go more quickly, people are becoming more selective about what they share. Products, places and online spaces that feel personal lose their appeal once they become overexposed. In response, exclusivity is starting to matter again.
In 2026, this shows up as brands building smaller, more intentional spaces. Locked Reels, broadcast channels, private groups and invite-only access are being used to reward loyalty and create a sense of belonging, rather than to manufacture hype.
For eCommerce brands, this often looks like early access to product drops, private content for returning customers, or loyalty programmes that feel considered and meaningful.
For lead generation brands, it tends to show up through closed learning spaces, invite-only events, and more selective distribution of content rather than publishing everything publicly.
The practical takeaway is simple: not everything needs to be shared with everyone. Protecting what makes your brand feel distinctive can be just as valuable as maximising reach.
AI has made content easier and faster to produce. The side effect is volume. A lot of it looks and sounds the same.
The term “AI slop” has moved from internet shorthand into everyday language, used to describe content that feels generic, low-effort or obviously machine-generated. Mentions of it rose sharply in 2025, and sentiment around it is largely negative. Audiences are quick to notice when content lacks care or intent.
As feeds become more crowded, people are gravitating towards brands that still feel human. Content that shows personality, perspective and imperfection stands out more easily than highly polished, overproduced outputs.
This is where employee-generated content has started to evolve into employee-powered branding. Employees aren’t just sharing campaigns; they’re shaping how brands are discovered and understood through everyday moments, opinions and experiences. Performance data consistently shows that content shared by employees outperforms the same content shared only through brand channels.
For marketing managers, this tends to mean:
Research backs this up. VML’s Future 100 report found that 76% of people feel very few brands stand out, with many blending together. Highly polished visuals, AI-generated content and constant output have made differentiation harder, not easier. The same report shows that 71% of people feel AI is making it more difficult to know what is real.
In that environment, brands that prioritise recognisable voices and real people are easier to trust. In 2026, the brands that cut through will be the ones willing to sound human, even when it’s less tidy.
Search hasn’t just meant Google for a while now. People jump between platforms depending on what they’re looking for, and that’s only becoming more common.
AI is changing how traditional search results are pulled together and shown. With 24% of AI users already using an AI shopping assistant, delegated purchase support is already the norm. As tools start helping people research, compare and choose products for them, it becomes more important that your content is clear, accurate and easy for systems to understand. This is where having Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) as part of your SEO strategy starts to matter in practice.
At the same time, a lot of discovery is happening on social media. TikTok and YouTube are already being used as search engines, especially by Gen Z and Gen Alpha. People use them to see products in real situations, hear honest opinions, and work out whether something feels right before they buy or enquire.
For marketing teams, if you aren’t already, it’s time to broaden how you think about search. Content should be useful to people and readable by machines. Social posts benefit from being created with a longer shelf life, and paid, organic and SEO activity work best when they’re planned together rather than in isolation.
As this behaviour continues to shift, teams that keep these channels separate will have a harder time protecting performance.
Paid social and search remain key channels for driving results, but their effectiveness depends on the quality of your data. With third-party cookies being phased out, first-party data is becoming the most reliable way to understand audiences and optimise campaigns. Channels like email, SMS, CRM and branded communities are growing as valuable sources of insights, feeding into smarter paid campaigns and more precise targeting
Owned channels give you a direct line to people who’ve already shown interest. They make it easier to build consistency, test ideas, and keep hold of value over time, rather than paying repeatedly to reach the same audiences through ads.
First-party data sits at the centre of this. With third-party cookies no longer available, sign-ups, account behaviour and consented tracking become the main way to understand and segment audiences. This data works best when it’s used carefully and with purpose. Clear opt-ins, preference centres and sensible frequency all help keep trust intact.
In practical terms, this often looks like improving the basics:
For performance teams, this shifts how success is measured. Acquisition remains important, but owned channels play a bigger role in retention, lifetime value and decision-making. Over time, they also reduce reliance on rising CPCs and give teams more flexibility when platforms change.
Taken together, these trends point to a shift in how marketing teams approach their work day to day. There’s less tolerance for noise, shortcuts and surface-level tactics, and more value placed on clarity, care and consistency. People notice when brands take the time to get things right, whether that’s in how they speak, where they show up, or how they treat existing customers.
For eComm and lead gen teams, 2026 is likely to reward the basics done well. Clear messaging that feels human. Content that earns attention rather than demanding it. Focusing on more strategic channels and tactics instead of trying to be everywhere at once. Systems that hold up when platforms change, rather than scrambling to react after the fact.
None of this requires chasing every new idea or rebuilding everything from scratch. It’s about making deliberate choices: where to invest, what to say no to, and how to build marketing activity that still works when trends move on. Teams that focus on that will be in a much stronger position as the year unfolds.