I’m the person who always says she will never do something and then, after it becomes trendy, I cave. Every. Single. Time.
Leggings… I said I’d never wear them, now I live in them. Skinny jeans… I am having a hard time embracing the switch back to wide leg. (But you know I will probably jump in wholeheartedly a year into the trend.)
I’m essentially the opposite of a hipster… or at least what we referred to as a hipster 15 years ago or so if you’re my age.
I tell you this because I’m about to walk through some of the trends I’m seeing in marketing as we enter 2026, and I don’t want you to be me.
Don’t sleep on these trends. They’re good, important, and most of them are simple!
(And they’ll feel much better than the low-rise jean trend that’s trying to weasel its way back from the 90s. Please, for the love of all things holy, let’s give that trend the 0 out of 10 it deserves.)
Marketing trend #1: Dividing your content by customer stage
When you consider the journey your customer might be on, they typically end up in one of three stages: curiosity, enlightenment, and commitment.
You need to start thinking about your content in relation to these stages. Most of your marketing (probably 80%) will attract people in the curiosity stage and nurture them through the enlightenment stage. Only 20% of your marketing will sell to your customers during the commitment stage.
Social media and email are our personal favorites for helping walk people through these stages. I like to think of it as:
Social media = attract and nurture
Email = nurture and sell
Note: Sometimes, people get confused because we also talk about making content buckets. Buckets plus stages are actually a match made in heaven. You can tailor the buckets around the stage to add an extra layer of purpose.
Marketing Trend #2: Leaning toward the personal
Since the beginning of time (just kidding – only since businesses started using social media for advertising), marketers have been telling said businesses they need to be “authentic.” To the point that the word now feels inauthentic.
But really, what we’re seeing in 2025 and 2026 is a shift towards the personal. Less filters. More b-roll from daily life. More desire for interaction.
Likes and comments are generally trending downwards as conversations in the DMs (and personal responses to emails) are on the rise. People want to connect with the person behind the accounts.
Note: Don’t confuse personal with private. You can have a private life that you don’t let the world see while still giving your followers a taste of your personal life.
Marketing Trend #3: Getting people moving (digitally)
I have been advocating for people to leave social media-only communication and join your email list since I started Stratos in 2018. Why? See marketing trend #1.
Good news… It’s not as hard as it used to be!
Tools like ManyChat, which deliver automated comments and direct messages to followers, make it incredibly easy to share lead generators with followers, allowing them to sign up and subscribe to your email list.
What’s better? It’s begun to roll out different automations that can simulate conversations with others. This isn’t a replacement for those personal connections, but the automations can start the conversation.
Note: While some social users might complain about receiving messages from automation tools like ManyChat, they actually love them. Yes, it is annoying to have to comment with a keyword to get an automatic response. But do you know what is more irritating? Wanting a resource and having to click through several links to search for it!
Marketing Trend #4: Using AI smarter
AI is obviously not new, and while ChatGPT, Claude, and others have grown in popularity over the past few years, we all know Clippy was the OG AI.
It can be tempting to use our newfound friends for everything, but it’s 100% to your detriment. Because even though AI is smart, humans are still smarter. We can tell when someone is using ChatGPT for their marketing (I.e. too many emojis and em dashes). We can even tell when the animal-jumping-on-the-trampoline video is fake. And let’s not get started on AI headshots.
The rise of AI has coincided with the increase of our collective BS meter.
Wait til you see this site. Now your BS meter will start wondering which testimonials are fake, too! Sorry, and you’re welcome.
That collective meter includes your customer. Suppose they start noticing all the AI in your marketing… that will reflect on your brand and could plant seeds of doubt within them. AI can quickly destroy any personal connection your customers feel with you.
Here’s the deal… this doesn’t mean we should toss AI aside. Instead, let’s use it smarter, especially in a way that fosters the personal experience we spoke of earlier.
Edit the things it helps you write. Use AI to help you brainstorm. Have it come up with a line of code when you need it.
However, let’s agree that we won’t overuse it, and instead use it to enhance our ability to be personal and communicate effectively. It should never replace our ability to communicate.
Note: I will put my foot down on AI headshots, though. They will never work out in your favor, and I can guarantee you that even a selfie will do more for your marketing than an AI headshot.
The world of digital marketing is ever-changing because people and their consumption habits are constantly evolving. We’re always keeping an eye on how people respond to marketing, primarily through social media and email, and are excited to see how these trends unfold in 2026.
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