26 Things That Will Help Your Social Media in 2026

Built for brands, creators, and social teams in the trenches.

Howdy there, friend! First off, Happy New Year!

I’m writing this from the cozy corner of my couch, sipping on a bone broth hot chocolate (don’t knock it until you try it), and mentally prepping for the week ahead.

As we all ease back into the chaos of real life, I wanted this newsletter to feel simple, easy to digest, and more tip-oriented.

Today, we’re chatting 26 tactics, tricks, tips, and reminders to help sharpen your social media strategy and execution, strengthen your influencer marketing initiatives, and reset your overall mindset.

Quick housekeeping before we dive in: I totally messed up the most important link in my last edition. If you want to get better at planning content ahead of time, you can make a copy of my template HERE.

Let’s get into it.

26 Lessons from the Social Media Trenches

In no particular order.

In the wise words of Austin Butler, “Embarrassment is an unexplored emotion. Go out there a make a fool out of yourself.” Whether it’s creating content for the first time or trying a new approach, you will always stand in your own way. If this is the year that you want to invest more in being on camera, writing, or creating in a way that is important to you, you won’t know until you try. Heck, you’ll see me trying to be on camera more here this month and i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t nervous.

Speaking of, if you’re something looking to get good at creating and scripting short-form content, I really recommend signing up and looking into Cut30. I have had the honor of being a guest speaker for over 5+ sessions, but February will be the time that I take it myself to get better at practicing what I preach.

Go back to all those Instagram posts, TikToks, and tweets you saved or bookmarked in 2025. There’s a reason they stopped your scroll. Use them as a shortcut: study the hook, the format, the pacing, and the caption. You’ve already told yourself what works so now turn those saves into ideas you can actually build from and utilize.
You will always fall victim to your systems. Control what you can by whatever means necessary whether it’s in weekly updates,
If growth feels stuck, it’s usually a distribution problem that can be born out of a content or product issue. You (most likely) need more top-of-funnel, more entry points, and more ways for people to “accidentally” discover you. Saying the same thing in more places beats saying new things to the same people. Influencers posting nonstop, content living beyond one platform (or account), through partnerships with other brands, and showing up where new audiences already are that’s how momentum actually builds. Talking to the same people won’t get you far.
It’s okay to do things for brand awareness even if it isn’t always able to be tracked. I wrote a bit around why brand awareness is a strategy HERE earlier in 2025.
A reminder that social-first content is driving the strongest awareness. Stop leaving your social team in the dust when it comes to company updates, initiatives, and campaigns.
If you’re sending product to influencers but feel unsure how to prove impact or you just want to understand how and where your brand is actually being mentioned, start by tracking organic content properly. Tools like Archive help you see what’s already happening, surface potential creators who are posting that could be great fits for your brand, and give you clarity before you scale seeding or spend more budget.
Content and context go hand in hand across platforms. Not every piece can just be repurposed even if it feels like the easy way to produce more.
Trends are rented. Formats are owned. Invest in formats you can repeat, evolve, and make your own because those are what actually compound over time. Doing trends consistently isn’t a strategy nor is it sustainable.
Your best inspiration will never come from the same niche you operate in.

Step outside your own box. Bring ideas back with intention. For example, this post from Nordic Knots stopped my scroll enough with them leaning into new textures and colors the same way a beauty brand would encouraging their customers to lean into new color palettes that they may highlight in their home.
Start a DM group chat with your team directly in-platform. Use it to share wins, drop ideas, and pass around inspiration in real time. It keeps everyone looking at the same feed, the same references, and the same inspiration so you’re actually on the same page, not just saying you are. Plus, we all get served different things so it allows for new perspective.
If you’re still needing a watermark removed, use SnapInsta or SnapTik.
Protect thinking time. Block time on your calendar every week to let your mind run free. In social, it’s easy to get stuck in the messy middle of half strategy, half execution where nothing feels clear. Sometimes the most important meeting is the one you have with yourself to walk away with clarity.
You can’t expect things to change if you aren’t leveraging your own data. Analytics are free!!!! If you’re looking for something that is more intricate, I personally have always been a Sprout Social user.
Good marketing can only save a bad product for so long. Invest in what you’re selling just as much, if not more, than the team you’re building to carry a mid product. Marketing should amplify something great, not disguise something unfinished.
Just because something may be hard to measure, don’t necessarily mean it’s not “working.” I’ll die on this hill.
Ideas and consistency is what will set you apart as a brand and as a human online. Strong ideas, repeated often, in enough places. The brands that win aren’t louder. They’re clearer and more consistent, but also aren’t afraid to try.

Good ideas get attention. Consistency turns attention into momentum.
Showing the process matters more than you think. Behind-the-scenes content builds trust since shows how decisions get made, what goes into the work, and that there are real people behind the brand, but also removes the concept of perfection. BTS lowers the barrier to care. People don’t just want the outcome.
They want to understand the journey. Process creates connection. Connection creates buy-in.
Your community is your most consistent distribution channel.Invest in your community and actually put resources behind it. That can look like featuring user-generated content, inviting your community into photoshoots, hosting IRL events, funding their ideas, or simply meeting them where they already are online through their tagged content + comments. When people feel seen and included, they don’t just support the brand, they help build it. Cava just did this with their new announcement that they are bringing their signature white sweet potatoes back.
Top-of-funnel content is still wildly underdone. Brands jump straight to selling and skip the part where people actually discover them. This is the work that earns attention before someone is ready to buy, follow, and fully engage. Go broad on purpose. Not everything needs to convert. It needs to introduce, entertain, and stick.
The best brands are media companies. Top of funnel still matters. Views fuel everything, so if you can maximize reach, why wouldn’t you? We’ve seen brands spin up multiple accounts whether it is BTS-only pages, founder-led profiles, “finstas,” and more to capture attention in different ways. Naturally, this is bandwidth-dependent. But if you have the ability to own more surface area and mindshare in your category, it’s worth testing.
1. Immi created their brand account, but what really made them pop was ramenonthestreet. They leveraged brand likeness through the ramen costume, but didn’t make it feel like an ad. Instead, they layered in something personal and human: deep questions, relatable answers, and moments people actually recognize from their own lives. The lesson? Likeness gets attention. Humanity earns retention.
2. Bloom Supps recently did this with the introduction of a meme accounts across TikTok and Instagram to drive high-level awareness and views HERE. Sometimes the smartest brand move is not acting like a brand at all.
You can’t master every platform 100% perfectly. Stop trying to do the most.

Get really good at one or two. Lock in a flow. Learn what works. Build consistency and expand. “Mastery” comes from focus, not fragmentation.
The social media ecosystem isn’t just about the platforms you post on or the pillars you build. It’s bigger than that. It’s how everything connects.

The best social media content calendars allow for both planning AND flexibility. I personally think having a fully flushed out calendar 2 months in advance that is approved down to the content + copy is a way of shooting yourself in the foot. Sure, You know what’s coming, why it’s coming, and what matters most, but you should want to still leaving room to react to trends, culture, and performance in real time.
You will never have the perfect equipment. Just press record. If you do need equipment and don’t know where to start though, I just picked up these DJI mics and have been loving them.
Social media is called social media for a reason. Be social. Engage, respond, participate, and show up where the conversation is already happening or create your own. There’s a reason outbound community management is becoming a key pillar in social strategies.

THAT’S A WRAP

If you made it all the way down here, thank you for spending a few minutes of your Sunday evening with me and for continuing to show up here. It really means more than you know.

If you know someone who’d enjoy this newsletter, I’d be so grateful if you shared it with them as we grow this community in 2026. You can hit the button below to share.

And as always, if there’s something you want to see more of, questions you’re sitting with, or ideas you want me to dig into, drop them in the comments or DM me on Instagram anytime.

Also, if you’re in NYC and wellness is your thing, stay close. I’ve got something coming in late January and spots will be limited. Reply to this email if you want first dibs on an invite.

Peace, love, and KPIs,