2026年社交媒体趋势报告 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

SOCIAL

MEDIA_

TRENDS./

2026

_PoweredbyTalkwalkerAI

Fromchasingtrendstoseeingthemcoming

Everyyear,theinternetgetsloudwithhottakesaboutwherecultureisgoing.Somearesmart.Mostdon’tagewell.

Whatisobviousisthis:thegroundisshiftingfasterthanmoststrategiescankeepup.AIismovingfasterthanstrategydecks.Wouldyoube

surprisedifinthreemonthsanotherevolutionofanAItoolyoudon’tseecominggreatlychangeshowyoumarkettoyouraudience?Iwouldn’t.Youcan’tplanforthat.

Sothisisn’tjustanothertrendsreporttellingyouwhattocopynext.It

showsyouwhat’salreadychangingunderneathyourfeet,basedonrealconversationsfromrealpeople,happeningrightnow.

Technologywillalwayschange.

Platformswillcomeandgo.

AIwillkeepgettingfaster.

Theadvantagehasneverbeenthetech.

It’sunderstandingpeoplebetterthananyoneelse.

Yes,you’llseethebigculturalshiftsshapingcreativity,inluence,and

intelligence.Buttherealedgeisn’tknowingourtrends.It’slearninghowtospotyoursearly,beforetheyshowupineveryoneelse’sdeck.

That’swhythesecondhalfofthisreportispractical.

Howtocatchaudiencesignalsbeforethey’reobvious.

Howtounderstandwherethey’reheaded.

Andhowtomovewhileothersaretryingtomakesenseofitall.

Readthetrends.Thengoindtheonesthatmattertoyourbrand.

BillyJones

ChiefMarketingOficer,Hootsuite

CONTENTS._

THE18TOPSOCIALMEDIATRENDSFOR2026

1.Algorithmsaregainingnuance 5

2.Human-madeauthenticitywins,butAItoolsaretablestakes 6

3.Socialcontentmustadapttosearch 9

4.CreatorpartnershipsareshiftingtofocusonROI 10

5.Socialisbecomingairst-partydataandresearchengine 12

6.Identitiesarebecomingfragmentedacrosssocialapps 14

7.Creativepatternanalyticsaredrivingrapidexperimentation 15

8.Brandsareadoptingacreatormindset 17

9.LinkedInisinitscreativeera 19

10.GenAlphachaoscultureisshapingnewcontentnorms 21

11.Work/lifebalanceremainsacontentpillarformillennialsandGenZ 22

12.NostalgiaremixcultureisdrivingbrandloyaltyforGenX 25

13.Frugaloptimismandslowlivingaretakingonoverstimulation 26

14.AIanxietyvs.AI-nativesocialplatforms 28

15.Fastvertisingisdisruptingthecontentcalendar 29

16.Employeeadvocacy=authenticityampliied 31

17.Micro-dramasgomainstream 32

18.Substackhasbecomeasocialplatform 34

Howtotrackandforecastyourowntrendsin2026 36

THE18

TOP^

SOCIALMEDIA_

Socialidentitiesandcommunitiesarebecomingmorepersonal,

whileAIistakingovercontentcreation.Absurdistchaosbattles

itoutwithcozynostalgia.

Allwhilesocialmediaevolvesfromacommunicationschannel

intoasearchengine,aresearchlab,andahigh-stakescreative

testingground.

Here’swhatyouneedtoknowtostayrelevantinthelightning-fast

socialecosystemof2026.

TRENDS./FOR_2026

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

01

ALGORITHMSAREGAININGNUANCE

It’snotnewthatTikTokseemstoknowyoubetterthanyouknowyourself.

Butheadinginto2026,othersocialplatformsarestartingtogainthissoul-penetratingcapability,too.Butwhatreallypowersthisabilitytoserveupcontentyoudidn’tevenknowyouwerelookingfor?Micro-behaviors.

Sure,youmightnothavelikedorclickedonanyvideosabouthand-crochetedbeaniesfordogs.Butdidyouslowdownjustalittlewhenyousawone?Hovertimehasbecomeakeysignaltosocialmediaalgorithmsbecauseitsignals

interestevenwhenyoudon’ttakeaspeciicaction.Rewatchingandpausingshowsevenmoreinterest.

Thewayplatformsusethisinformationtosurfacecontentischanging,too.

Socialplatformscanstilldrawusersinformuchlongerthantheyintended.

Butinsteadoffallingintorabbitholes,usersarenowbeingsentintosnowballs.

Rabbitholesareuser-drivendeepdivesintoatopic.Butsnowballsdon’trequirethatlevelofaction.Yousimplyexperiencerepetitionofathemefrommultiplesourcesasyouscroll.

Thismeansthatfollowercounthasessentiallybecomeavanitymetric.There’sareasonalmostalloftheweeklyreelsfromAdamMosseri,headofInstagram,

focusonreach.Thenewsocialexperienceisbasedonwhatinterestsusers,notwhotheyfollow.

Ratherthanbuildingastrongfollowerbase,brandsneedtobuildadeep,nuancedunderstandingoftheirtargetaudience.Then,createcontentthatspeaksdirectlytothosepeopleacrossformats.Thisrequiresalotof

experimentation(whichwe’lltalkaboutlater).

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.20265

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

Algorithmsnolongerrewardbrandsforaccumulatingfollowers—

theyrewardthemforconsistentlysignalingrelevance.Inthisnewera,astrongandnuancedunderstandingofyouraudiencewillbeyourbiggestcompetitiveadvantage.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Don’trelyonfollowergrowthasaproxyforfutureperformance.Resetyourteam’ssuccessmetricsawayfromfollowercountsandtowardreachquality,contentresonance,andrepeatexposureacrossnon-followers.

•Doubledownonaudienceresearch.Tapintosociallisteningtocontinuallydeepenyourinsightintoaudiencebehaviors,motivations,andcultural

signals—thenoperationalizethatinsightthroughhighlyrelevantcreativethatyouraudience(andthealgorithms)willlove.

02

HUMAN-MADE

AUTHENTICITYWINS,BUTAITOOLSARETABLESTAKES

Nearlyallemployees(94%)andbrandleaders(99%)arefamiliarwithgenerativeAItools,accordingtoMcKinsey.EmployeesarealreadywayaheadoftheC-suite’sexpectationsforincorporatingAIintotheirdailytasks.And92%ofcompanies

plantoincreasetheirAIinvestmentevenmoreoverthenextthreeyears.

AItoolshavesimplybecometablestakesforbrainstorming,creatingandeditingcontent,anditeratingcontentideas.Ourresearchrevealedthat79%ofsocial

mediamanagersnowuseAIdaily.AndeMarketerfoundthat133millionpeopleintheUSalonewillusegenerativeAIin2026.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.20266

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.20267

Atthesametime,usersarepushingbackagainstsyntheticperfection.Morethan30%ofconsumerssaythey’relesslikelytochooseabrandiftheyknowtheiradsareAI-generated.And91%ofmarketerssayhumaninvolvementisveryimportantorcriticalforevaluatingorgeneratingAIcontent.

SoshouldyourteamuseAIforcontentcreation?Weanalyzedaudiencesentimenttohelpanswerthisquestion.

Source:TalkwalkerAI

Socialmediaaudiencesaren’trejectingAIoutright—they’rerejectingslop.

ConversationsaroundAIslopskewheavilynegative,withmorethanhalfof

mentionsexpressingfrustrationordislike.Thebacklashisn’taboutAI’s

presenceincontentcreation,butaboutoutputsthatfeelrepetitive,low-quality,orobviouslyuncurated.Inotherwords,audiencesarequicktocalloutcontentthatlookslikeitwaspublishedwithouthumanjudgmentorvalueadded.

Bycontrast,theideaofAI-generatedcontentismetwithafarmorebalancedresponse.Negativesentimentissigniicantlylower.Neutralandpositive

mentionsdominate,signalingcuriosityandconditionalacceptance.

AudiencesarecomfortablewithAIasatool,notareplacementforcreativity.

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

Inanefforttomakethehumantouchclear,in2026,brandsarelikelyto

emphasizeslightimperfectionstostandoutfromAInoise.Theoccasional

stutterorlubisnowasignalofauthenticityratherthanamistaketoeditout.

Brandsmayevenaddimperfectionsonpurpose.“Typomarketing”isnotanewsocialmediastrategy.It’sawell-establishedwaytogetpeopletalkingaboutacampaign.Coorstookthistotheextremein2025withtheirmassive

“refershment”adsleadinguptotheCaseoftheMondayscampaign.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Don’tsacriicebrandequityforeficiency.AIshould

accelerateyourteams,notdiluteyourstandards.ThebrandsthatwinwilluseAItomovefaster—butstillinsiston

humanjudgment,originality,craft,andtaste.TreatAIas

infrastructure,notastrategy.Thecompetitiveadvantage

willcomefromhowwellleaderscombineAIeficiencywithhumancreativity—notfromhowloudly(orhowblindly)

theyadoptnewtools.

•Stayrootedinhumaninsight.Winningmarketingstrategiesin2026willbebuiltonhumantruths

andculturalrelevance.Usesocialintelligenceasthefoundationforhowyoushape

campaignstrategy.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.20268

messaging,creativedirection,and

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

03

SOCIALCONTENT

MUSTADAPTTOSEARCH

Socialsearchhasbeenevolvingforafewyearsnow.TheNewYorkTimes

declaredTikTokthenewsearchengineforGenZwaybackin2022.By2025,abouttwo-thirdsofUSconsumershadusedsocialsearch.

What’snewin2026isthemulti-modalityofsocialsearch.

UsersmightstilltypeaqueryaboutthebestbarsinNewYorkintothesearchbaronTikTokorInstagram.ButtheycanalsouseVisualSearchonTikTokorPinteresttosearchforsimilarcontentbasedonvisuals.OrPinterestLenstosearchfromaphoto.Voicesearchhasalsoenteredthechat,boththrough

socialtoolslikeMetaAIandthroughtraditionalsearchengines.

Allofthisismakingsearchmoreconversational.

InJuly2025,GooglebeganindexingpublicInstagrampostsandproiles.ThatmeansincreasedsocialSEOopportunities,includingthroughvoicesearchand

voiceassistants.TheShortVideostabonGoogleisspeciicallydesignedtosurfaceverticalsocial

short-formvideocontentfromsourceslikeYouTubeShorts,TikTok,andFacebookorInstagramReels.

ThismeanssocialmarketersshouldalsobethinkingaboutAEO,orAnswerEngineOptimization.You’reprobablyalreadyincorporatingAEOtechniquesinyourlongerformcontent,likeblogposts.Butshortsocialmediapoststhatdirectlyanswerquestions

alsobeneitfromAEO.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.2026Source:Google9

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Treatsocialasadiscoveryengine,notjustadistributionchannel.In2026,socialcontentwillshapehowyourbrandisfound,evaluated,andchosen.

Breakdownthewallsbetweensocial,content,andSEOinyourorganizationsothattheycanbuildforsearchbehavioronsocialplatformsand

outperformthosestilloptimizingonlyforengagement.Searchvisibilityisnolongerownedbyoneteam—andleadersmustdesignforthatreality.

•Make“answerability”acontentstandard.InaworldofconversationalsearchandAIassistants,brandsthatclearlyanswerrealquestionswillbebetterpoisedtowinvisibility.

CREATORPARTNERSHIPSARE

04SHIFTINGTOFOCUSONROI

InTrend1,wetalkedaboutthelowerimportanceoffollowercountinasocialenvironmentfuelledbynuancedalgorithms.That’shavingamajorimpactonthewaysbrandsworkwithcreators.

Acreator’sfollowercountisnolongeracriticalmetricforbrandvalue,andevenengagementrateislessimportantthanitusedtobe.

Instead,brandsarelookingforaudiencealignmentcombinedwithstorytellingquality.Thegoalistoindcreatorsforlong-termpartnershipsthatleadto

measurableROI,ratherthanone-offpoststhatcreatesomeawarenessbut

don’tnecessarilytranslateintoaction.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202610

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202611

We’veseencreatorswithmid-sizedfollowingsdrivemoreinterestinbookingsthanlargeraccountswithweakeraudiencetrust.That’sshapedourmove

towarddeepervettingandamorerelationship-

drivenmodel.We’vepassedonpartnerships—

evenwithlargecreators—whenengagementfelt

inflatedoroutofsyncwithourstandards.”

EricaBloch

AssociateDirectorofCommunications

WoodlockResort

WeusethisstrategyatHootsuitetoo,bringingbackcreatorsouraudienceknowsandtrusts.Ourmostrecentinluencermarketingcampaignboostedimpressionsby73%,metthegoalfortrialsign-up,andsawmorethan1,000contentdownloads—allreal,measurableimpactsonROI.

TheimportantthingistodeinewhatROIlookslikeforyourbrand,becauseit’snotalwaysassimpleastrackingsales.Forinstance,Woodlochlooksatintentsignalslikesaves,shares,and“questionsthatindicategenuinetripplanning,”

Blochsays.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Yourcreatorprogramsneedgoalstiedtorealbusinessimpact.Likesarenice,butconversionsignalsarebetter.DeinewhatROIlookslikeforeachpartnership.

•Betontrustedvoicesinsteadofbignames.Keyopinionleaders(KOLs)havespeciicexpertiseintheirnicheandhavestrongaudiencetrust.Theycanbepricey,butcandeliverstrongresultswhenthere’sagoodbrandit.

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

05

SOCIALISBECOMING

AFIRST-PARTYDATA&RESEARCHENGINE

Asthird-partycookieslosetheirvalue,brandsareusingsocialchannelstocollecthigh-valueirst-partydatawithclearuserconsent.Gatedcontentisaparticularlyvaluabletoolhere,andautomatedDMshavemadethedatacollectionsigniicantlyeasier.Lead-genads,subscriptions,liveevents,andevensocialquizzesandpollscanallproviderichcontexttoyourCRM.

Brandsalsoincreasinglyturntosocialtouchpointsformarketandconsumerintelligencethatevolvestooquicklyfortraditionalresearchmethodstokeepup.SociallisteningtoolslikeTalkwalkeruseAItopullspeciicbrandinsightsfromthevastquantitiesofdataavailableonsocialplatforms,inrealtime.

Thisdatacanimpactallareasofanorganization.

Forexample,YvesRocherusesTalkwalkertotrackconsumerperceptionofingredients,eco-design,andnaturalresources.Theyusethedatatoguideproductdevelopmentandpositioning.

Source:TalkwalkerdatafromYvesRocherCaseStudy

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202612

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

STEFGroup,atemperature-controlledlogisticsirm,usedkeywordand

sentimentdatatodriveitscontentstrategyandgrowitsLinkedInfollowersfrom50,000to100,000in18months.

Socialresearchanddatacollectionkeepbrandsagileinaculturethat

keepsgainingspeed.Theoldwaywastoreviewanalyticsafteracampaign.That’sstillimportant,ofcourse.Butbrandscannowusesociallistening

toanticipatetrends,intent,andsentimentandrespondtomicro-shiftsastheyhappen.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Movefromreactivetoproactiveresearch.Stoprelyingsolelyonpost-campaignanalyticsorslowtraditional

research.Real-timesocialintelligenceallowsleaderstodetecttrends,sentimentshifts,andemerging

opportunitiesbeforetheyimpactthemarket.

•Consideraddingaspecializedsocialcultureand

listeningroletoyourteam.Notonlydoalgorithmsfavorculturallyadaptedbrands,socialdatachampionedbyanin-houseexpertcanimpactallareasofyourbrand,fromproductdevelopmenttoPR.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202613

•TestanautomatedDM/gatedcontentcampaignforleadgeneration.Createasocialpostpromotingawhitepaper,report,orothergatedcontentresourceanduseautomatedDMstocollectleads.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202614

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

06

IDENTITIESARE

BECOMINGFRAGMENTED

ACROSSSOCIALAPPS

We’vetalkedforyearsabouttheimportanceofaconsistentbrandvoice.

Butwe’vealsotalkedabouttheimportanceofadaptingcontentforeachsocialplatform.Headinginto2026,thesetwoconceptsgoheadtohead.

Socialmediausersnowmaintainmultipleidentitiesacrossapps.ACEO

whopostsaboutbusinessstrategyonLinkedInmayhaveachattyInstagramaccountdedicatedtocraftbeerandanactiveRedditproilefocused

on3Dprinting.

Thesesidequestsallowspacetoexploredifferentpersonalitieswithindifferentcommunities.Andbrandsmustfollowsuit.

Asingle,monolithicbrandvoiceislesseffectivewhenaudiencesencounterbrandsthroughmanytouchpointsindifferentonlinecommunitycontexts.

Inthisworld,brandsmustigureouthowtocraftlexibleidentitiesthatholdontocoreelementsofbrandtruth.

Forexample,onX,TheWashingtonPostisano-nonsensenewsaccountusingplainlanguageandlinkstocontentontheirwebsite.OnTikTok,theycreatefast-moving

explainervideostargetedatayoungeraudience,with

noexpectationthatuserswillclickthroughtoreadmore.

Thereal-timenatureofThreads,X,andBlueskymakes

theseplatformsripeforexperimentation.Ifyou’reunsurehowtobegincraftingnewidentitiesforyourbrand,

thesearegoodplacestostart.

Source:@washingtonpost

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202615

TO-DOLIST

•Embraceaflexibleidentity.Ensureyouhavewelldeinedcorebrandtruthsthatcanadapttothenorms,culture,andexpectationsofeachsocial

ecosystem.(Andthengiveyourteamthefreedomtodoso.)

•Mapyourplatformidentitiestouserintent.Usesociallisteningdatatounderstandwhatpeoplewantfromyournicheoneachplatformandwhatkindsofactionstheytakethere.Adaptyourcontentstrategyaccordinglyandensureyouhaveaquantiiablewayofmeasuringthoseexperiments.

——07

CREATIVEPATTERNANALYTICSAREDRIVINGRAPIDEXPERIMENTATION

AIismakingsocialanalyticstoolsmoreinsightfulthanever.Ratherthansimplyidentifyingwhichpostsperformedbest,marketerscannowusecreative

patternanalyticstodigintowhycertaincontenthadbetterresults.

Analyticstoolsnowlookatrecurringelementsacrosslargevolumesofsocialdatatounderstandwhichpatternsconsistentlydriveperformance—forawholeindustryoraspeciicbrand.

Atthesametime,socialplatformsareconstantlyaddingandchangingtheirfeatures,functionalities,andalgorithms.Whatworkedyesterdaymay

notworktomorrow.

Allofthishaspushedsocialteamstoadoptrapidtestingandfeature

experimentation.It’sanintenserampingupofsingle-elementtesting.ItusesthesameprinciplesasoldschoolA/Btesting—justathyperspeed.

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202616

Everycomponentofsocialcontentisupforanalysis—thehook,thetone,thepacing,thestructure.Thisismuchmoregranularthanpreviousanalysis,whichmighthavesimplycomparedthesuccessofavideoposttoacarousel.Inan

interviewwithHootsuite’steam,LinkedIn’sDirectorofProduct,SamCorraoClanon,highlightedtheneedforexperimentationbeyondbasicformats:

“Weencourageyoutoexploretheformatsthatbestrelectyourexpertiseandconnectwithyouraudience,whetherthat’svideo,writing,newsletters,orimages.”

AdamMosserihimselfsaysthatoneofthetopwaystoincreasereachisto

comeupwith“repeatableconcepts,”soyoucanrepeatacoupleofpatternsorideasovertimeratherthancomingupwithnewcontentfromscratchevery

day.Healsosaysit’scriticaltoexperiment.“Evenwhenrankingdoesn’tchangeatall,weseeallthetimethatpeople’sinterestschange.”

Allofthisraisesaninterestingquestion:Doesquantitynowoutperformquality?Isviralityjustanumbersgame?Hootsuitebenchmarkingdatashowsthat

brandsarepostingonmostsocialmediaplatformsatleastonceaday,and

morethanthatonInstagram,Facebook,andX.Creatorspostsooftenthattheyhavetoassurefansthey’reokayafteracoupledays’absence.

In2026,brandswillneedtoindabalance:Postoftenenoughtomaintainattentionandgleanrapidinsightswhilemaintainingqualitycontent.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Createacultureofexperimentation.Winninginthisenvironmentwill

requireconstantexperimentationacrossformats,narratives,andcreativehypotheses—withfastfeedbackloops.Structureyourteamforspeedandinsight-lediterationoverperfectlypolished,campaign-ledexecution.

•Embraceinsight-driveniteration.Pushyourteamtoidentifynotjustwhatcontentworks,butwhy.Ensureyourteamismeasuringandactingon

granularperformancesignals—hooks,tone,pacing,andstructure—acrossallsocialplatforms.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202617

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

●

BRANDSAREADOPTING

08ACREATORMINDSET

Brandteamsarecomingoutfrombehindthedeskandembracingan

on-camerapresence.Thismakesbrandedcontentfeelmorelikecreator

content,withcomponentsofstorytelling,effectiveediting,andpersonality-drivenengagement.

Successfulbrandcreatorsarebecominginluencersintheirownrightandmateriallyimpactingbrandperformance.

OliviaYokubonisisasocialmediamanageratthescreentimemanagement

appOpal.Butshe’salsothefaceoftheTikTokaccountOliviaUnplugged,whereher385,000followersfeellikethey’reengagingwithapersonratherthana

brand.(Becausetheyare!)Hervideostalkabouttheimportanceofreducingscreentime,withtheproductappearingonlyasasecondarycharacter.SheevengotaresharefromKristenBellthatrackedupmorethan24,000likes.

Source:@olivia.unplugged

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

Butwait,youmightbethinking:Youjustsaidthatreachhasbecomeavolumegame.Sure,theremaybeacontrastherebetweenthesetwotrends.But

realistically,there’saneedforboth.Aperformance-forward,growthmindsetandstrongcreativeedgearenotmutuallyexclusive.

Infact,themostsuccessfulbrandswillbethosethatcombinethesetwotrends,learningfromcreativeanalyticstoreinecontentandbrandpersonalityin

whateverformittakes.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

•Leadbyexample.Encourageyourfellowleaderstogetoncamera,sharestories,andengagedirectlywithaudiences.Executiveswhoembracea

creatormindsethumanizethebrand,buildtrust,andsetthestandardfortherestoftheorganization.Internally,executiveswhoarevisibleonsocialsignalorganizationalbuy-inforexperimentation,creativity,and

human-irstmarketing.

•Hireforcreatorfluency.Creator-stylestorytellingisnolongeranice-to-have;it’scoretosocialperformance.Ifyou’restillhiringforpublishingandreportingalone,you’rehiringforarolethatnolongerexists.Lookfor

creatorluency—on-cameraconidence,storytellinginstincts,and

culturalawareness—andupdatejobtitles,descriptions,andcareerpathstomatchhowsocialactuallyworkstoday.

•Preventapprovalbottlenecks.Nothingstilescreativitylikeagroup

feedbackpile-on.Getclearsocialguidelinesinplacetoprotectyourbrand,thenallowyouron-camerateamsomelexibilityandautonomytowork

theirmagic.

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202618

Source:LinkedIn

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.2026

19

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

09

LINKEDINISINITSCREATIVEERA

Oncearatherbuttoned-upprofessionalnetworkthatprimarilyservedasarecruitingplatform,LinkedInhascomeintoitsownasatrulysocialnetwork.

Withthattransitioncomesafocusoncontentcreation.TheLinkedInof2026

willbeamuchmoreexpressiveandvisualplacethantheLinkedInofearly2025.

Thisispartlyduetothechangingdemographicsoftheplatform.Usersaged25to34makeupthelargestagegrouponLinkedIn.Andthereare

signiicantlymoreusersaged18to24than35to54.

Butit’salsobecauseLinkedInhasmadethedecisionatthecorporateleveltoleanintovideo,andbettersupportcontentcreators.

LinkedInrecentlyaddednewinsightsfeaturesthat

allowuserstotrackthefollowersandproileviews

generatedfromeachpost,sends,saves,andclicksoncustombuttons.They’vealsoaddedawholemicrositeandshowcasepagewithtipstohelpcreatorssucceedontheplatform.

There’salsoaVideostab(availableintheUS),whereLinkedInusersarespendingmorethantwiceas

muchtimeastheydidayearago.

AllofthisismakingLinkedInamoreengagingplacetobe.Asvideouploadsincreasedmorethan20%in2025,LinkedIncommentsareup24%.

-ootsuite

∞wereclOYTalkwalkerAl

SOCIALMEDIA_TRENDS/.202620

Addingimageryorvideotoyourmessagemakesit

dynamicandhelpsitstandoutinthefeed.VideosareoneofthemostengagingformatsonLinkedIn,withmembersspendingmoretimeperpost,onaverage.

Andaddingjustoneimagetoyourp