If social media feels louder, faster, and more demanding every year — you’re not imagining it. We’ve noticed it, too.
Social media didn’t slow down in 2025. If anything, it asked more of us than ever and that likely put you or your team into a position where you were working overtime just to keep up with the trends while juggling your other responsibilities.
More platforms. More features. More AI. More pressure to “keep up.”
As we head into 2026, I want to encourage you to remember one thing:
The goal isn’t to do more on social media, it’s to get clearer about what actually matters.
This guide breaks down the most important platform changes from the past year, along with practical ways to approach your content, community, and priorities this year without burning out or chasing every new trend.
Read on to ring in the new year with algorithm-friendly expertise.
TikTok
ICYMI: Some of the additions and updates that TikTok rolled out on their platform in the second half of 2025 that you can use in the new year include…
- Audiovisual messaging capabilities in DMs.
- AI Outline and Smart Split content ideation and editing tools for Creators.
- Testing ways to personalize the limits on how AI-generated content is fed to users.
- Introducing Time and Well-being, designed to ease stress while staying on-platform.
- Creating a Shared Feed page for users to collect niche content with a small group, similar to a Discord server.
New Year Social Media Resolution: You don’t need to chase virality to win on TikTok. Consistent, community-driven content that shows how you think, work, or solve problems builds trust faster than trend-hopping — especially if TikTok isn’t your primary platform all the more encouraged to do business with your brand and virality will come naturally.
2026 Predictions: Don’t worry, TikTok is here to stay in the U.S. The deal that signs the platform’s U.S. operations over to American companies should include retraining its algorithm. For now, we expect no major changes until at least mid-year. In the meantime, if you sell a physical product, we encourage you to get your product listed and test out selling through TikTok Shop.
YouTube
ICYMI: In the second half of 2025, YouTube focused their updates on refining and expanding existing tools, especially AI tools. For the best rundown of their recent upgrades, we recommend following their Creator Insider channel, where they post weekly insights on fresh tech, strategies, and more. We do want to highlight that the 2025 update we’re most excited to bring into 2026? The new Extend with AI feature for remixing Shorts, which allows you to create new endings to an existing Short. This is huge for creating content for remarketing campaigns, user-generated content, and A/B testing.
New Year Social Media Resolution: If your target audience demographic is Gen Z, our most important YouTube tip for 2026 is to dive into influencer marketing (if you haven’t already). Research shows that Gen Z viewers are increasingly putting their purchase power towards products they learn about from content creators rather than directly from brands, placing their trust in reviews, reactions, and relatability instead of polished promotions or outright ads. Make sure to do your research on influencer marketing strategies and creators that would make a good fit for your brand values and voice.
2026 Predictions: In the coming year, we see AI continuing to be more prevalent across video marketing platforms. At the same time, viewers’ drive for human connectivity will also become stronger. If you use AI-generated video marketing content, make sure you’re properly disclosing it in the publishing settings and/or caption to keep retaining your audience’s trust.
Instagram & Threads
ICYMI: Instagram pushed out numerous updates throughout the final months of 2025. You can check out a full list here, but here are the ones we’re most excited about…
- The Instagram app is finally available for iPads, making social media marketing work on-the-go so much easier.
- Instagram launched an educational video series for their Edits app (their version of CapCut).
- The navigation bar update prioritizes Reels and DMs, bringing your content and communications closer to your audience.
- Instagram is developing Shareable Insights, an exportable PDF of performance data, making analytics report collection so much quicker.
- Professional accounts can now access Competitor Insights so you can compare your brand’s Instagram performance with up to 10 other accounts.
Threads (Instagram’s answer to X, formerly known as Twitter) also had a few noteworthy updated such as…
- Making it easier to search for profiles and share posts you’ve liked or saved.
- Automatically including the “Thread count” on posts as well as auto-hiding hashtags.
- Adding group chats to DM capabilities and Community channels to Topic feeds.
- Testing AI summaries and podcast integrations on profiles.
New Year Social Media Resolution: With hashtags continuing to lose influence, clarity matters more than cleverness. Strong captions, intentional keywords, and content that earns saves and shares will do more for your reach than over-optimized hashtag lists. This is good news for marketers who value substance over hacks. We’ve already shared how to SEO-optimize your Instagram captions since the platform has been decreasing hashtag priority over the past couple years. That is much more important for 2026 now, as Instagram has begun limiting the number of hashtags users are allowed to include.
If you’re already on Threads, test out a mix of custom posts and Instagram reposts, and measure which your followers prefer engaging with on Threads. We’ll give additional thoughts on Threads in our Mid-Year Social Media Roundup Report.
2026 Predictions: Besides even more monthly updates to Reels, Edits, and their algorithm, in 2026 we predict Instagram to continue weaving AI into every aspect of content creation. Since shares and saves have already out-prioritized likes in the algorithm, and video remains the top format, we think the AI suggestion tools will get smarter and more specific to achieving objectives based around data-driven shareability. Whether your brand partners with influencers, incorporates user-generated content, employs ecommerce integrations, or sticks to simple carousels and captions, expect to see more sparkle-icon pop-ups making suggestions on how to hone every post and ad.
ICYMI: Facebook focused their later 2025 updates on community experiences, slimming down some features while expanding others. This included…
- Sunsetting the Messenger app for desktop.
- Letting users rate the helpfulness of Community Notes.
- Introducing new ad personalization based on AI chat conversations.
- Making their Reels recommendations and photo collection editing smarter and more Instagram-like.
- Rolling out tighter content creation IP protection tools.
- Rolling out private-to-public growth options for Facebook Groups.
New Year Social Media Resolution: 2026 is the year to really refine your brand’s Facebook strategy only if you have a strong following there. If you want to refine your approach, focus on storytelling and posts that engage your audience. Tap into Facebook Groups or Events for community-building opportunities, and take a more personalized approach using DMs to elevate how you reach your audience. We’re also still huge fans of Meta Ads, so tap into your Paid Ads approach on Meta, where ads are still the lowest cost of all social media networks.
2026 Predictions: Video and AI strategies are still slated to grow on Facebook throughout 2026. In particular, we can see how AI-generated or augmented video content could find its best home here. Just remember to take an ethical approach to how you post AI-generated content. The Facebook comment section of your posts is a great place to learn from feedback on your A/B tests of new content formats.
ICYMI: Catch up on LinkedIn upgrades from the second half of 2025 so you don’t miss out in the new year, including…
- Adding Saves and Sends to their regular analytics reporting.
- Integrating directly with CapCut for video marketing ease.
- Decreasing access to their Competitor Analysis tool to only paying Company Pages.
- Introducing integrations that drive LinkedIn Event Ads promotion.
- Rolling out a conversational search AI.
New Year Social Media Resolution: With these updates in mind, our number one tip for your LinkedIn marketing strategy this year is to make sure your content is customized to the platform. LinkedIn was already ahead of the curve on the downfall of hashtags and shifting links from the caption to the comments, proving how the idiosyncrasies of their algorithm can make a big impact on the reach of your posts. By tuning your content format, captions, and CTAs to what matters most to LinkedIn (creating conversations in your community), you’re more likely to see the results you’re after.
2026 Prediction: LinkedIn posts often display in the news feed for days at a time. It rewards conversation by prioritizing posts with comments, credibility, and human insight, rather than volume or post frequency. If you manage a company page, prioritize fewer, more thoughtful posts and encourage leadership to share or comment with context. If you’re short on time, one strong post that sparks discussion will outperform five forgettable ones.
A Few Notes About X and Bluesky
X is still the king of live event coverage and conversations, so we predict that the importance of public relations specialists and event managers on marketing teams using X will become more relevant in 2026. If your business’s marketing team doesn’t currently include these roles (or they’re wrapped up under a generalized “digital marketing manager” title), check out our blog on how to grow your brand’s social media marketing team.
Bluesky has about 500 million users less than X. We’re also keeping an eye on it. If you have any interest in joining Bluesky, it could be a good opportunity for visibility while it’s less saturated.
Final Thoughts
Not every platform deserves equal attention. In 2026, it’s smarter to test emerging platforms with intention, not obligation. If a channel doesn’t support your business goals or audience habits, it’s okay to deprioritize it and concentrate on the channels bringing you the most consistent results.
AI isn’t going away, so get comfortable with it. There are places where AI may speed up your content creation, but also remember it’s not a replacement, it’s an enhancement. As AI for content creation gets used more, consumers will be able to tell real-human focused content versus AI-generated content that was created with less thoughtful prompts. Center your content around storytelling and using words and language that resonates with your audience. Build connections by commenting and participating in conversations across social media channels.
To learn how to take advantage of all these insights for your social media marketing strategies, please feel free to contact us.
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