We Are Social’s latest global trends report, Think Forward 2026: Building Brands at the Speed of Social, finds 95% of marketers now see social as critical to brand building – with nearly a third using it across the entire funnel, from first scroll to final sale.
But beneath the bravado, the mood is shifting. Growth is flattening. Attention is splintering. AI content is flooding feeds.
And the once-simple idea of “doing social” is now a complex, high-stakes game of culture, commerce and credibility.
Even so, marketers are doubling down. Social has overtaken TV, print and every other channel as the most powerful driver of emotional connection and cultural impact – and it’s fast becoming a commerce engine too, with 63% already selling directly via social and another 17% planning to jump in this year.
To survive the saturation era, We Are Social is urging brands to move beyond posting and into participation.
Enter the Cultural Power Loop – a strategic framework built around four forces: Presence, Proof, Power and Participation – designed to show how brands can still cut through, build meaning and matter in a feed that’s getting louder by the second.
“There are still brands treating social as a broadcast channel rather than a place for conversation and culture, or using it as a short-term performance lever,” said We Are Social global head of research and insight Paul Greenwood.
“The question isn’t whether to invest in social – it’s the world’s most powerful media ecosystem where brands can have a huge impact through the funnel.
“Instead, we should be asking how to do it smartly, turning attention into measurable growth.”
2026’s trends
The report outlines a number of cultural trends that will define the next year of social, including:
Cringe Confidence: As AI-generated content floods feeds, the pendulum is swinging hard toward the human, the awkward, and the earnest. Brands can resonate in everyday culture by embracing and enabling unfiltered sincerity.
Radical Subjectivity: People are gravitating toward voices that embrace subjectivity rather than hide it. Brands can build trust by foregrounding distinctly human perspectives – imperfect, personal and impossible to automate.
Rethinking Reality: Marketers are fast adopting AI tools – 81% already use them as part of the creative process, and 17% plan to start this year. With AI encroaching on creative expression, prestige now comes from imagination that can’t be automated: visions that feel human, original and impossible to replicate.
Fandom Architects: 73% of marketers believe fandoms will be critical to their social strategy this year as fans move from passive observers to creative collaborators. Brands can build advocacy by recognising fans as creative collaborators who shape a brand’s cultural meaning.
“Strong modern marketers are learning ways to build brands online, finding ways to elicit emotion, build trust, and be memorable in interactive and live ways,” said Grace Kite, who contributed to the report.
“Appearing next to the niche topics that people love and being part of the conversation is an important strategy, and social platforms are very well set up to deliver on that.
“I love the findings from this report that success on social in 2026 means staying creatively human; it’s worth a read just to see how We Are Social unpacks that concept.”
Think Forward 2026 was supported by a survey of 300 marketing decision-makers and featured case studies from TripAdvisor, Amazon Music, and Samsung.