I can’t think of one marketer who doesn’t traverse the social media obstacle course.
Whether your brand has a robust social presence or just enough to exist, you face a lot of challenges.
Algorithms change to perform better for the networks’ owners (not for your audience or your brand). Platform owners may also have sometimes controversial agendas. Direct access to your audience isn’t possible.
Sometimes, social media marketing hardly seems worth the risk.
Yet few brands consider quitting social media altogether. So, how do you move forward to maximize its benefits and minimize its obstacles?
Some of the experts presenting at Content Marketing World have ideas. Spoiler: They all agree you should adjust your social media strategy for 2026. And you should probably start now.
Take on audience ownership
For years, CMI has referred to social media as rented land. The importance of that maxim has only grown in recent years. That thinking fuels these ideas to pivot your social media strategy to other avenues.
Grow your own community
As we enter 2026, I'm encouraging clients to really think about how they can better own their own communities. Whether it is a community on Slack, Discord, or another platform, having control over a space that's specifically dedicated to your community can not only give you more insights into your customers, but also help you wrestle control of your audience from the big social media giants, whose algorithms we are all beholden to. — Zontee Hou, managing director, Convince & Convert
Market for subscribers, not followers
Given that a platform could disappear, change its algorithm, or be blackballed at any moment, brands should put more energy into their message and cultivating an audience that will subscribe to their emails or newsletter, so no matter what happens to any platform, their audience is still with them. Brands have to be ready for a social media platform to become unavailable or worthless at a moment's notice. — Ruth Carter, evil genius, Geek Law Firm
Adapt and listen
Brands can’t afford a set-it-and-forget-it approach to social. Strategies must be nimble, principled, and people-first, capable of navigating not just the algorithm but the social and political implications of being present online.
Brands should focus on first-party community building on social, tapping into communities and platforms like Reddit and Discord, and using tailored email marketing for community-building tactics.
Double down on social listening and responsiveness: Use social listening tools to detect sentiment shifts early, and train social teams to engage empathetically and promptly, especially during crises. — Chad Gilbert, vice president, content marketing, NP Digital
Deliver real value elsewhere
When our audiences stop trusting platforms, those platforms will cease to exist. And you simply can't build your entire audience in rented spaces anymore. We've already seen turbulence across platforms, and it's only getting worse. More fragmentation, more distrust, more noise.
For 2026 and beyond, invest in:
Owned audience growth (email, community, exclusive content hubs)
Selective omnipresence (trusted third-party spaces matter more than ever)
Direct value exchanges (content-for-access models)
Social is still a visibility lever, but it’s no longer the foundation to build a brand on. Build trust where you own the signal. — Josh Baez, senior manager, demand generation, NetLine
End the chase for the masses
Big follower counts sound impressive, but they mean little if your social media content doesn’t deliver value to the business. So, rethink what you publish in 2026.
Publish zero-click content
Social media isn’t social anymore. It’s just media now. The platforms aren’t town squares; they’re broadcast networks with opaque algorithms and no loyalty. We’re not building communities. We’re competing for seconds of attention on the for-you page. That’s not a bug. It’s the new system.
So, the strategy shifts: Stop chasing followers and start extending your brand footprint through zero-click content. Every post is an ad for your thinking, not a teaser for your blog posts. The win isn’t the click — it’s when someone chooses to seek you out because you didn't include one.
That means every touchpoint must deliver standalone value. No fluff, no read more. And it raises the bar on your owned media: If someone lands there, it better be worth the trip.
In 2026, success on social won’t be about conversation. It’ll be about creating curiosity, the kind that compels people to leave the scroll and come find you.
— Robert Rose, chief troublemaker, Seventh Bear
Create moments to build trust
The winning brands in 2026 won't just chase followers; they'll focus on creating small moments of commitment. It's about trading value for attention ... data for personalization ... time for transformation. These micro-interactions build trust beyond any platform. The social landscape will keep shifting, but those meaningful audience relationships? They're yours forever. — Andrew Davis, author, The Loyalty Loop
Use your audience as your promoters
Brands need to lean into word-of-mouth marketing and user-generated content. Our audiences don't trust organizations, and they trust their peers. We need to amplify content from others and avoid constantly talking about ourselves. Social should be a place to add value to your customers, not to pitch to them. — Brian Piper, owner and consultant, Brian W Piper LLC
Prioritize organic engagement
Brands should be more natural with their social media. Around 40% of Gen Z users start their search on TikTok. People are increasingly using platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit to begin their search journey, signaling a desire for first-hand perspectives and authentic conversations. Brands should prioritize genuine engagement, creator collaborations, and user-generated content. Diversifying platform presence to meet users where they initiate their information gathering is also crucial. Monitoring platform governance and adapting to policy changes will be essential in this evolving landscape. — Zack Kadish, SEO analytics lead, Faire
Add leadership to the creator lineup
Brands are likely to see much greater impact through founder- and executive-led social media efforts than brand-led efforts. Like any channel, the best content strategy includes a mix of post types, including posts for brand awareness and affinity (focused on emotional resonance), posts for authority building (focused on education), posts for conversion (focused on an offer), and (occasionally) posts for promotion (focused on the product/service). The basics of a good content strategy haven't changed. But the how definitely looks different. — Ali Orlando Wert, director of content strategy and brand, Databox
Work a strategy that delivers for business
Given you’re a marketer, business must be at the center of your mind. Thus, your organization’s social media strategy must reflect its values and help achieve its goals. That can be more difficult when the platform owners’ public opinions differ from yours.
Have the conversations before making changes
It depends on your brand's overall business goals and core values. If your brand stands for social justice, maybe you should change your social media strategy. If you are neutral, maybe you don't.
That said, don’t ignore the conversation. These questions around platform ownership and moderation are only going to get louder. It’s worth having a leadership-level discussion to define your stance and make sure both your employees and customers understand it. Clarity is key. — Pam Didner, founder, Relentless Pursuit, LLC
Follow your core values
Brands should always scan the environment and adjust all their channel strategies according to their goals and priorities. When it comes to controversies, social issues, or values-based topics, the company's priorities and what it stands for should guide these decisions.
Misalignment can arise when the company's values are not the same as those of its customers or if companies make decisions based solely on money. (See Target.) Companies also need to understand the risks of operating on certain platforms and weigh those against their own risk tolerance. — Andi Robinson, content strategy and operations consultant, Hijinx Marketing
Keep business on your mind
Deciding whether you want to support social media platforms is very much a moral/ethical call. I would suggest making those decisions based on performance/profitability, as long as the inventory is brand safe.
Deciding to pull the budget in protest of a controversial figure or announcement definitely makes a statement, but if it impedes ad performance, I recommend making that statement in another way. — AJ Wilcox, founder, host of the LinkedIn Ads Show, B2Linked.com
Follow your audience’s lead
Observe your audience and adjust according to their preferences. If you see changes, dissent, or challenges that are disrupting your business, then yes, you should change your strategies. But changing just to change can be wasteful. — Ahava Leibtag, CEO, Aha Media Group
Stay with your targets or go wide
Brands should adjust their social media for 2026 by either sticking with platforms their target audience likes and that match their brand, or spreading the word across as many platforms as possible. — Jim Sterne, president, Target Marketing of Santa Barbara
Reflect the climate
Brands should always be looking at how to adjust their social media strategies, especially now in this extremely sensitive and volatile environment where AI is causing consternation about job security. You don't have to look any further than Duolingo, which deleted all its posts from its TikTok and Instagram channels amid the furor and backlash caused by its CEO's comments. This comes from a company that is considered to have one of the best social media accounts in the business. — Abdul Rastagar, CEO, Sirona Marketing
Start now on your 2026 social media strategy
Social media has always been a living marketing tactic. Change is expected, and we’ve certainly experienced a lot of changes in the past year. Expect that roller coaster ride to continue in the next year. By adjusting your social media strategy now, you’ll be ready to enjoy (or at least survive) the trip.
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