Social Search and Local Discovery
Consumers increasingly use social platforms to search for businesses, products, recommendations, reviews and places to visit.
Brands should optimise social profiles and content for discovery by using relevant keywords, locations, captions and topics that reflect what their audiences are actively searching for. For local businesses in particular, location-specific content can help connect the brand with highly relevant nearby audiences.Social media continues to evolve quickly, changing how consumers discover brands, consume content and make purchasing decisions. While several trends we identified in 2022 are still highly relevant, technologies such as AI and changing search and content behaviours are reshaping how businesses approach social media today.
Here are 10 social media trends businesses should consider in 2026.
Social Media Trends for 2026
- 1. Social shopping: Social shopping has evolved significantly since 2022, with social platforms becoming an increasingly important part of product discovery and the customer journey. Shoppable content, creator recommendations, and social-first product discovery give businesses more opportunities to connect content directly with commercial outcomes. Storytelling selling will be more critical than ever, as this trend does not mean audiences will want hard-selling - subtly with ease is vital.
- 2. Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing continues to be an effective form of social media marketing, albeit a changing one. There is a rise of influencers on new platforms (most notably on TikTok), and the relationships that businesses have with them is changing.
Influencer marketing remains an important part of social media strategy, but brands are becoming more selective about who they work with. Niche, micro and mid-tier creators can provide highly relevant audiences, while longer-term partnerships help brands build credibility beyond one-off sponsored posts. Businesses should focus on audience alignment, authenticity and measurable outcomes rather than follower numbers alone.
- 3. Video: Video continues to make its way onto trend forecasts year on year, with 2022 being no different. The success of this medium of content continues to prove itself. This is the most effective way to create engagement with audiences, and it is also a great way to rank in terms of SEO. Video is no longer an optional nice-to-have and will be an important social media trend to follow in 2022. This content should be high quality and communicate various aspects of your brand and customer journey. Use it in different styles, such as lives, stories and clips for social media platforms and your website.
- 4. Community and Loyalty: Building relationships with existing audiences has become increasingly important as organic reach becomes more competitive. Brands that consistently engage with their communities, respond to customers and reward loyal audiences can build stronger long-term relationships. People respond very positively to this, as we continue to see with appreciative reviews, brand alignments and appreciation for user-generated content.
- 5. Social Search and Local Discovery: Consumers increasingly use social platforms to search for businesses, products, recommendations, reviews and places to visit. Brands should optimise social profiles and content for discovery by using relevant keywords, locations, captions and topics that reflect what their audiences are actively searching for. For local businesses in particular, location-specific content can help connect the brand with highly relevant nearby audiences.
- 6. Educational content: There is a strong desire for educational, informative content online. This makes it a drawcard for many, as they want to 'learn more' by following links and understanding their worlds better. It is best when provided as an added value for your audience. Providing helpful content and ones that are rooted in authoritative sources are of great importance. Find exciting ways of communicating such information with people, such as with animated videos and infographics to capture their attention and encourage sharing. Educational content can also support social discovery, as users increasingly search platforms for how-to content, recommendations, explanations and expert advice.
- 7. AI-Assisted Content Creation: AI has become an increasingly important part of social media marketing, helping teams with research, ideation, content development, analysis and optimisation. However, businesses should avoid allowing automation to remove the human element from their content. AI can improve efficiency, but creative direction, expertise, brand personality and genuine human storytelling remain important for building trust with audiences.
- 8. Messaging and Conversational Engagement: Private messaging continues to become an important part of how consumers interact with businesses on social media. DMs, WhatsApp, automated responses and AI-assisted customer support can help brands answer questions, provide support and move potential customers through the buying journey more efficiently. Automation should support faster service while still allowing customers to reach a real person when necessary.
- 9. Authenticity Over Polished Aesthetics: Visual quality still matters, but audiences increasingly respond to content that feels genuine rather than overly produced. Behind-the-scenes content, employee perspectives, creator content, customer stories and natural brand moments can help businesses appear more relatable. The goal should not be to abandon strong branding, but to balance visual consistency with content that feels human and credible.
- 10. Interactivity and Audience Participation: Social media works best when communication moves in both directions. Polls, questions, comments, live content, interactive Stories and community conversations give audiences opportunities to participate rather than simply consume content. Brands should encourage interaction and actively respond to their audiences, using these conversations to strengthen relationships and better understand what their customers care about.
Social media in 2026 is increasingly shaped by video, creators, AI, search, commerce and community. However, businesses do not need to follow every emerging trend. The most effective strategy is to understand where your audience spends its time, how they discover information and which formats encourage them to engage with your brand. Businesses that combine new technology with useful, relevant and human-led content will be better positioned to build meaningful relationships and generate measurable results from social media.
Book a session with us at Nexa - we can assist you with all of your digital and social media marketing needs. Here's a look at the socials we've worked on for other brands.
