The IF Blog: Social Media Insights and Trends

Social media in 2026: trends and tribulations

The social media landscape has undergone another seismic shift, and brands that fail to recognise the growing trust gap between marketers and consumers risk being left behind – that’s according to Brandwatch’s 2026 State of Social report. Analysing 910 million online mentions, Brandwatch has found

Make social the engine room of growth I’m thrilled budgets are shifting to social; I’m less thrilled by the pressure on lean teams. The board isn’t being awkward, they’re being rational. They want growth. If social now commands a bigger slice of spend, the plumbing must match the promise.

TikTok has just announced the latest round of creators and organisations taking part in its “Change Makers” programme – and if you’re into content that actually makes a difference, this is something worth knowing about. At its core, the Change Makers programme is all…

(more fun, more pipeline) You’re in Q4, the calendar’s sprinting, Lead gen targets are huuuuuge, sales are nudging, and your to-do list is judging you. Breathe. We’re going to make social do the heavy lifting. Good news: social can still be your highest-quality pipeline if you keep things native,…

LinkedIn’s users are not your typical audience. Join us as we take a look into the psyche of the LinkedIn user and how your content needs to reflect it – doing so will lead to the most successful of campaigns, helping to fill the funnel and drive growth. Understanding the…

Social is increasingly about how content feels to the person on the other end (AKA Mood-based marketing). When you show up with a steady atmosphere (calm, confidence, small sparks of joy) people stick around and come back. And you can measure it properly: saves, meaningful comments, watch-time through key beats,…

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has announced a range of new advertising features during its annual Brand Building Summit. These updates are designed to give advertisers more ways to promote their products and services, particularly across Reels and Threads, as well as more control…

B2B marketing success in 2025 depends on trust, not just reach. Buyers use social to research, value authentic video, and trust thought leadership more than ads. This roadmap shows how to build belief with content mixes, creators, and social proof—because trust is the KPI that drives growth.

Here we are, entering the “Mber” months, and we all know those are always busy months for marketing and design teams. Between new campaign launches, seasonal promotions, and the pressure to deliver standout visuals before the holidays, structuring your workflow becomes just as important as the creative work itself. This…

If you still think Reddit is the wild west of the internet, you’re already behind. For years Reddit sat on the sidelines of marketing plans, overlooked in favour of shinier platforms. Too messy, too unpredictable, too risky. And guess what, while brands looked away, audiences didn’t. They piled in. And…

Remember when everything felt way more simple? When your biggest worry was having your Tamagotchi die on you while you were at school, or if you’d recorded over your favorite song when making that mixtape? That warm, fuzzy feeling washing over you right now? That’s nostalgia working its magic –…

The latest data from Buffer has indicated that less isn’t more on LinkedIn after all – and posting more frequently on is key to cutting through the noise. Tamilore Oladipo shared the LinkedIn insights at the end of August – taking data from over 2 million posts…

Twenty years ago, I started saying ‘social is the oil in the marketing engine’. Not the fuel. The oil. It reduces friction, carries signals, and makes everything run better. Back then it felt like a hunch. Today we can prove it. If you tune your social properly, you lift search,…

TikTok has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at reminding people just how important the app has become when it comes to discovering new music. The campaign, called “See Where Music Takes You”, is designed to show how TikTok connects music lovers and helps them find their next favourite songs…

Every social platform has a “star” content format, the one that gets the most eyes, likes, and shares. The trick? Not just posting in that format but designing it so it feels like it belongs there while still screaming your brand. Let’s break it down, platform by platform. Instagram: Reels…

The way travellers plan and book trips has shifted dramatically and it’s reshaping how brands need to show up. For years, we thought about the customer journey as a funnel. Today, it’s nothing like that. Discovery is messy, fragmented, and often happens across half a dozen platforms before a traveller…

The IF Blog: Social Media Insights and Trends

Social media in 2026: trends and tribulations

Social insight, opinion, thinking