What should businesses expect when it comes to successful marketing in 2026? Let’s look at marketing trends that will likely influence your marketing this year.
Last year was a wild one for marketing. AI turned marketing on its head. For those of us working in the industry, we’ve had to shift our approach. AI isn’t going anywhere. So, our focus is figuring out how to integrate into our businesses and our marketing without giving it total control.
So as we move through 2026, here are 5 marketing trends I’m watching.
1. AI as a time-saving marketing tool.
How can you use AI to increase productivity and automate menial tasks? For example, you might ask AI to gather all the blogs or LinkedIn posts from 2025 into one calendar so you can repurpose content. You could ask it to analyze content and offer suggestions for new post ideas or trends based on what got the most engagement in 2025.
Feed AI transcripts of client meetings or discovery calls and ask it to pull out key themes, questions, and language that you can work into your marketing plan.
2. Human created content.
Here’s where a lot of people get AI wrong: they let it write marketing content. The result is content that sounds robotic because it was, well, written by a robot.
I’m not saying you can’t use ChatGPT or Claude for rough drafts, editing, and idea generation. Just make sure you insert your own stories, thoughts, or brand personality. People want to read what you have to say, not what ChatGPT has gleaned from the inter-webs.
3. In-person events and connection.
photo by Becky Nowak
Remember COVID when everyone was enamored with the power and convenience of Zoom? Virtual meetings and events are incredibly useful, but people long for in-person connection.
How can you make this work for your business? You could host an event, a retreat, or a conference. Yes, in-person events are more expensive and time consuming to plan, but depending on your business and specific clients, this could be a huge win for you in 2026. And, if you need a speaker, let’s talk!
4. Video still reigns supreme.
Will we ever stop talking about the power of video? Seems unlikely! Video has dominated our marketing conversations for years. Sure, it varies in style, format, and length, but remains a key element of any marketing plan.
This article from socialmediatoday.com notes the power of short-form video:
- Reels account for 50% of all time spent on Instagram
- YouTube Shorts are viewed more than 200 billion times per day. Yes, that’s billion. [Side note: YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.]
Even though short-form video dominates, don’t neglect other opportunities for long-form video if it fits your brand. That might include YouTube, LinkedIn Live, and adding a video element to your podcast.
5. Spaghetti marketing is a drain on your resources.
Influencer opinions. New tools. Hot trends. It’s easy to get distracted by shiny marketing ideas. But the “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” approach eats up your time, energy, and money.
Make this the year you focus on strategy and creating a plan that actually works for your specific business. Don’t let all the marketing noise distract you from focusing on the foundations that will truly grow your business.
This is where I really love working with clients. We can gather in a room and dig into the business, goals, and marketing ideas. We can figure out which ones make sense. What supports the overall goals? What ideas help us reach our target customers and clients? That’s where the marketing magic happens.
Bonus! Here are a few other marketing trends I’m watching:
Substack
More and more people are turning to this platform for paid content. I’m intrigued!
Podcasts (with video)
I’m toying around with a podcast myself. Seems like adding a video component to your podcasts is key.
This isn’t just a place to look for a job. The key to LinkedIn is sharing engaging and thoughtful content and interacting with others. Conversation is an algorithm love language.
SEO and AI
How will AI and ChatGPT influence search? Will Google be dethroned as the king of search? So many questions!
TikTok
OK, I created a TikTok account and used it all of one time. But I’m thinking I might need to give this platform another look this year.
Let’s make a date to meet back here in a year and see how these marketing trends played out. Did we get answers to our questions? Did I start a podcast? Only time will tell!
