EP 101: Stop Wasting Social Spend: 12 Social Media Trends That Will Make Or Break 2026

Marketers are fighting on too many fronts. Budgets are tight, algorithms change daily and AI is flooding every feed with low grade content. This episode cuts through the noise and lays out the 2026 social landscape with absolute clarity.Chris and Will unpack the 12 trends shaping how brands win this year. The conversation covers AI brand bots, the rise of live shopping, the collapse of SEO into AEO, Google Lens changing buying behaviour, micro influencers outperforming big names, and the growing pressure on brands to be authentic rather than everywhere.Expect blunt truths, practical frameworks and a road map for where to put your time and money.Key takeaways • Where social budgets are being wasted. • Why micro influencers now outperform celebrity campaigns. • The platforms worth focusing on in 2026. • Why authenticity and community beat AI slop every single time.Ideal for marketing directors, social leads and CMOs who want a clear plan for the year ahead.Send us Fan Mail Struggling to prove marketing's worth to your board? Grab our free one-page Board-Proof Scorecard: 👉 Download the scorecard 👈Got a marketing problem you would rather not admit to? Reply to this and we will answer it anonymously on the show.Subscribe to our newsletter The mistakes we see marketers make, every fortnight. 👉 [Subscribe here] 👈Follow Chris:X, TikTok, LinkedInFollow Will:LinkedInFollow The Show:TikTok, YouTube