Social in 2026: The Year of Substance and Originality

Image credit: dlxmedia.hu via Unsplash

Social media never sits still; it moves in cycles. It’s easy to forget that the internet we know today grew out of place where people spent their evenings poking on Facebook or tending to crops on FarmVille. Then came the Instagram era of perfection and flat lays. Then TikTok, and suddenly every platform was chasing the same format with the same sound, the same jokes, the same everything.

And that’s what we’re living through now: a feed where everything feels like a remix of something that already went viral last week.

Brands copied other brands. Creators copied other creators. Platforms copied each other and as for the audiences, they got tired.

We Built a World of Sameness

In recent years, feeds have been ruled by whatever is trending that week - dances, memes, and trending sounds. Brands raced to jump on whatever was hot, desperate to “own culture” by doing exactly what everyone else was doing.

Cue the most homogenous era social has ever seen.

Audiences know it too. You can feel the fatigue in the scroll. When everything looks like everything else, nothing hits. The algorithm isn’t even subtle about it anymore – sameness isn’t being punished. The ambition to be “the next Duolingo” or “Loewe vibes but for us” didn’t help. Trend-chasing doesn’t build brands. Copying definitely doesn’t. And audiences can smell it a mile off.

As if that wasn’t enough, along came AI – and with it, an entirely new flood of low-effort, faceless content that technically “performs,” but emotionally connects with absolutely no one.

But AI isn’t the villain here. Used well, it’s a creative enhancer. Used badly, it just accelerates the sludge.

The reset is already happening. You can see it in your own behaviour: you linger longer on things that feel human, surprising, or genuinely entertaining. We’re looping back to the era when Facebook videos told stories people actually wanted to watch. Substance is making a comeback.

The content breaking through now looks different:

• Episodic storytelling that leaves you wanting more.
• Absurdist humour and unpredictable weirdness that cut through.
• Talent-driven ideas where creators, actors and celebrities are used smartly, not slapped on for reach.
• Cultural in-jokes like Dunkin’s Ben-and-Jen TikTok moment, which felt like it was made for people, not platforms.

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Why Originality is Now the Only Option

This is why we’ve built Contagious Creative - not another glossy framework but a reminder of what actually works when feeds are saturated and brands are stuck on low views, low engagement and no real way out. It’s a way of shifting them from imitation to impact.

But at its heart, it’s simple: In a world where everyone is copying everyone else, originality is the only competitive advantage left.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Start with an Audience Truth

Real originality begins with something people are actually thinking, feeling, laughing about, or annoyed by. Not a template. Not a trending sound. A cultural tension. A behaviour you’ve noticed. A moment everyone recognises but no one has said out loud yet.

If your starting point is your brand message, you’ve already lost the scroll.

2. Respect the Platform Truth

Understand what each platform prioritises in its algorithm by getting under the skin of the “signals” they use to decide what gets pushed. Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO, has been clear: sharing and dwell time are the big ones. So create for that reality, not just for noise.

Platforms are constantly signalling what good looks like. The smartest brands are finally listening.

3. Deliver an Original Idea

This one’s non-negotiable: your idea should be something only your brand could make.

Not “Duolingo but for us.”

Not “Loewe vibes.”

Not “that viral TikTok but with our logo.”

Your idea should feel like it belongs to your brand and no one else. Something that carries your voice, your worldview, your humour, your weirdness. Something that earns attention, not begs for it.

2026 Could Be the Most Interesting Social Year Yet

We’re entering a phase where sameness is finally collapsing under its own weight. Originality performs. Humanity performs. Thoughtful, funny, weird, specific ideas perform.

The brands that win next year will be the ones who stop trying to look like everyone else and start behaving like themselves again. Substance and originality aren’t trends.
They’re the antidote.