Digital Marketing Trends

If 2025 was the year of ‘AI is taking over everything!’, 2026 looks to be shaping up as the year of ‘let’s go back to basics’. 

After 12 months of automation hype, marketers are rediscovering something important: digital growth has to be about humans. From the newsletter comeback to a renewed focus on ethical data and creativity, for us the digital marketing trends defining the upcoming year are all about trust, authenticity and depth.

At KIJO, our team has put together our best marketing predictions for 2026. We hope they’ll help our community of marketers and their teams prepare for the shifts ahead and build strategies that balance innovation with integrity.

KIJO’s Best Marketing Predictions for 2026

1. Organic Search Will Still Dominate Digital Growth

“AI has changed search, but it hasn’t replaced it. If your content doesn’t demonstrate real experience and authority, it simply won’t rank- human insight is the differentiator now.”
Jordan Thompson – KIJO’s Co-Founder

Let’s start with the one constant in marketing: organic search isn’t going anywhere. Not even in 2026. Even as AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity change how users discover content, Google still drives over 50% of all website traffic globally. And no, that’s going to disappear overnight.

What’s changing is how we optimise though. Marketers who want to keep a firm grasp on growth during 2026 will:

• Create expert-led, experience-rich content (not AI slop).
  
• Focus on E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
  
• Embrace Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) – optimising for AI-driven search visibility.

In other words: your brand’s real human expertise is what will rank and deliver. At KIJO, we’re seeing a definite shift away from quantity toward quality authority. Search is still king, but the crown belongs to brands that genuinely know their subjects (and communicate them authentically).

2. Human Creativity Will Become the Marketer’s True Edge

AI is brilliant at scale. But, human creativity is quickly claiming back its standing as the most valuable currency.

With generative content everywhere, human creativity is now the ultimate differentiator. Brilliant marketing teams know that whilst a good amount of content generation is helpful, the originality of that content is always what’s going to perform the best.

Expect to see a creative renaissance in 2026:

• Bolder brand storytelling
  
• Playful, experimental design
  
• Emotionally intelligent campaigns
  
• Unscripted, imperfect and inherently human content

AI can write your copy or design a campaign template, sure. But, it can’t replace instinct. Marketing teams who lead with creativity, empathy and cultural awareness will build the strongest emotional connections with their consumers. And that’s what actually sticks in terms of long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty.

Related Read: AI Copywriting and How to Work With It

3. The Comeback of the Long-Form Newsletter

“Newsletters are having a renaissance because they give brands something social algorithms can’t: a direct, human relationship with their audience.”
Sarah Bailey – KIJO’s Copy & Content Lead

Remember newsletters? They’re back, baby. Even big brands are doing it. Shopify and American Eagle have both launched newsletters this year, the former most recently. After years of short-form saturation, audiences are now craving genuine substance. And clever brands are catching on.

Long-form newsletters are resurging because they:

• Offer direct audience ownership (no algorithm required)
  
• Build trust and loyalty through consistent communication and storytelling
  
• Provide depth in a world of 10-second content

Newsletters are valuable ‘slow marketing’; they’re personal, and algorithm-proof. The smartest marketing teams will know to treat the newsletter less like “email campaigns” and more like mini publications. The best newsletters? They’ll combine editorial storytelling with genuine brand insight and consumer value-add.

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4. Ethical Data Collection Will Become a Brand Advantage

As cookies crumble and privacy laws tighten, 2026 will mark the shift from data capture to data consent. Consumers are getting super savvy about how their information is used and they’re far more likely to share it with brands that truly earn their trust.

Enter: ethical data collection.

This means offering value in exchange for information. Think helpful guides, interactive tools, or exclusive access that genuinely benefits your users (and we mean genuinely, OK?)

This means:

• Prioritise first-party data (from newsletters, communities and downloads)
  
• Communicate transparently about how data is used
  
• Design experiences that invite users to share, rather than trick them into it

When done right, ethical data collection turns necessary legal compliance into authentic connection. For marketers, there’s nothing more valuable than building a relationship with their consumers that’s rooted in mutual trust. Which leads us on to our 2026 digital marketing trends Prediction Number 5…

5. Authenticity and Genuine Trust Will Define Brand Success

“In 2026, trust is a marketing KPI. With AI flooding feeds, people are looking for what feels imperfect and human. Every piece of content is either building it or breaking it.”
Kirk Thompson – KIJO’s Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships

There’s definitely a theme here, isn’t there? And that theme is authenticity. The rise of AI-generated videos, voices and ads means consumers are craving realness.

In 2026, the brands that are going to thrive will be those that embrace authenticity authentically – unfiltered voices, human stories and super transparent messaging.

We expect to see:

• Behind-the-scenes content that shows the people behind the brand
  
• Founder-led storytelling (Jamie Laing over at Candy Kittens does this expertly…)
  
• UGC (User-Generated Content) and customer testimonials taking centre stage
  
• A rise in direct-to-consumer SMS marketing strategies
  Attentive x Movable Ink 2025 data found that among Gen Z and millennials, nearly 1 in 10 make purchases within minutes of receiving a text, and 42% of UK consumers purchase within hours of receiving a text too. We think that’s because a text naturally feels more personal and genuine…

For us, authenticity is going to be a business differentiator. When everyone else is polishing deepfakes, your brand’s honesty will become your superpower.

Related Read: What is UGC? How UGC Marketing Benefits Brands

6. LinkedIn Will Double Down on Video for B2B

LinkedIn has quietly become one of the most dynamic platforms in B2B marketing. And in 2026, when it comes to B2B digital marketing trends, we think the platform is going to go video-first.

LinkedIn is investing heavily in native video formats, short-form storytelling, and livestreaming, following the trends set by TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram – but with a professional twist, obviously. For B2B brands, this means opportunity.

Video builds trust, authority, and visibility faster than text alone. According to Wistia’s 2025 State of Marketing Report, almost 60% of companies plan to invest more in video this year too. Therefore, we reckon marketers who prioritise and master video for thought leadership, behind-the-scenes content and brand storytelling will stand out in an increasingly competitive feed.

If you’ve been waiting to start using video on LinkedIn, 2026 is definitely the year to get going.

7. Marketing Teams Will Look to Infiltrate the Group Chat

If 2025 was the year of algorithm-chasing, 2026 will be the year of ‘intimacy marketing’. Alexis Ohanian, Reddit’s co-founder, said:

“The most potent form of social today is basically in group chats.”

And we think he’s right.

As public feeds become saturated (and increasingly impersonal), the real action – and influence – is happening in private spaces: WhatsApp groups, Slack communities, Discord servers and DMs. 

That’s where people are sharing recommendations, debating products and influencing purchase decisions long before an ad is even seen.

We think marketing teams will look to strategise and find ways to enter the chat:

• Creating exclusive micro-communities for loyal customers or superfans.
  
• Building private ambassador programmes that feel personal, not promotional (According to Marketing Dive, 70% of consumers indicated that if loyalty programmes have active communities, this makes them more likely to join…)
  
• Encouraging peer-to-peer content sharing within group spaces rather than chasing viral reach.

In 2026, we genuinely think that the most powerful marketing will happen in the quiet corners of the internet – where authenticity, trust and conversation are key to those user’s experience and satisfaction.

Final Thoughts on Digital Marketing Trends & Our 2026 Predictions

As mentioned, if there’s one common thread running through the digital marketing trends for 2026, it’s authenticity and humanity.

Whilst technology continues to evolve, the most powerful marketing tools remain timeless: creativity, trust and authentic connection. Brands that embrace these values (whilst continuing to leverage data ethically and AI/ tech intelligently) will not just keep up; they’ll lead!

If you’re looking for more 2026 predictions, we think Andrew Hutchinson’s article over at Social Media Today provides some excellent social media specific food for thought too. Read it here.

At KIJO, we help brands stay ahead of digital change without losing their human touch. Because the future of marketing is about the marriage between humans and technology; what we can achieve together with it – not just what it’s “taking away” from us. 

Looking to build a robust 2026 marketing strategy? Get in touch today for our support.

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