Welcome to 2026: What We’re Carrying Forward (and What We’re Leaving Behind)

Happy New Year — and welcome to 2026.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a builder. An entrepreneur. A creator. Someone who isn’t just watching the market shift, but actively trying to stay ahead of it.

At The Preppy Family, we believe every new year isn’t just a reset — it’s a refinement. A chance to take the lessons that actually worked, drop the noise that didn’t, and move forward with clarity.

2025 taught us a lot about marketing, attention, technology, and human behavior. Some trends faded. Others quietly reshaped the entire game..

Here are the 25 things we’re intentionally taking into 2026 — and why they matter more than ever.

1. If it didn’t get saved, screenshotted, or sent… it didn’t work

Public likes became vanity metrics. Private actions — saves, DMs, screenshots — became the real signal. If your content isn’t moving through group chats, it’s not moving at all.

2. Commenting became the real LinkedIn growth hack

The smartest operators spent as much time commenting as posting. Thoughtful, consistent engagement created more reach than shouting into the void.

3. AI was a repurposing engine, not a brain

The winners didn’t outsource thinking to AI — they multiplied it. One podcast turned into dozens of assets. AI scaled ideas; it didn’t replace them.

4. Long-form content made a comeback

Deep podcasts, essays, and YouTube videos became source material. One strong conversation could fuel a month of content. Depth finally created leverage.

5. Brands were built through conversation, not Canva

What people said about you mattered more than what you said about yourself. Online conversations trained algorithms — and audiences — who you really were️re.

6. Employee content outperformed brand accounts

Faces beat logos. Every time. People bought from people, not polished brand pages.

7. First-party data became non-negotiable

No data, no personalization. And personalization became the difference between “interesting” and “take my money.”

8. SEO still mattered — just differently

Clear structure and real expertise beat keyword stuffing. Search engines and AI got better at detecting authenticity.

9. Distribution beat creation

Great content without a distribution plan disappeared. Smart brands designed how content traveled before they created it.

10. Dark social is where the money lived

Slack, DMs, texts, WhatsApp — the best content moved privately first. The most valuable conversions became the hardest to track.

11. Consistency beat creativity

Familiarity built trust faster than novelty. The most consistent voices won — not the flashiest ones.

12. People bought POVs, not information

Everyone had access to the same data. Your interpretation became your brand. Strong opinions built loyalty.

13. Email became human again

Opinionated, personal emails outperformed polished blasts. People wanted to hear from you, not a faceless “marketing team.”

14. Search intent scattered everywhere

Discovery didn’t live in one place anymore. TikTok, ChatGPT, Instagram, YouTube — SEO had to work everywhere.

15. Paid media shifted from targeting to resonance

Targeting weakened. Creative that felt native won. If it looked like an ad, it lost.

16. Serialized content outperformed one-off campaigns

Recurring series trained audiences to come back intentionally. Marketing worked when it felt episodic, not promotional.

17. Speed beat polish

Fast shipping created learning loops competitors couldn’t match. Momentum became a moat. Done beat perfect.

18. Trust signals became the real funnel

Credibility, familiarity, and reputation did more work than CTAs ever could. By the click, the decision was already made.

19. Attribution finally got honest

Perfect attribution collapsed. Smart teams focused on directional signals and business outcomes instead of spreadsheet fantasies.

20. Being everywhere mattered less than being memorable somewhere

One platform done exceptionally well beat five done poorly. Distinctiveness beat ubiquity.

21. Community became retention

Owned spaces kept customers close. People stayed when they felt part of something bigger than a transaction.

22. Familiarity became a growth strategy

Repeated exposure built trust faster than constant reinvention. People needed to see you multiple times — and now, they actually did.

23. Influencer marketing became partnership marketing

One-off posts underperformed. Long-term creator relationships built trust ads couldn’t buy.

24. Signal beat best practices

Real-time feedback from your audience mattered more than outdated playbooks. The best teams followed what worked now.

25. Attention became the scarcest resource

Money couldn’t fix bad strategy anymore. Earning focus became the true competitive advantage. Budget doesn’t save boring.

Moving Forward

2026 isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what actually works — with intention, clarity, and consistency.

At The Preppy Family, we’re entering this year focused on:

• Real relationships

• Strong points of view

• Distribution that matters

• And brands built on trust, not tricks

  
  

If you’re building this year — we’re building with you.

Welcome to 2026. Let’s make it count. 🚀