How to get ahead of the social media algorithms for 2026

When a social strategist who’s led content for The North Face and Starbucks says your socials playbook is outdated, it’s well worth taking note. In our latest Up Talk session, Maren Hamilton unpacked the biggest mistakes brands are still making in this space, and what to do instead.

First, she began by bringing up the old playbook, and why it’s no longer working:

“Everyone was trained to have content pillars, personas, audience profiles. But that framework came from a time when social was static and predictable. Now, the algorithms, the audience expectations and even the behavior change month by month.”

Maren argues that while most brands are still obsessing over their own content, the reality is that audiences aren’t waiting around for it. They’re preoccupied with the memes, the politics, the pet photos… and your ad is just another thumb flick.

You have to earn that pause.

The 3 E’s

If you want people to actually look forward to your content, there are three key angles you can take. Filter your content through these three lenses and your posts will be guaranteed to add genuine value.

1. Educate

Give your audience something they can use.

“People think educational content has to be dry. It doesn’t.”

Maren used an example of a viral video by outdoor apparel store REI, where a store employee walks viewers through how to correctly say outdoor brand names (“it’s not Tee-va, it’s Teh-va”).

It’s relatable and informative – who isn’t wondering how to pronounce all these brand names?

It’s sharable – the next time your friend mispronounces Teva, you’ll know exactly the video to show them.

And it quietly builds credibility for REI as the expert in its category.

2. Excite

Inspire people to see your brand differently. For The North Face, that means aspirational storytelling about exploration, adventure and community, without losing their sense of humour and relatability.

Take their Touching Grass campaign, for example.

Teaming up with fashion brands Zalando and Highsnobiety, they took the internet expression ‘go touch grass’ and turned it into a campaign encouraging their audience to literally… go outside.

It was a hit because it spoke to the deep digital fatigue most of us are battling with, and presented a pretty simple (and stylishly compelling) antidote.

Touching Grass In The North Face

3. Entertain

Maren’s insight here is that entertainment doesn’t necessarily mean being funny.

“Entertainment looks easy, but good storytelling on social media is hard work. It’s not about being funny. It’s about being watchable.”

So what else could entertainment look like?

It could mean leaning into gossip and celebrity culture, like Nice wines did when they leveraged the cultural moment of Taylor Swift’s Era Tour and her relationship with Travis Kelce, and got a Travis Kelce lookalike to buy a can of Nice in Sainsbury’s (more on this soon in a future newsletter!)

It could mean tapping into community-focused content, like Starface does with their Gen Z UGC where customers show how they use and customise their products.

Or you could even lean into the sincere like Patagonia does, sharing engaging stories of activists, athletes and awe-inspiring natural landscapes.

Entertainment doesn’t look the same for everyone, so lean into what your brand does best.

On the unhinged brand voice

And on this note….

Ryanair’s savage tone might rack up retweets, but Maren warns that most brands shouldn’t try it.

“It makes perfect sense for Ryanair. They’re a low-cost airline. Their brand values are transparency and efficiency. You expect them to roast customers a little. It’s part of the deal.”

But for premium or heritage brands, not so much.

“When I was at The North Face, we had pressure to ‘try something unhinged.’

But we’re a 60-year-old luxury outdoor brand selling $500 jackets. That kind of voice would be completely disingenuous.”

Instead, think of brand tone as a venn diagram. One circle for what’s relevant on social media, another for what fits your brand values. The overlap is your sweet spot. That overlap makes your job harder as a social lead, but it’s the only way your content will last beyond a trend.

Listening beats posting

One of North Face’s biggest social wins started not with a campaign, but with a comment.

A TikTok user complained her rain jacket wasn’t waterproof and challenged the brand to bring her a new one “to the top of this mountain”.

Maren’s team saw the post through community monitoring, and they had two options: ignore it, or act fast and live up to their brand values.

They chose the latter, sending an athlete by helicopter to deliver the replacement jacket. They videoed it, of course, and flipped a potential PR issue into millions of positive impressions. Pretty extreme and expensive lengths to go to, but it was well worth it.

And it was a reminder for the team that social isn’t just about posting content. It’s about showing up in the moments that matter.

The era of social media series

If you’re asking your team how to jump on the next trend, you’re asking the wrong question. Algorithms may reward copycat content every now and then, but what builds loyalty is content that INTRIGUES the audience.

Maren’s take is that building original series on socials is going to be the way to go.

For your brand that might look like sharing weekly behind-the-scenes. Or maybe it’s a series of experiments featuring your brand’s products. Or a running joke unique that only your customers understand.

End each part of the series on an anticipatory note, and it’ll have people coming back for more.

Why creators are worth the cost

Maren shared that Unilever are now spending 50% of their marketing budget on creators, working with 20x more influencers than last year.

“Creators are the new production studios. They’re the copywriter, the actor, the editor, and the director all in one. If you paid an agency to do that, you’d spend triple.”

She adds that UGC (user-generated content) has become the most trusted social proof:

“When someone who looks like your audience uses your product, it’s worth more than any ad.”

If you’re thinking about where to allocate your budget, this might be a great place to begin.

If you’re rewriting your strategy…

Maren’s advice for starting fresh is simple. Ask yourself this one foundational question:

“What’s our mission for being on socials?”

At The North Face, that mission was ‘to move the world forward through stories of exploration.’

At PopFly, her current startup, it’s to help brands and creators grow together.

Every tactic, tone, and post stems from that mission, not from a trend or engagement goal.

3 things to do this week

Audit your last 10 posts: which of the 3 E’s do they hit?

Map your tone of voice: does it reflect your brand values or your competitors’?

Engage more than you post: surprise one customer in the next 7 days.

Start with this, and when 2026 comes around you’ll be in good stead…