Social Trends Right now

With trends changing by the minute, how do you actually create content that cuts through on social media in 2026?

Keeping up is no longer the biggest challenge, knowing what actually works is. Across TikTok and Instagram, short form video still dominates, but the style is shifting. We’re seeing a move away from polished edits towards raw, personality led storytelling, where audiences don’t just watch, they want to feel part of the moment.

So, what makes content engaging right now?

• Strong hooks in the first 2–3 seconds
• Subtitles that keep viewers watching (with or without sound)
• Trending or relevant audio
• Relatable, human-led storytelling
• Quick, digestible formats

So what key trends are we seeing and what’s actually working? 

One trend we’re seeing a lot within sport is that behind the scenes, unfiltered content is outperforming highly polished edits. Why? Because audiences want authenticity and access, not just match highlights. When viewers see the setup and what happens behind closed doors, they feel part of the moment rather than just watching it. 

Our content:

• Office Pancake day Vlog
• Bristol Girls Can Podcast Day

What others are doing well:

• SheerLuxe Daily office vlogs (companies filming their own content, giving a more personal perspective)
• The Fellas Studio (Daily vlogs of bts content, posting on LinkedIn) 

The common theme? The less produced it feels, the more it resonates.

Another trend I’ve been seeing is POV and personality led content, where the focus shifts from simply showing a moment to putting the viewer directly inside it. Some of my favourite examples from our own content include our Wembley visit, where we created “POV: You found the best view at Wembley”, capturing the scale, atmosphere, and emotion of being inside the stadium in a more immersive way. Another strong performing format has been office based POV trends, such as “POV: when your boss follows you on social media”, which taps into relatable, everyday humour.

This trend can fit into any type of video, e.g, sport or lifestyle. POV style content and personality driven storytelling is one of the biggest shifts, especially in sports right now. Whether it’s “POV: you’re in the away changing room before kick off” or simply following athletes through their day, content that puts the viewer inside the moment is performing strongly. Alongside this, athletes, staff, and even club admins are becoming the face of content, not just the brand. Why? POV works because it creates immersion. It removes the barrier between fan and club, making content feel like an experience rather than a broadcast. At the same time, personality-led content builds trust and familiarity; people follow people, not logos

What we like and why

The shift toward more personality driven, community led content is what we have been edging towards. We like this direction because it moves content away from being purely highlight based and turns it into something more cultural; something viewers can engage with daily.

JMP social account has been liking interview led videos round the office about all sorts of topics e.g. favourite podcast or who’s most likely. This type of content has been popular with a lot of companies as it shows more of the office personalities and gives clients more insight into who they are working with. 

Where we’ve seen success

Across our own channels, we’ve seen strong performance from behind-the-scenes content, quick turnaround TikTok edits from games, personality clips and interviews, and “day in the life” style content. However, the best performing content overall has been short form trend based videos (around 10 seconds). These are easy to watch, humorous, and highly relatable, and it’s here that we consistently see the highest levels of shares, likes, saves, and comments. This type of relatable, trend-led content drives the most interaction, encouraging audiences to engage and respond. 

What we’re looking to trial more of 

When looking at performance across platforms, Instagram Reels are currently driving the strongest results in terms of overall engagement and reach. Over the last 30 days, Instagram interactions increased significantly from 59 (Jan–Feb) to 6,622 (Feb–Mar), showing a clear increase in audience engagement and content performance. On TikTok, we’ve also seen strong growth, with content reaching over 14,000 post views and 7,500 viewers. A large proportion of this audience is made up of new viewers discovering the account for the first time, which highlights strong organic reach.

Overall, both platforms are showing positive improvement, but Reels are currently leading in engagement, while TikTok is particularly strong for reach and new audience growth.

Moving forward, we’re looking to build on this by trialling:

• More series based content (weekly recurring formats to build consistency and audience retention)
• Longer form storytelling across Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
• More “micro moments”, short, emotional or humorous clips that capture quick, relatable experiences

The focus is on moving beyond individual posts and building content ecosystems that encourage repeat viewing, stronger engagement, and deeper audience connection. 

-Written by Tabby Gallen