2026 vibe check: ‘everyone feels as cooked as me’
I recently asked a bunch of social media and comms pros to look back at 2025, plus tell me how they were feeling about the year ahead.
The responses were honest, insightful, and frankly a few of them were a cry for help.
One response summed up the general mood of the industry perfectly: “Everyone in this field feels as cooked as me”.
If you’re feeling that way, you aren't alone. This work is difficult, varied, and relentless.
But despite the exhaustion, the survey showed that we are getting smarter, sharper, and more protective of our time.
And we’re also - surprisingly - still pretty optimistic for 2026.
Rather than summarising the trends for you, I wanted to share the raw data - a vibe check, if you will. Here is exactly what your peers are saying about the state of digital comms right now.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned in 2025?
“Executing the creative idea quickly > sanding off all the rough edges.”
“If it doesn't give people valuable info, make someone laugh, or surprise them - don't post. And don't worry about not posting. People are not missing it!”
“You can't 'fix stupid' - trolls will comment for the sake of it.”
“Just because it doesn’t pop off it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
“That the proliferation of AI-generated images in all areas of storytelling is a massive issue.”
“Spelling and punctuation matter!”
“Turning off Facebook comments isn't the answer to stop getting abuse from followers - it's about having clear internal process on how to deal with them and creating a safe space for the team and community.”
“Quality over quantity.”
“Personality beats polish.”
What’s one thing you wish you’d stopped doing earlier?
“Saying yes.”
“Pleasing internal requesters and not standing up for myself.”
“Doing something for a stakeholder just because it's the path of least resistance.”
“Trying to make different content for different channels/platforms - reuse and recycle because key messages are the important ones no matter how many times people see them.”
“Taking the social media trolls personally or seriously :)”
“I haven't been able to stop doing anything this year.”
“Hashtags.”
“Stressing about what others think (still working on that).”
“Trying to keep up with accounts that have entire teams for digital, when I'm only one human running socials, video, website and intranet.”
What tool, tactic, or process made your work easier?
“Saying no.”
“Just writing down processes! I can’t remember every single thing.”
“Being very hardline with internal stakeholders on captioning videos that are provided to us. Giving templates and making it explicit that THEY need to give us transcripts/captions if THEY are providing videos that THEY want posted.”
“A triaged approach to content requests (inspired by one you shared in a previous update).”
“Scheduling everything: Taking a once a month approach to writing and distributing - never on the same days.”
“In a sole-comms role, using ChatGPT for proofing has been a good time saver.”
“Going for walks and brainstorming ideas with the team - staying in an office and trying to be creative is too hard.”
NOTE: Specific tools mentioned included ChatGPT, Claude, Notion, and Brandwatch.
What achievement from 2025 are you most proud of?
“Making it through despite the constant internal and external change.”
“Driving lots of innovation which spills into better results, and less cost.”
“Growing our engagement! Growing our views!”
“Reaching 3k followers on a brand new IG account!”
“Surviving job cuts.”
“Actually creating some of our own video series.”
“Creating a fun and engaging election campaign on our channels.”
“Getting the wider communications team more involved in the social media space so they can better understand the unique pressures.”
Content - what worked (and what didn't)?
“Reels and carousels are really serving results but take SO much longer to craft.”
“The amount of time I spend typing out captions for videos is insane for a senior advisor haha.”
“Paid or not, popular content will be popular content, no matter how much (or little) money you put behind it.”
“Boring is still boring.”
NB: Short-from video was the most successful format in 2025 for respondents, followed by static-image posts, then text-only posts/threads.
What do you hope to change or improve in 2026?
“Plan, plan, plan, to make delivery more seamless and avoid last minute rushed content.”
“Pushing back on stupid ideas from elected members.”
“It would be nice if reactive comms took a back seat.”
“DO LESS. I am exhausted and have got to start saying no.”
“Saying no more often, and having a process for redirecting content requests so the right messages are put in the right place.”
“Keep experimenting with AI - but pulling back slightly to ensure it isn't changing my writing style. The AI scope creep is real.”
“Pushing the boat out a bit more with content.”
“A single content calendar to rule them all (and everyone uses it).”
“Learn to play the ukulele.”
NB: Main areas for development were almost equally ‘Strategic planning’ and ‘Resilience/wellbeing’.
Are we optimistic for 2026? Things to keep top of mind next year…
“Don't overcomplicate it. The formats you enjoy making the most are usually also the ones that perform best.”
“Most of the time, it's not that serious.”
“Always ask why.”
“Nobody internally is going to care about what we have achieved on social/digital/content unless we make a huge song and dance about it ... we have to constantly prove the value of our work.”
“Find your own voice and use it.”
NB: Asked if they were hopeful or optimistic for 2026, 65% of respondents said yes, 12% said no, and the rest were unsure.
What do you reckon? Comment below or email me@seamus.nz