What’s Actually Working in 2026 (Despite the Noise)

Let’s cut through the hype. I’ve read the data. I’ve watched the platforms. I’ve tested this in real businesses. Here’s what’s actually working. 1️⃣ Video Is Still King (But Not the Polished Kind) Every major platform, including Meta themselves, is still prioritising video. But here’s the shift. Raw, unedited, conversational, unscripted video is outperforming polished, over-produced content. Talking to camera. Behind the scenes. “Hey, this is what I’m doing today” energy. That’s what’s winning. 2️⃣ Human Video Beats AI Video Every Time As AI-generated video increases, human video becomes more valuable. Your face. Your voice. Your personality. Your imperfections. That’s the trust signal now. AI content blends in. Human content stands out. 3️⃣ Stop Scripting. Start Talking. Scripts kill energy. The moment you script, you stop feeling. You start reading. You lose flow. Bullet points are fine. Scripts are not. People don’t want perfect. They want real. 4️⃣ Behind-the-Scenes Outperforms “Expert Content” Unpolished, real-life moments consistently outperform staged “expert” videos. Phone out. Quick thought. Share the lesson. Done. That’s enough. 5️⃣ Live Streaming Is About to Surge Again Platforms reward native content. Live streaming is native. More reach. More trust. More connection. And it stays on the platform long after you go live. That’s compounding visibility. 6️⃣ Live = Trust in an AI World With AI slop everywhere, live video proves one thing instantly. You’re real. You know your stuff. You didn’t fake it. People trust what they can see happening live. 7️⃣ Content Mix That Actually Works These aren’t rules. They’re guidelines. ~80% business topic content ~20% lifestyle, fun, personality Why? Because you’re building a business. Not auditioning for approval. Janet next door isn’t paying your bills. 8️⃣ Consistency Beats Creativity Same message. Same audience. Same mission. Same call to action. Repeated longer than feels comfortable. That’s how growth actually happens. 9️⃣ You Don’t Need Fancy Anything No fancy editing. No big team. No perfect setup. Just the discipline to post. And the courage to post. 👉 https://sarahcordiner.com/legends More coming. I’m not done yet. Sarah x #Marketing2026 #ContentStrategy #VideoMarketing #BusinessGrowth #EntrepreneurLife #AIInBusiness #SocialMediaStrategy #Visibility #ConsistencyWins #LegendsLab #SarahCordiner You can also email me on sarah@sarahcordiner.com. Sarah’s Online Courses: www.sarahcordiner.com/academy Sarah’s Amazon Books: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018U7VRB0 Youtube: www.sarahcordiner.com/youtube LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcordiner Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cordinersarah Personal Web: www.sarahcordiner.com