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Whether you’re a brand re-strategising for the year ahead or you're just starting out as a creator, use this post as your starting point for shaping a strategy that is grounded in what’s coming next.

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Let’s get started...

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1. Know your target audience inside out 

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Feeds are now fully personalised. If you are creating for “everyone”, the algorithm does not know who to show you to.

Your job is to get brutally clear on who you are building for and shape everything around them.

Use these 5 questions as a springboard to help you get super clear on whose FYP’s you want to be in:

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• How old are they?
• Why would they want to follow you?
• What do they do on the weekend?
• Who do they already trust online, and why?
• What belief do they already have that my content either challenges or reinforces?

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Now, finish this sentence to give yourself some real clarity when planning out your content:

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“My audience comes to me because I help them ___ in a way that feels ___.”

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Then, let everything ladder up from here.

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2. Prioritise the formats that hold attention

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We know that there are conversations of Instagram piloting a Reels-first home feed, meaning users will soon open the app straight into video.

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The app continues to compete with TikTok in the great attention wars, so we can easily see this happening - and soon.

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However, we’re still seeing huge engagement in carousels on both Instagram and TikTok - the key is prioritising the format you think works best to present your content. 

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3. Treat saves and shares as your gold-star metrics

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In 2025, the biggest success metric was to just be “seen” and views were key. 

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In 2026, private engagement will be the driving force behind your success. If someone sends your post into the group chat, that is a big fat win!

Your 2026 content strategy should be measured by private value, not public applause.

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4. Create natively

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Use Edits and post natively to Instagram. 

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Native content is more likely to get shown to your audience organically, especially when it’s original and keeps people watching or interacting

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There’s a reason why Instagram built their very own editing tool, and they will reward you for using it! 

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5. Create with intention‍

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This year will be the end of “just post more”. You do not need to burn out creating content - that ship has well and truly sailed.

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Create with intention instead of filling a calendar, make your content emotionally resonant, and make every post worthwhile.

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When creating content in 2026, always ask yourself this question:

Would my target audience send this to a friend?

This is a question you can use to decide what gets posted and what gets tweaked.

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So, what should your 2026 content strategy even be?

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Let’s recap:

• Treat video and carousels as tools for the same strategic goal - keeping people with your content for longer
• Get super clear on who you’re trying to target
• Private engagement > public engagement - count “made it into the group chat” as your top KPI!
• Create natively - use Edits!
• Create with intention, not volume
• Ask yourself this with every post: “Would my target audience send this to a friend?”

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