Toucan Talks

What We’re Watching: 3 Marketing Trends Heading Into 2026

• Kickstart Collective

Share episode

The future of marketing is rapidly evolving, and this week's conversation dives into the trends shaping 2026's digital landscape. 

Did you know videos under 90 seconds achieve 50% higher retention rates? This statistic sets the stage for our discussion on why short-form content continues to dominate—not as a replacement for comprehensive messaging, but as a strategic gateway driving audiences toward deeper engagement.

Email marketing emerges as a powerful counterpoint to algorithm-dependent social platforms. While many have predicted its demise for years, email offers something increasingly unique: direct access to your audience without fighting unpredictable algorithms. We unpack why building an email list means truly owning your relationship with followers rather than "renting" it from social platforms. This ownership aspect creates stability in an otherwise fluctuating digital environment, allowing for consistent communication regardless of platform changes.

Artificial intelligence tools have transformed from novelties to necessities, though their implementation varies widely in effectiveness. We discuss how AI functions best as a creative assistant rather than a replacement—jumpstarting projects, processing data, and handling repetitive tasks while leaving space for creativity. 

From content creation to audience analysis, we explore practical applications while acknowledging the sometimes hilarious limitations of current technology. 

The conversation wraps with actionable advice: invest in short-form video, prioritize building owned channels, selectively adopt helpful AI tools, and above all, maintain consistency in your marketing efforts. The platforms may change, but these principles will carry your business forward.

What marketing trends are you currently implementing in your strategy? Share your experiences or questions with us, and subscribe to catch next Monday's Kickstart Your Week!

Get more from Toucan Talks!

Watch on YouTube
Follow on Instagram
Subscribe to our email list

//

Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co

Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you know that videos under 90 seconds have a 50% higher retention rate?

SPEAKER_00:

Let's kickstart your week. I did know that. Um You think we can get through what we're watching for 2026 marketing trends in 90 seconds?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that'd be fun. We can try.

SPEAKER_00:

We're not going to, but let's try it. Okay, so number one, short form video is still dominating. Take it away.

SPEAKER_01:

Always. And I think along with long form, it'll always be here to stay. And honestly, sometimes I feel like it just keeps getting shorter.

SPEAKER_00:

And people just keep talking faster. Um, but two, your fun fact at the beginning, um, retention rate is important um because you want people to see your full train of thought. So if it is something you can get across the board quickly, even if it is then taking them to a landing page to read more or watch a longer video, um, getting that point across quickly is is gonna be good in the long run. Um if you are driving traffic to a long form piece of content. That's right. So, but I think, you know, short form, here to stay.

SPEAKER_01:

Here to stay.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's you know, it's a necessary driver to get people to deeper content.

SPEAKER_01:

We mentioned it before in uh I think it was week two of our little series here, but um, it's a great way to get organic social content for what your social media kind of platform is trying to say, but also it's a great way to pull and and kind of hook people with uh a thought to maybe get them to engage further in what you're uh trying to sell or promote or uh show off.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, so what we're what we're expecting 2026 short forms here to stay. Yeah. Um number two, I think I don't think emails ever died. I love email marketing. It's my favorite, always has been, always will be. Um maybe webinars will be number two of my list of favorites, but um I think we're gonna see continue to see email marketing and newsletters continue um to grow and kind of have a resurgence, if you will. Um, just as, again, you're competing so much with that short form content and social that if you can capture leads or build an email list, then you have those people um in your pocket, in your list, I don't know, whatever you want to call it. Um, and then you can send them emails and you're not fighting an algorithm. You are landing in their inbox no matter what. Um now is your subject line and what you're you know positioning your email as good enough to get them to click. That's a different conversation, but at least you know every single time you're landing in the inbox versus you know fighting with social media competition and algorithms. So um expect to see more and more and more email marketing, and it'll be great, and you're gonna love it.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And who doesn't like to check their emails? I don't know. Personally, I do it's kind of like homie, not in my work email necessarily, but my personal email. It's just like, let's see what we got going on here and just see a catchy little line. Yeah, it gets my attention every time.

SPEAKER_00:

That's good. Um, I was explaining to Alyssa, was it yesterday? My email, my inbox situation. Um, we were on a Zoom call and I had my screen share up and we were looking at something, and my I had my work email, I have my personal email, which I was expecting, like the kids school's hooked up to has that one, my grandparents have that email address, um, etc. etc. And then I have my old email address that has like 10,000 unread emails, and it's all promotions and mostly promotions of companies that I'm like, I might buy for from once, or like maybe I do want to buy this, but I'm gonna sign up to get that discount so then if I like really do later, it's not just you know, flooding my regular inbox.

SPEAKER_01:

That's smart.

SPEAKER_00:

It is. That is not marketing related. There's a little life tip there for you. Life hack, life hack. Have a secondary email. I love email marketing. Um, but yeah, I think that and then um kind of segueing off of that. Facebook groups, I think, are you know, it's not we don't play in that in terms of like a service, but if you can find groups or create groups if depending on your you know service and have that fan base and community there, I think there's still some room, some potential there. Um I don't know if that's be a huge trend, but I think it's worth mentioning.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. And just slightly to that, um, there's uh with those Facebook groups, as long as some of the people are on Facebook, um, it's a great way to build community and to a kind of like an organic way to kind of show your audience what you're looking to sell or or show off or what have you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and you you do get a lot of social proof and like user-generated content activity. So yeah, TBD if that one we'll circle back in 2026, see if see what's changed on that um front. And then lastly but definitely not least, um AI. Um I think it's here to stay until something crazy happens, but I think it's here to stay. Um, and there's a ton of tools um from you know business project management to marketing to you know social video, all across the board. Right. Um I'll let you speak to video if you want to, you know, jump in on that front.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. I think too with AI, it's like it's some people are still a little scared of it or like, hey, like this feels like disingenuous or something to use it. But I think AI is a great way to kind of get that initial just like push into what you're doing. Then you can use that, make it into your own.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Especially with like ideas, you know, it's a great way to like, hey, you know, I need 10 uh 10 ideas to you know have this video planned out, and then you can look through, pick one that you might like better than others, and then fashion it into what you want it to be. And I think it's a great way to kind of kick start you into your project. Um but also, I mean, too, with with video stuff as well, um, it's a great way to kind of scroll through uh big amounts of content quickly, um to pull clips like we've done before in the past. Um it's just a great way to it's like a it's like a nice tool. It's not something that's gonna suck creativity away, but it's a great way to kind of push you in the right direction to get that to that creative like juice faster, I think.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah, no, I'd agree with that. I think it can help with some of the mundane tasks and then let people actually be creative and have fun with that side of things. Um I think too with like Google Ads and Meta Ads, they have some built-in like AI things um just on like the copy writing front. Um they're still kind of hit or miss, um, to be completely honest. So again, you kind of take it for what it's worth, use it, edit it. Um, I wouldn't, you know, just accept all. Like Meta, maybe by 2026 they'll have this figured out, but like my God.

SPEAKER_01:

What are they doing?

SPEAKER_00:

You can they will AI generate additional um images for you, um, which is hysterical, especially if you're taking like real photos or like brand photos of a location or a product, and then they're just you know generating some other ones. And not once have I been like, oh yeah, I'm gonna use that. Interesting. So I hope you know, 2026 trend, maybe that will improve.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I mean, I can I can speak to like AI has been a great tool, but I can certainly speak to one that's not been great with AI. I mean, uh with Photoshop and Lightroom, they certainly there's like some AI features, but there are, oh my gosh. Some of them are good, some of them are not so much. So you definitely want to like filter through and use the ones that are better for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, speaking of which, I we did family photos back, I don't know, earlier this year. Um, but there was five kids in said photos, all under the age of six, and so no one's looking. So I was trying to like AI some swap some eyeballs open, some faces.

SPEAKER_01:

Nice.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my goodness. My sweet, sweet baby was like four months old and said picture. And it just put a completely different like AI baby face. Well no, it was hilarious. Um we didn't keep up. I went back and photoshopped it like I would have been trained to do, but I was like, you know what? But I think those things are are gonna continue, continue to improve, um, which will speed up workflows and is helpful. Um so yeah, I that's definitely one I think we should keep an eye on next year. We can, you know, circle back on a different kickstart your week on some AI stuff. But um, yeah, I think looking into 2026, just practically speaking for business owners, um, keep up the short form content. Um we just talked about previously. If you can repurpose longer form to grab clips out, do that, get the most bang for your buck. Um, email marketing and just having your own owned channels versus relying totally on social media. Yes. Um, and then you know, keep an eye on AI tools, which ones are working, which ones aren't working, um, and just figuring out what will make your workflow and life easier. Yeah. Um, but don't let it take away what you actually enjoy doing.

SPEAKER_01:

And all as always, consistency is key. Yes. With your content, with what you're putting out. Just be consistent with it. You will see results.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, for sure. Um, so that being said, we'll see you next Monday on Kickstarter Week.