16 lessons from interviewing 50 social media leaders

Plus the new brand show that's taking off, a 2026 cultural calendar, and more.

Welcome back! Did everyone enjoy some time off? I watched over a dozen movies during the break. My record was four in one day. A few favorites were Misery, Weapons, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Sentimental Value. I also went to see Marty Supreme in theaters because I support audacious marketing.

Before we dig into today’s newsletter, I sent out my Brand Social Trend Report: Q4 2025 while a lot of us were offline for the holidays.

The report covers things like the rise of spectator social, brands creating nostalgia for the future ("me and you in 20 years"), puppets, mirror memes, horizontal videos (I know!), voice memo Reels, TikTok Shop performing for “premium” brands, and more. You can read it here.

Today’s newsletter includes:

• What I learned from interviewing 50 social media marketers in 2025

• The new brand social show with only three episodes and over 700K views

• Inside NYC DOT’s recent viral post (“The best government social media doesn’t feel like a press release; it feels like a window into how the city actually works.”)

• A company is being sued for posts they shared on Instagram

• The 2026 cultural calendar you need for all of your marketing planning