How to Make Your Brand Stand Out on Social Media in 2027
Your customers are scrolling on social media, but are they stopping for you?
As we’re supporting our clients in refining their 2027 marketing strategies, we’re finding ourselves answering a lot of questions about social:
- Is it still important to post daily?
- Which platforms should I be on?
- How do I use AI to scale my content?
- Why am I not growing my followers?
We also found a blog post that we wrote back in 2019 about being “relevant” on social networks. And boy, have things changed. It was a reminder that some entrepreneurs are still working with social strategies that haven’t been useful since Lil Nas X dropped “Old Town Road.” Since then, Twitter became X, TikTok became a search tool, and AI became a legitimate social media manager. (Sorta.)
What hasn’t changed? People still engage with brands they trust.
Social Media Best Practices for 2027
We could dig into a lot of surprising and enlightening data regarding social media use. For example, Pew Research Center’s 2025 study of Americans’ social media use found that 62% of Hispanic adults, 58% of Asian adults, and 54% of Black adults use Instagram, compared with 45% of White adults. For some companies, learning that stat creates a shift in the way they create IG content. And it should.
However, with limited time, budget and energy, what matters most is knowing the four most important tips and tricks to making the most of your social strategy next year.
1. Sound Like You, Not a Robot
Your brand voice is still your biggest differentiator. The truth is that, in 2027, everyone will have access to the same AI writing tools—and, according to multiple surveys, absolutely will be using them—which means a lot of brands are starting to sound... the same.
If you plan to tap into AI, use it to brainstorm, outline, and speed up the manual stuff. Then, edit until it sounds like your team on its best day. A Black-owned skincare line, a Latina-led law firm, and an Asian American snack brand probably shouldn’t sound interchangeable, so lean into the stories, language, and cultural details that only you can tell.
And if you use AI to create realistic images, video or audio, be upfront about it for the love of God. TikTok requires creators to label realistic AI-generated content and may remove unlabeled posts. Transparency is a trust signal, not a weakness.
2. Make Original Content
Reposting is easy, but what’s easy is rarely what’s impactful.
Back in 2019, we told you to repurpose old content. That still works, as long as you actually transform it. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has made originality a key ranking signal, and in 2026 the platform expanded its crackdown on reposted content by evaluating what an account publishes over a full month. Watermarked TikToks and lightly cropped memes won’t cut it anymore.
If you must, turn an old blog post into a 30-second explainer video you film yourself. Show the founder packing orders by hand. Let your kids-and-toys brand’s testers react on camera. Lo-Fi content is fine; borrowed content is not.
3. Treat Social Like a Search Engine
Your customers aren’t just scrolling; they’re searching. An Adobe Express survey found that 49% of U.S. consumers used TikTok as a search engine in 2026, up from 41% in 2024.
What’s that mean? It means your captions, on-screen text and spoken words should include the phrases real people type. A food and beverage brand might answer “best low-sugar sparkling water.” A law firm might explain “how to trademark a business name.” A tech startup might tackle “how to automate invoicing.” Answer the questions your customers already ask, and the algorithm will start sending them your way.
Need a starting point? Our guide to organic marketing on TikTok breaks down series-driven content and product tagging.
4. Build Community, Not Just Followers
Follower counts are ultimately a vanity metric. A million followers who liked you after one viral post and never thought about you again means nothing compared to a thousand followers who found you organically and tell their friends and family to follow you, too.
Reply to comments, answer DMs and highlight your customers by resharing their user-generated content with appropriate credit. Creators can help, too. You don’t need a celebrity budget; micro-creators within your community often drive more trust per dollar. Our EMBiz breakdown of how organic influencer marketing works covers product seeding without breaking the bank.
Finally, measure what matters. Saves, shares and DMs tell you more than likes. If you’re fuzzy on the difference, brush up on ROI vs. KPI metrics before your next campaign.
The Bottom Line
The platforms will keep changing, but your edge won’t: a real voice, original content and a community of followers that knows, likes and trusts your brand. What worked in 2019 largely doesn’t work anymore.
If you’re ready to step into 2027 with an up-to-date social media marketing strategy that aligns with your bigger business goals, let’s talk! The best way to ramp up to success is with a comprehensive discovery process and a sense of clarity about where you want to be.
Written in collaboration with Claude
