Marketing used to be built on predictability. A brand would broadcast a message, drive awareness, move audiences through consideration, trigger conversion, and then hope retention followed. The funnel was neat, linear, and traditional.
But today, the funnel is breaking. Not because marketing stopped working, but because people changed, attention fragmented, and trust became the real currency.
In 2026, the brands that win are not the ones shouting louder, although paid media has (certainly) made this possible. They are the ones building relevance through real human connection, at scale. That is exactly why creators and influencers have become the new golden thread of marketing.
The biggest lie in social media marketing
There is a misconception that still shapes how many organisations allocate budgets and structure teams: that social media was created for brands.
I know this will break your heart, but it was not. Social media was built for people. Brands moved in after the fact, trying to earn space in places they were initially not designed for. But this does not stop the humanification of brands on social and the mimicking of influencers.
“Social Media wasn’t made for business, it was made for people.” – Neal Schaffer
System update: Influence 2.6
We have entered what I call Influence 2.6, the latest Influencer Software update. A new era where creator marketing is no longer a channel or a campaign add-on. It is becoming the infrastructure of modern brand building.
What defines Influence 2.6:
- Advocacy has become standardised: Influencer marketing has matured. Expectations are clearer. Deliverables are more structured. Measurement is increasingly tied to business outcomes, not vanity metrics. Well, that’s if you have the right technology partners. #ShamelessPlug
- Creators are shaping all social content: Creators do not just post, they shape the creative language of platforms. Creators set the tone, create the trends, and decide what is platform worthy.
- Influencer marketing is no longer a line item: Budgets are growing but, more importantly, they are shifting. Brands are increasingly integrating creators across the full marketing mix, not isolating them inside social or PR.
From the broken funnel to the connection circle
The traditional funnel assumes audiences move forward in one direction. But modern customer journeys do not move linearly anymore. Attention is fragmented and trust is the new currency.
People discover, doomscroll, forget, rediscover, ask friends, watch reviews, scan comments, wait for payday, see a creator again, click a link, abandon a cart, come back later, buy in-store and, only then – maybe – post about it. Almost like multiplying the ‘rule of 7’, the consumer journey now needs multiple touchpoints to lead to conversion. Although we suggest a full-funnel approach with advocacy, the funnel has changed dramatically.
This is why the future model is better represented as a connection circle. A continuous loop where content feeds community, community feeds trust, and trust drives action. Brands need to attract audiences, engage with them, and reward them.
By Michael Cost, Head of Strategy and Client Development, Humanz
