Social Media & Community Marketing

As brands chase global scale and AI-driven efficiency, we risk losing the ‘social’ in social media – the human connection. Explore the evolution of digital tribes and Ancestry’s own strategic journey in navigating the complex balance between operational efficiencies, and the vital need for local cultural resonance. Discover why cultural nuance, local depth, and human-led community remain the ultimate competitive advantages in an automated world.

• Revisit the history of digital communities and why human connection remains the constant in a shifting tech landscape
• Learn about Ancestry’s strategic realignment between global and local structures and the insights that define the brand’s approach to building community
• How to navigate the tension between AI-driven efficiency and the ‘human touch’ required to foster real connection
• How to determine when to ‘go global’ and when to prioritise ‘local-first’ social structures

The algorithm is harder to crack, and attention is harder to hold. The brands breaking through aren’t chasing trends. They know how to stay relevant while staying true to their brand. Charlotte Tilbury is one of them. They show up on the right channels, at the right moments, in a way that feels unmistakably Charlotte Tilbury.

Join Nadine Bourne and Marukh Budhraja at Charlotte Tilbury, and Maggie Hickey, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Dash Social, for a conversation on how their brand approaches discovery. From individual posts to creator partnerships and campaigns, every touchpoint is intentional.

Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

• How to back creative instincts with brand-specific AI to move faster, with more confidence and less risk
• Metrics to benchmark channel and format performance so you can decide where to invest next
• The latest trends shaping reach and discovery for brands today

Social media success now demands more than likes and impressions: it requires real insight, proactive action, and measurable impact. In an era where “AI slop” and synthetic content can skew traditional data; brands must leverage social listening to separate the noise from the heartbeat of the consumer. This session explores how brands can integrate AI, social insights, and integrated data to turn everyday conversations into powerful conversions that drive decisions, campaigns, content, social and influencer strategies.

• Leverage social listening to track conversations and uncover emerging trends across platforms and private communities where human signals still break through.
• Leverage AI to analyse sentiment, take proactive action on audience behaviour, and unify social data with CRMs.
• Boost ROI by focusing on attention and sentiment metrics that move beyond vanity numbers to find authentic brand affinity.
• Practical ways to monitor brand sentiment in a video-first world and spot community trends before they peak.
• Explore emerging technologies and advancements to ensure social insights remain authentic and actionable in the era of AI-produced content.

Social media trends in 2026 aren’t long bell-curves that anyone can forecast a year into the future. They’re short-lived, intense, and often highly specific to niche topics and audiences.

What’s a marketer to do?

Join Sam Cookney for a candid look at how to go beyond surveys and predictions to build strategies grounded in real-time trend tracking and forecasting. You’ll get red-hot takes on the trends to watch today — and a behind-the-scenes look at how to make trend forecasting a core skill.

Social platforms are rapidly becoming the most powerful retail channels in the world. As SVP Global Direct-to-Consumer at SharkNinja, Calvin Anderson leads the end-to-end ecommerce, digital experience and social commerce strategy for two of the most innovative appliance and lifestyle brands globally. In this session, Calvin explores how brands can build a fully integrated social-first commerce engine- where content, creators and community drive discovery, engagement and conversion. From platforms like TikTok to emerging formats such as TikTok Shop, he will share how brands can connect storytelling with seamless purchasing to accelerate direct-to-consumer growth.

• Designing a social-first sales funnel- how discovery, community and commerce now happen in the same place.
• Creator-driven commerce- building trust and demand through authentic creator partnerships.
• Turning content into conversion- aligning product storytelling, performance marketing and ecommerce.
• The future of DTC- integrating social commerce, digital experience and direct retail to scale global growth.

Social media crises follow predictable patterns, and most damage happens before brands even realise they’re in trouble. This session explores:

• The most catastrophic social media brand disasters of the past few years, and what went wrong
• The real cost of a social media attack for a brand
• How AI is making it easier, faster and cheaper to attack brands on social media
• And how social teams can spot early warning signs, respond faster, and avoid common mistakes

What happens when you analyze 39+ million social media posts across 10 platforms, and check in with the professionals powering their brand accounts? 

You get the real state of social media in 2026.

In this session, Metricool brings together insights from our 2026 Social Media Study, LinkedIn Study 2026, and our Well-Being in Social Media Professionals research to deliver a real-world view of what’s working on social media and what it takes to sustain it. We’ll break down platform performance, content formats, and posting strategies as reach declines, competition increases, and demand rises for social media managers and digital marketers. 

But performance data is only part of the story. Our well-being research reveals how professionals juggle strategy, multiple accounts, content creation, and constant last-minute changes, while being chronically online, working outside regular hours, and struggling to disconnect or stay creatively energized.

This session connects platform data with human insight to show how smarter planning, clearer processes, and better use of analytics, AI, and social media tools can help teams focus on what truly drives results, without burning out the humans behind the handles. 

Key Takeaways

• Key growth indicators: platforms, formats, and strategies that actually move the needle, back by data
  
• What the data reveals about burnout: shared pressure points like constant availability, last-minute changes, and creative fatigue
  
• How data enables sustainability: using insights, tools, and planning to improve performance while protecting well-being

The social media landscape is evolving at record speed. Brands that diversify, innovate, and build owned audiences will lead in this era of convergence, disruption, and AI-driven transformation.

• Discover how regulation, platform volatility, and algorithm shifts are redefining social media strategy
• Learn to diversify across channels: balancing reach on giants like TikTok, YouTube, and Meta with emerging niche platforms
• Turn social audiences into owned communities via email, SMS, and loyalty programs
• Stay ahead as AI, decentralisation, and emerging tech redefine social media

TikTok Shop, Instagram Checkout, and YouTube Shopping are integrating AI recommendations, AR try-ons, and seamless in-app payments, transforming social feeds into full-service storefronts. Brands that optimise for this ecosystem can drive sales, build trust, and meet audiences where they already shop.

• Explore how AI-driven recommendations and AR experiences are reshaping social commerce and driving conversions
• Implement shoppable posts and creator-led content to shorten the purchase journey and increase trust
• Optimise social-first checkout flows and mobile experiences to reduce friction and boost sales
• Leverage analytics to track performance, refine strategies, and make data-informed decisions

• What GEO means for marketers—and why it matters now
• Why editorial coverage drives AI recommendations
• The key drivers of LLM visibility: reach, influence, and sentiment
• How to measure brand impact in AI (beyond traditional search)
• Turning GEO insights into real marketing advantage

Learn about the TikTok LIVE Creator Network Program and how’s re-shaping the world of creator commerce. 

This panel brings together social and digital leaders from regulated industries to explore how high-impact social media content is created within complex regulatory and governance frameworks.

• The discussion will focus on how success is measured across platforms beyond likes and reach, and how teams select the right platforms and formats, from short-form and long-form video to static, carousel, and emerging content formats.
• From engaging multi-generational audiences to managing social media at enterprise scale, the session will share practical insights on delivering scroll-stopping, brand-safe content that drives meaningful impact without compromising trust.

This is a high-level panel bringing senior social media and digital experts to the stage to discuss all things social media and strategy in highly regulated sectors.

• Unlock high‑impact performance strategies: Explore proven, ROI‑driven paid social media approaches that maximise efficiency, scale investment, and boost both performance outcomes and brand visibility across key platforms
• Elevate measurement maturity: Learn how to track, attribute, and analyse paid social media campaigns at a global scale, defining actionable KPIs, building robust cross‑platform reporting, and enabling real‑time optimisation across diverse product portfolios
• Embed performance across the full funnel: Understand how paid social performance marketing drives both immediate, measurable actions and long‑term brand impact, integrating seamlessly into a holistic full‑funnel marketing strategy