TRENDING: THE ART OF THE HUMBLE BRAG
THIS IS WHO YOU’RE ASKING TO X
This trend emerged this week that features a photo carousel showcasing childhood photos of various team members, paired with playful captions that hint at their current roles. For example, “this is who you’re asking to build you a website” or “this is who you’re emailing when you have a problem.” A wholesome, lighthearted format that adds personality and relatability to your brand while putting baby photos behind the business. Even the Recording Academy the Grammys have jumped on this to show a bit more behind the scenes.
Brand opportunities
A perfect trend for humanising your brand and spotlighting your team culture. It works especially well for smaller teams or service-based businesses looking to strengthen audience connection. Keep the tone fun and conversational, and use nostalgic visuals or throwback filters to enhance the charm. It’s simple to produce, easily repeatable, and a great way to build trust and familiarity with your audience.
HUMBLE BRAG
This trend turns self-promotion into a clever, disguised compliment: a funny, flirty, and self-aware way to highlight yourself or your brand without feeling forced. It’s essentially a “soft brag” that reads as confident rather than salesy, striking the perfect balance between humour and authenticity.
Brand opportunities
This format is ideal for founders, personal brands, or businesses wanting to show personality while subtly promoting their work. It humanises the brand and boosts relatability, letting teams or individuals celebrate wins, share achievements, or highlight offerings in a tone that feels light and conversational.
TALKING TO MY YOUNGER SELF
This reflective storytelling trend features creators “chatting” with their younger selves in a split-screen format, one video labeled 2016 (younger self) and the other 2026 (current self). The conversation-style format blends nostalgia, humour, and emotional reflection, inviting audiences to compare how far they’ve come over the past decade. It’s highly relatable, visually engaging, and taps into TikTok’s love for transformation and personal storytelling.
Brand opportunities
This trend is a great way for brands to show growth and evolution over time. You could recreate the format to highlight how your product, team, or branding has changed since 2016, or to reflect on key milestones and lessons learned. It’s perfect for storytelling around brand history, innovation, or transformation. Connecting emotionally with audiences while keeping the content visually engaging and authentic.
BRANDS KILLING IT
CHIPOTLE
Chipotle has mastered the art of understanding its audience and meeting them where they are. The brand doesn’t chase every trend, but when it does participate, the content always feels intentional, authentic, and highly relevant to its community. From clever use of trending sounds to humorous takes on food culture, Chipotle consistently creates content that feels organic to TikTok while still driving brand affinity and sales.
What truly sets Chipotle apart is how well it leans into the details its fans love, from ingredients and custom bowl combinations to inside jokes about napkins, guac, and chaotic order habits. Their content often highlights the specific quirks that make their customers’ experiences unique, like the satisfaction of getting extra rice or the heartbreak of forgetting a side of chips. By tapping into these hyper-relatable moments, Chipotle keeps its tone playful, self-aware, and perfectly in tune with its audience’s everyday rituals.
Brand opportunities
The takeaway for brands is to be selective and strategic with trends. You don’t need to jump on everything, focus instead on the ones that align naturally with your audience, tone, and product. Lean into the micro-moments your customers care about, no matter how small, to create content that feels authentic, funny, and deeply relatable.
NEW FEATURES ON SOCIALS
INSTAGRAM TO LAUNCH ‘INSTANTS’ APP
Remember BeReal? Instagram is reportedly testing a new standalone app called Instants, developed by Meta, designed for sharing disappearing photos and videos with close friends. The app aims to recreate a more authentic, in-the-moment experience, similar to Snapchat’s early days, with an emphasis on intimacy and spontaneity over curation.
Brand opportunities
While Instants is still in testing, it signals a continued shift toward smaller, more personal social experiences. For brands, this means adapting to more authentic, behind-the-scenes content and community-driven engagement. Early adopters can experiment with exclusive content, private drops, or “close-friends” storytelling to foster stronger audience connection in a more intimate digital
