How to Build Trust on Social Media in 2026

Hi! I'm Lauren. I've spent over a decade in creative work. First as a makeup artist, then building my own influencer platforms to over 250K, writing a book, running organic social for billion-dollar companies, and now working as a remote creative strategist in paid social. I've worked with brands like Graza, Seed, The Farmer's Dog, Pacifica Beauty, and Kimpton Hotels, moving fluidly between strategy, writing, and production. 

I can't tell you how many CEOs and marketing executives I've worked with who shot down content that would've absolutely crushed. Or maybe they finally okayed it after 4 rounds of approvals but then it was either completely irrelevant or lost any bit of personality it had. 

Most brands are too scared to drop the curtain. They might think safe content is building trust but I think it’s destroying it. People don't follow brands because of what they sell. They follow brands because of what they stand for and how they make them feel.

The competition isn't the other company down the street anymore, it's every creator your customer follows. Every day your content is competing with creators who are making people cry-laugh, teaching them something new, or saying exactly what they've been thinking.

That's why the brands building the most trust in 2026 aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or most polished feeds. They're the ones that consistently display the same behaviors we'd look for in a trustworthy person.

You don't trust Cousin Jim because he says he's a trustworthy guy. You trust him because you've watched how he behaves over time. He tells it like it is. He shows up when he says he will. He's even willing to get a little vulnerable sometimes. Social media works the same way.

1. Get comfortable talking to the camera.

I know, you hate it. Get over it. Show your face. And stop overthinking the perfect setup. Whether it's the founder, an employee, or someone on your team who actually enjoys being on camera, people trust people, not perfectly lit b-roll. By conveying confidence in your voice and them seeing the genuine passion on your face, people decide if they trust you in seconds. You don't get that from cinematic b-roll.That's why talking-to-camera videos consistently outperform highly produced ads when it comes to building trust. I've watched brands spend $50,000 on polished campaigns only to be outperformed by an employee talking into an iPhone. If you start with one thing in 2026, let it be this.

2. Show the process, not just the result.

Most brands only show the finished product. But consumers feel more involved when they see what goes on to get to the finished product. It’s the same reason why you see someone with 6-pack abs on instagram and feel nothing but once you know they lost 100lbs to get there, you’re suddenly proud of them and invested in the journey. 

Transparency gives people fewer reasons to doubt you and stories create emotional investment in a way finished outcomes can’t. Once people understand the effort behind something, they stop seeing it as just another product and start seeing the people who made it.

3. Stop being so serious.

The rise of "unhinged" marketing is upon us. Every brand doesn’t need to be chaotic or absurd, like RyanAir or Duolingo. (although, if your audience is Gen- Zz, I might recommend it). But the point is consumers are drawn to brands that don't take themselves so seriously.

Humor. Self-awareness. A little vulnerability. An opinion. (I know, having an opinion is scary) These things make a brand feel more approachable because they're the same qualities we look for in people.

Meanwhile, the more a brand sounds like it was written by committee with buzzwords that you’d literally never say in a real conversation, I’m giving you an eyeroll. Trust isn't built by sounding professional anymore. It's built by sounding real.

4. Stop trying to sell people. Post content they’d consume anyways.

Nobody opens Instagram hoping to discover another suitcase (okay maybe sometimes), protein powder, or project management tool. Usually, they're there to escape, be entertained, inspired, educated, or understood.

The best brands don't make their product the center of every post. They become part of conversations their audience is already interested in. If you sell luggage, talk about travel. If you sell skincare, talk about confidence. If you sell coffee, talk about morning routines.

5. Your comments section is your reputation.

Most brands spend hours creating content and minutes interacting with the people who engage with it. I’m actually embarrassed for companies that have people complaining in the comments and they either delete the feedback or completely ignore it.

Your comments section is public customer service.  Future customers are reading your comments just as closely as your posts. They're watching how you respond when someone disagrees or asks a question.

On the flip side, if you post about your life-changing sunscreen and the comments are full of "I'm freaking obsessed," that's social proof you cannot ignore. Replying to those comments reinforces the behavior and makes people more likely to engage again. 

As AI floods every platform with more content than we've ever seen before, being polished is becoming less valuable by the second. Being unmistakably human is your competitive advantage.

The brands people remember won't necessarily have the biggest budgets or the best cameras. They'll be the ones that consistently make people feel like there's a real person behind the account.

Trust isn't something you tell people you have. It's something they decide after watching how you behave.