Hey everyone, I’m trying to get a clearer picture of what’s actually working in digital marketing in 2026. A lot of the advice online feels outdated, overly theoretical, or disconnected from what marketers are seeing in the real world. I’m much more interested in practical experiences, recent experiments, and what’s producing results right now. Here’s what I’ve been noticing: 1. AI is everywhere, but simply using AI isn’t enough anymore. The bigger difference seems to be in how well marketers use AI while keeping the final content genuinely useful and human. 2. Search is changing quickly. People are increasingly discovering information through AI tools, YouTube, Reddit, social platforms, and communities—not just traditional Google searches. 3. Short-form video is still powerful, but it feels like storytelling, originality, and strong hooks are becoming more important than simply jumping on trends. 4. Search clicks are becoming harder to earn. You can have strong impressions and visibility without necessarily seeing the same growth in website traffic. Where I’m still confused Traffic feels harder to grow, even when impressions are increasing. Engagement can be extremely inconsistent from one platform to another. And with so many new tools, platforms, AI workflows, and marketing tactics appearing every month, it’s getting harder to tell what’s genuinely worth doubling down on versus what’s simply noise. So I’d love to hear from people actually doing this in 2026: What digital marketing strategy is working best for you right now? Are you focusing more on: - AI-powered workflows - SEO and search visibility - Short-form video - YouTube - Communities and forums - Creator/influencer marketing - Email marketing - Paid advertising - Personal branding - Something completely different? More importantly, what did you change, and what happened afterward? Real examples would be much more useful than generic advice—what you tried, what worked (or failed), and what kind of results you saw.