From Reali-TEA To Emotional ROI, Here's TikTok's Forecast For Brand Connection In 2026

After a year in which brands leaned into cultural moments, creator partnerships, and niche communities through what TikTok describes as “Brand Chem,” the platform is setting the tone for what comes next. TikTok Next, the social media company's sixth annual trend forecast, offers marketers a forward-looking roadmap built on shifting user behavior, community sentiment, and evolving audience expectations in 2026. 

The forecast arrives at a moment when brand engagement is becoming more demanding and more deliberate. According to the report, users are no longer satisfied with surface-level creativity, instead seeking content that feels human, relevant, and emotionally grounded, while still delivering tangible business impact. TikTok Next is positioned as a guide to creating content that resonates, inspires, and converts, informed by deep insights into how the platform’s community is thinking and feeling. 

In a statement, Global Head of Business Marketing for TikTok, Sofia Hernandez, commented, “By 2026, we’re going to see a real shift in how people show up online. Users won’t just scroll, they’ll be in full-on discovery mode, following their curiosity, and expecting a return on the time they invest. For brands on TikTok, that means the era of passive consumption is over. Marketers will need to be on the pulse of cultural moments and participate as they happen, and clearly demonstrate the value they bring. The brands that win will be the ones combining human insight with smarter artificial intelligence (AI) tools and richer data to create content that feels relevant, responsive, and genuinely worth engaging with.” 

At the heart of this year’s outlook is what TikTok calls “Irreplaceable Instinct,” a shift toward curiosity, conviction, and care as defining forces of connection. The platform’s 2026 trend signals were powered by artificial intelligence but interpreted through human instinct, reflecting how users are responding to the world around them. TikTok says its community is feeling hopeful, at times overwhelmed, and strongly motivated by curiosity and the desire to discover something new. These shared emotions and behaviors have informed the platform’s three core trend themes for the year ahead, which it calls Reali-TEA, Curiosity Detours, and Emotional ROI.

Reali-TEA reflects a move away from fantasy and escapism toward shared, grounded realities. TikTok notes that in 2026, audiences are realigning through chaos to build new forms of connection together. Humanizing a brand now means more than deploying an AI avatar or chatbot. It requires listening closely, learning continuously, and sharing real stories that reflect how people actually feel. On the platform, users have shifted from romanticizing life to embracing what TikTok refers to as #TheGreatLockIn, a mindset centered on self-improvement and accountability-driven communities. Escapism alone, the company says, is no longer enough. 

As such, brands that help audiences navigate uncertainty together are earning deeper loyalty. For example, cookie brand Oreo tapped into an emerging joke about “merging with your best friend” during its collaboration with candy brand Reese’s, creating a carousel where the two brands literally blended into one. The post became Oreo’s second top-performing piece of content in 2025.  Moments like these, TikTok argues, resonate because they allow audiences to laugh, reflect, and feel understood, whether in the highs or the lows. To keep pace, the platform advises brands to avoid locking content plans months in advance and instead build flexibility to respond to cultural conversations as they evolve. 

Moving on, Curiosity Detours highlights curiosity as the defining currency of 2026. TikTok says users are increasingly aware that overreliance on technology to get from point A to point B can mean missing out on discovery along the way. On TikTok, search behavior is evolving into something more exploratory. Users arrive with a specific intention but are met with unexpected insights, trusted advice, and stories that lead them down new paths. 

Searching on TikTok, the platform says, feels less like a task and more like an outing. A single query often unfolds into a series of discoveries, from tips and hacks to personal experiences shared in comments. Passive consumption is fading, replaced by active participation as users scan comment threads, refine searches such as “my makeup type” to better understand their personal needs, and stay closely tuned to what others are discussing in real time. According to TikTok, two in three users who use the platform as a search tool say a key reason is that they discover useful information beyond what they were originally looking for. This pattern of exploration means there is no longer a single entry point to a brand, with users moving fluidly across categories, interests, and conversations as their curiosity evolves. 

This shift was illustrated by the battery brand Duracell on Tiktok. By listening to how users described their search journeys, Duracell uncovered an unexpected link between its batteries and the K-pop community, where fans rely on them to power glowing lightsticks at concerts. What began as a niche discovery has since evolved into a meaningful new growth audience and a strategic priority for the brand in 2026.  

@duracellofficial Kpop fans, don’t make this mistake! Enjoy your #Enhypen concert to the fullest! #kpop #lightsticks #battery #kpoplive ♬ original sound - Duracell

TikTok emphasizes that this approach is not about broadening appeal indiscriminately, but about showing up authentically beyond perceived core categories. Advertisers are encouraged to use tools like TikTok One Content Suite to analyze organic brand mentions, understand how communities talk about them, and collaborate with creators to translate those insights into both organic and paid campaigns. 

Tiktok's 2026 forecast concludes with Emotional ROI, which signals a shift from impulse-driven purchases to more intentional decision-making. TikTok predicts that in 2026, shoppers will reward brands that clearly articulate why their products deserve a place in consumers’ lives. While many users are cutting back on non-essential spending, the definition of what counts as essential is expanding, with emotions playing a central role. Buying decisions are no longer just about price, but about finding products that truly work, support personal rituals, or contribute to wellbeing. 

TikTok notes that audiences increasingly receive product recommendations from friends, in-store experiences, or AI tools, before turning to the platform to compare options and validate their choices through trusted creators prior to making a purchase. TikTok reports that 81 percent of users say the platform provides insight into real-life product usage. As a result, the “why to buy” has become as important as the product itself, with audiences seeking context and credibility rather than direct sales messaging. 

The audiobook platform Audible offers a case study in how brands can tap into Emotional ROI. By inviting the TikTok community to share five-star book recommendations, the brand sparked a wave of engagement that drove reach 376 percent higher than its channel average, as #BookTok users filled the comments with passionate suggestions. By shifting from positioning itself as an authority to becoming part of the story, Audible allowed listeners to lead the conversation. 

As shoppers redefine value through meaning, joy, and belonging, TikTok advises brands to demonstrate real, everyday impact, whether through emotional payoff, community connection, or long-term value. With tools like Symphony Creative Studio, brands can adapt a single idea across languages, formats, and styles, reinforcing TikTok’s view that in an increasingly intentional commerce landscape, more relevant content, not louder messaging, is what ultimately wins. 

Image via Inc.com.