When I first began creating on social media back in 2020 and 2021, things were much different than they are now.
I was a videographer starting out back then, and once I began figuring out how social media worked, it was pretty easy to capture and retain people’s attention compared to what it is today.
I think one of the biggest reasons it was easier to figure out back then was simply because there was much less saturation. There were fewer people creating content at a high level and there was not nearly as much creative content being put out every single day.
I am not saying I did not struggle in the beginning because I definitely did.
It took me hundreds of videos before I truly started figuring out what clicked with my audience.
I tried a lot of things.
Some videos worked.
A lot of them did not.
But the more I created, the more I started noticing patterns in what actually made people stop scrolling and pay attention.
One of the biggest things I discovered was that people were drawn to some kind of raw iPhone behind the scenes moment where you were either talking authentically to the camera or having a real interaction with another person.
Something that did not immediately feel like content.
Something that felt like a moment.
The best social media content does not always feel like content. Sometimes it just feels like you happened to be there when something interesting happened.
For me, back in 2021, this involved having someone behind the scenes filming me approaching strangers at gyms, athletes playing sports, or people sitting in their cars. I would show them my TikTok and offer them a free video.
The interaction became the beginning of the story.
People were not only watching the finished video anymore.
They were watching how the video came to exist.
That distinction became extremely important to me.
I remember this format working really well for a while, but then something subtly started to change.
The videos stopped performing as well.
People became bored with the format because they could tell it was the same thing over and over again.
Even if the person was different and the finished video was different, the structure was becoming predictable.
That taught me one of the most important lessons I have learned about social media.
What works today will not necessarily work forever.
You cannot become emotionally attached to a format simply because it worked for you once.
You have to constantly pay attention.
You have to constantly think.
You have to constantly innovate.
So after about a year, I started changing things.
Fast forward to 2022 and I began focusing much more heavily on the quality of my content and the exact approach of how my videos looked from start to finish.
That was when I started approaching real people at gas stations and having genuine conversations with them about their cars.
I would ask them questions.
I would learn something about them.
I would offer them a free cinematic video of their car right there on the spot.
Then the audience would get to watch everything unfold.
If you have followed my work in the automotive world, there is a good chance you have seen some of these videos across social media.
Some of them reached millions and millions of people.
For a while, it seemed like this was something I could continue doing for a very long time.
Then, like everything else on social media, things changed.
The same formats do not work forever.
And that is exactly the point in my filmmaking career where I am now.
It has to be about innovation.
That approach worked incredibly well for me from 2022 through 2025.
But 2026 feels completely different.
2026 Requires a Different Level of Authenticity
I believe 2026 requires a different level of authenticity.
Content has to become much more human and relatable while still being inspiring and powerful.
People have seen everything now.
They have seen the perfect cinematic videos.
They have seen the expensive productions.
They have seen every transition.
They have seen the perfectly scripted influencer videos.
They have seen the viral hooks.
They have seen the trends.
They have seen the AI videos.
They have seen people copying other people who were copying someone else.
That is why I think being genuinely human has become more powerful.
What I have noticed from working with creators who are currently very successful on social media is that they produce raw, engaging, relatable iPhone content that can connect with viewers instantly.
It almost feels like the viewer is being pulled into some kind of interesting discovery with them.
They are not watching from the outside.
They feel like they are there.
In a world where everything can look perfect, being real becomes a creative advantage.
I have noticed that social media right now is becoming less about having the highest possible camera quality and more about capturing real life moments that people can relate to.
Think about it.
When you watch a viral video that was shot on an iPhone of someone talking to another human being on the street, in a public place, or even just sitting inside their car talking directly to you, there is something about it that feels different.
It feels like you are really there.
It feels like a real moment.
It does not feel overly perfect.
It does not feel staged.
It does not feel like there were fifty people standing behind the camera.
You almost forget that you are watching content.
That is key to understand because this is exactly how you pull the viewer in and retain their attention.
I have seen some of the simplest videos shot on an iPhone do well over 20 million views.
There was no massive production.
There was no expensive cinema camera.
There was no complicated lighting setup.
There was simply something interesting happening that people wanted to continue watching.
So you see, it is not about having an expensive camera or an expensive setup to market your talent.
I am a filmmaker, so even though I have a lot of high quality cinematic content in my videos, I have learned to pair that cinematic work with raw iPhone moments that lead the audience toward the finished result.
The raw moment gets people emotionally invested.
The cinematic work then shows them what I can actually do.
That combination has become extremely powerful for me.
Raw Moments, Powerful Storytelling, and Talent
This is one of the most important things to understand.
People love relatability.
People love feeling like they are being pulled into your world.
Like I said earlier, they want to feel like they were actually there.
Let me give you an example.
If you have a lot of wisdom and life experience that could genuinely help people, you could literally set up your iPhone in your living room, sit by a fireplace or whichever environment feels right to you, and talk straight into the camera as if you were having a conversation with one person.
No complicated script.
No massive production.
Just you telling powerful stories about specific things you went through that could potentially help someone else.
That alone can be much more powerful than setting up a professional cinema camera because sometimes the professional camera makes the moment feel too set up and too perfect.
You do not always want to chase the highest possible cinematic quality in the beginning of the video.
You want there to be raw, captured, powerful moments.
Now, I am not saying you have to abandon cinematic quality altogether.
Obviously I am a filmmaker myself.
I love cinematic images.
I love beautiful lighting.
I love making things look like movies.
What I have discovered is that both styles can become incredibly powerful when they work together.
I have found that people are drawn to raw authenticity and relatability, and if you are genuinely human with your content, people will pay attention.
Then your actual talent gives them a reason to stay.
Your personality can make someone stop scrolling. Your talent can give them a reason to remember you.
You should also understand that what you create should have a deeper purpose.
It should not only be interesting to you.
It should serve other people in some way.
Maybe you make them laugh.
Maybe you inspire them.
Maybe you teach them.
Maybe you make them think differently.
Maybe you show them something they have never seen before.
Maybe your art simply makes them feel something for thirty seconds.
There has to be something on the other side of your creativity for the viewer.
The best thing you can do is be yourself and then figure out how your talent can provide something valuable to somebody else.
A powerful story will always resonate strongly with people.
There are so many ways you can make your talent come to life on social media.
If you are a singer, you could grab your guitar and sing acoustic covers or write your own songs and perform them in your bedroom while your iPhone records you.
I have seen plenty of videos in this exact style go viral.
If you are a life coach, you could set up your phone inside your car and have a conversation as if you were talking to someone sitting in the passenger seat.
If you are a painter or someone who sketches beautiful pictures, you could record the entire process from start to finish on your iPhone.
If you are a writer, you could read something you wrote and explain the story behind why you wrote it.
If you are a photographer, show people what you saw before you took the picture and then reveal the finished photograph.
If you design clothing, show the original sketch, the mistakes, the process of creating it, and eventually the finished piece.
If you make music, do not only post the finished song. Show people the moment you came up with the melody.
The process is interesting.
The struggle is interesting.
The mistakes are interesting.
The person behind the talent is interesting.
Do not only show people what you made. Let them experience how you made it.
That is something I wish more creatives understood.
You might look at your creative process and think it is boring because you see it every day.
To somebody who has never done what you do, it could be fascinating.
The most powerful form of art on social media is where you can give your audience something valuable to see, hear, learn, or feel.
That is really the entire thing.
Try This With Your Own Creative Talent
I suggest that you actually sit down with a pen and paper and write your creative talent at the top of the page.
Do not overthink it.
Just write down what you know you are good at or what you desperately want to become good at.
Then underneath that, come up with fifteen to twenty different formats for how you could share that talent with people on social media.
Do not think about what is trending.
Do not immediately search what everyone else in your niche is doing.
Think about what feels natural to you.
Maybe you talk to the camera.
Maybe you document your process.
Maybe you interact with strangers.
Maybe you tell stories.
Maybe you show before and after results.
Maybe you teach.
Maybe you entertain.
Maybe you combine several of those things.
Come up with as many possibilities as you can.
Then start testing them.
Some will work.
Some will fail.
That is completely normal.
You are trying to discover the intersection between what you love creating and what other people genuinely enjoy experiencing.
The main thing to remember is to keep it raw while keeping the storytelling or creative process powerful.
Ignore Trends and AI Content and Be Completely Human
I would not build my creative career around trends or styles that are completely created with AI.
I know many of these videos have the potential to reach a massive number of viewers.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that, and I am not here to hate on anyone creating that kind of content in any way, shape, or form.
What I am talking about is something deeper.
I am talking to people with real talent who want to have a face attached to their page.
People who have a powerful voice.
People with a creative talent of some kind.
People who want to build something that actually represents them.
This is not about hiding your identity and letting AI do all of the creative work while nobody ever knows who the person behind the page actually is.
I believe AI can be an incredibly helpful tool.
It can help organize thoughts.
It can help you work through something you already drafted.
It can help you think through ideas.
But I do not believe it should replace your own effort to create.
Your ideas should still come from you.
Your experiences should still come from you.
Your personality should come from you.
Your perspective should come from you.
Your art should still have you inside of it.
Use technology to help your creativity. Do not let technology become your creativity.
That distinction is important to me.
The same thing applies to trends.
Trends will come and go.
The reason I do not recommend building your entire strategy around them is because they are extremely short lived.
You know what I mean?
You see something everywhere for a few weeks.
Everyone is posting similar hooks.
Everyone is using the same sound.
Everyone is copying the same editing style.
Then a few weeks go by and suddenly you never see it again.
What happens if your entire identity was built around that trend?
You have to start over.
This is why you have to become a trendsetter.
You need your own voice on your page.
You need something so valuable and so specific to you that it becomes difficult for somebody else to copy.
Because even if someone copies the format, they cannot copy you.
They cannot copy your experiences.
They cannot copy the exact way you think.
They cannot copy your personality.
They cannot copy your story.
They cannot copy everything you have lived through that shaped the way you see your craft.
That is exactly what makes you valuable.
This also makes you appeal to brands that much more.
It shows people that there is a real human being behind the work.
It allows people to relate to you.
It allows you to build trust within your audience.
And that trust can eventually translate into a real business.
Maybe that becomes a product.
Maybe it becomes a course.
Maybe it becomes a newsletter.
Maybe it becomes a service.
Maybe brands want to work with you.
Maybe people simply want to support whatever you make next because they have been following your journey for years.
That becomes much more powerful than simply chasing views.
Views matter.
Reach matters.
Followers matter.
But trust is where the long term value is.
Being a Powerful Creator While Also Influencing People
This is where I think you become extremely valuable in 2026.
Social media has shifted a lot over the years since I started creating during quarantine.
There was a point in time where simply being an influencer was enough.
There was also a point where simply being a talented content creator behind the camera was enough.
Now I believe the best place to be is somewhere in the middle.
Bridge the two together.
Become extremely good at something while also becoming comfortable showing the person behind it.
Here is why.
When you are a creative who has a powerful skill, but you also have a face and personality attached to your page, you become much more relatable to people and much more valuable to brands.
You are also in a much better position to build a successful business model for yourself.
For the longest time, I hated being in front of the camera.
It scared me anytime I had to do it.
I was much more comfortable being behind the camera because that was where I felt like I belonged.
I could make someone else look good.
I could tell someone else’s story.
I could create something cinematic.
But putting the camera on myself was completely different.
Eventually, I realized that fear was limiting me.
Once I got over that fear and started embracing more of the influencer side of what I do, I noticed my career start going in many more directions.
I started seeing more opportunities.
I started seeing more brand deals happening because brands could now look at my page and understand that Noah was not just someone who made cool cinematic car videos.
He was someone who could tell a story.
He could communicate.
He could stand in front of the camera.
He could introduce the story and then create the finished film.
That is a completely different value.
Do not only become good at creating something. Become good at communicating why people should care about what you create.
There is a big difference between the two, and it is something I believe creatives have to become bold enough to embrace.
You do not have to become some completely different version of yourself.
You do not have to yell into the camera.
You do not have to fake confidence.
You do not have to turn yourself into an influencer personality that is completely different from who you actually are.
That defeats the entire point.
You just have to become comfortable enough to let people see you.
Let people hear how you think.
Let them understand why you care about what you make.
Let them experience your personality.
There are more creators than ever currently on social media.
That is exactly why you have to become incredibly authentic with your creative talent if you want to stand out.
You have to become comfortable being on camera and learn how to do it naturally.
It will probably feel uncomfortable in the beginning.
It did for me.
But eventually the camera stops feeling like a camera.
You start talking to it like there is another person standing there.
And that is when people can actually start connecting with you.
Your Talent Is Only Part of the Story
I think one of the biggest mistakes talented creatives can make is assuming that being talented alone guarantees that people will discover them.
Unfortunately, social media does not really work that way.
There are probably incredible filmmakers, singers, photographers, writers, painters, designers, and musicians creating things right now that almost nobody has seen.
The talent is there.
The missing piece is learning how to communicate that talent to the world.
That is why marketing your creative talent does not mean becoming fake or turning everything into an advertisement.
I actually think the opposite is true.
The best marketing is letting people experience who you really are and why you care so deeply about what you make.
Show them the process.
Show them the story.
Show them the mistakes.
Show them what happens before the finished result.
Show them the finished result.
Talk about what you learned.
Bring people into your world.
Give them something worth returning for.
The goal is not to convince everyone to care about you. The goal is to become so deeply yourself that the right people have a reason to care.
That is what I believe organic growth is becoming in 2026.
Not finding the perfect hack.
Not copying the perfect hook.
Not chasing every new trend.
Not buying the most expensive camera.
Not trying to manufacture something viral every single day.
It is becoming great at something.
Learning how to tell stories around that thing.
Having the courage to put yourself in front of people.
Giving your audience something valuable.
Then doing it consistently enough that people begin to recognize exactly what you represent.
The Biggest Thing I Want You to Take From This
All in all, I truly believe you can do extraordinary things with your life.
I believe that if you are here reading this, there is probably a reason you care enough about your creativity to want to become better at sharing it.
Maybe you have been creating for years.
Maybe you have barely started.
Maybe you know you have talent but nobody is seeing it yet.
Maybe you have been afraid to put your face on camera.
Maybe you have been posting and wondering why nothing is happening.
Maybe you have been comparing your beginning to someone else who has already been doing this for ten years.
Whatever point you are at, keep going.
But do not only keep doing the exact same thing.
Pay attention.
Learn.
Adapt.
Innovate.
Ask yourself what you could do differently.
Ask yourself what feels the most natural to you.
Ask yourself what you would create if you stopped worrying about what everyone else was doing.
Then have the courage to actually make it.
You can go incredibly far in your creative career if you take that next step and become bold enough to share both your personality and your creativity.
Do not hide behind your talent forever.
Let people meet the person who created it.
The world needs more innovators.
It needs more thinkers.
It needs more people willing to take creative risks.
It needs people who are human and genuine about what they love creating.
Your creative talent is valuable.
Your story is valuable.
Your perspective is valuable.
And when you learn how to bring all three together, social media stops becoming somewhere you simply post your work.
It becomes a place where people can actually experience who you are.
Create something worth watching. Tell a story worth remembering. And most importantly, give people a real person worth connecting with.
That is how I would market creative talent in 2026.
Be human.
Be creative.
Be useful.
Keep innovating.
And give people something they cannot get from anybody else.
You.
- Noah