Content marketing in 2026
When we built Interact to $1M ARR with content marketing in 2018, it was all about information. Sharing information was the way to get ranked in Google, which was the primary driver of new business for most software companies. Then it all fell apart. I didn’t know it at the time, but Google was starting to use AI to make more money from ads. And they were de-ranking organic content.
I was slow to respond, and didn’t pay enough attention to where people were getting their information as an alternative to Google. Spoiler alert, it was social media. Instead of asking for information from a search engine or an AI bot, people began getting their information from other people directly, in the form of social media content.
It was a different way of delivering information. Much more subtle and smooth. Instead of just saying “Here’s how to do X” you’d show the result of having done “X” and then subtly drop in how you did it. Or you’d just share a story, and part of that story would involve a product or service, which is how it would deliver value to you as a business owner.
But better late than never. I’ve begun the process of sharing information in the way people want to receive information in 2026. In the form of stories. From people they trust. From people who have a track record of success. Where you can see what they have done and decide for yourself if you want to trust them. These days, trusting information is like hiring an employee. You have to vet them up and down the chain before you actually believe anything they say. It’s a crazy world.
But you know, you adapt. You learn to weave your information into stories and conversations. You learn to still bring the value of your products and services to the table, but in the context of what it actually does in real life. The separation of powers between learning and doing is gone. Now it all has to be mixed together and delivered in a package that people want to engage with. People have the power to decide if they want to pay attention, and in large part, influence is given to whoever can engage their audience the most.
It’s a totally different paradigm, a much more human to human one than before. And that’s what content marketing looks like in 2026.
