My Instagram feed says a lot about me I would never admit here on LinkedIn
By Mikeblack · June 18, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
My Instagram feed says a lot about me I would never admit here on LinkedIn
But I'm willing to be vulnerable, from time to time
The point is:
Algorithms are scarily good at connecting you to people who have the same sense of humor, the same passions and interests and the same attitudes toward life as you
Instagram, TikTok, Face book are like dating apps for sub cultures
Reditt built its whole following on matching people to sub cultures
More than ever, consumers are defined more by the sub cultures they belong to than mainstream media or cultural moments
We spend way more time video-binging on our phones than we do watching network TV
The last episode of Cheers was a cultural moment everyone shared and talked about the next day
The cultural moments of today are the videos that turn up in your video feed, which likely none of your friends, co-workers or family saw
It's unique to you and your sub culture
How many times have you texted an Instagram video to a friend or family member and got no response other than the unsaid feeling that they thought you were a weirdo
They don't get it 'cause they ain't part of your sub-culture!
This gets to the heart of a trend we're tracking at Collage Group called "Mirroring."
In short, consumers are increasingly moving away from mainstream-defined shared identities and values and looking for more people like them
This manifests in social media and certainly in politics
But also in a deeper retreat into what's happening in the local community
"Mirroring" makes it a lot harder for brands to rinse and repeat the traditional reach tactics of brand awareness and brand building
Broadly-defined, top-down audience segments are failing
Audience segmentation is now a bottoms up, precision game
Questions every marketer should be asking:
"What sub-cultures over index with the profile of our target consumer?"
"Which ones are already claimed by other brands, which ones can ownable by us?"
"What media channels are uniquely reaching them vs mass media?"
"What creative, product, partnership and retail activations are going to hit their emotional hot buttons and show you know them deeply?"
We're not marketers any more
We're sub-culture anthropologists
If you're interested in the trend of "Mirroring" and how it's changing the practice of marketing and who's doing it well, be sure to join our Big Trends webinar on June 26 with the Insights Association
Link to register in the comments below
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