Sonia Says: Social Media Coach, Marketing Consultant

Consultant, coach & creator supporting media, nonprofits & startups. Helping you grow, connect & stand out.

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  • What digital leaders are predicting for 2026: AI, Trust, Community & Brand

    As we head into 2026, digital leaders aren’t talking about incremental shifts — they’re talking about transformation across media, tech, and audience behavior. The Nieman Lab asked digital leaders across major organizations to predict what’s coming in 2026. Here are the trends shaping the year ahead: 🔹 1. AI Is Everywhere — But It’s a…

  • The social media reality check newsrooms need in 2026

    Everyone keeps saying Facebook is dead. The data says otherwise. If your newsroom needs a New Year’s resolution, here’s one: stop building digital strategies based on assumptions — and start building them on audience behavior. According to Nov. 2025 report of Americans social media use in 2025 from the Pew Research Center, YouTube remains the…

  • Why brands are finally treating storytelling as a core business function

    Something stood out to me this week that gets at a shift happening across how organizations think about brand and audience connection. The Baltimore Ravens recently posted a job description for a Head of Corporate Communications that caught my eye — not because it was about football, but because of how it framed the role:…

  • When everything looks real, trust becomes the strategy

    Recently, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri put words to a shift many creators, journalists, and media leaders have already been navigating: In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content, authenticity is no longer assumed. That statement landed for a reason. Not because it introduced something new, but because it confirmed something fundamental about where media is headed.…

  • Digital teams are the newsroom

    DIGITAL TEAMS ARE THE NEWSROOM. Yeah, I said it. In many newsrooms I’ve worked in, and in conversations across the industry, there’s STILL a divide between digital teams and the rest of the newsroom. And as we head into 2026, it doesn’t make sense. Digital platforms now reach the majority of the audience, yet they’re…

  • Authenticity builds audiences on social media

    A friend asked me today how to grow a following.My answer surprised her: stop trying to look perfect. I was talking with a friend who owns a small business. She’s struggling to grow her social following and keeps comparing herself to creators with hundreds of thousands of followers. Here’s the part people forget: Those beautifully…

  • Is journalism dead?

    “Is journalism dead?” I hear this question a lot especially about local TV news. Here’s my honest take:Traditional journalism is dead.But journalism itself? Very much alive. For decades, news was a one-way street. Journalists decided how a story was told, audiences consumed it, and that was the end of the exchange. Authority flowed in one…

  • Instagram is letting you choose your algorithm… and I have thoughts

    Instagram quietly rolled out a new feature earlier this month. You can now customize your Reels algorithm based on themes and interests.Not just “hide this,” but actually tell Instagram what lanes you want more of.And here’s the thing… This is both amazing and slightly concerning — depending on how you look at it. ⭐ THE…

  • Simple digital strategies are sometimes the smartest ones

    The smartest digital strategies right now are the simplest ones. With shrinking teams, tighter timelines, and more platforms than ever, complexity isn’t a badge of honor: clarity is. I’ve seen over and over that the teams that win at digital aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who: ✨ Know exactly who…

  • Leadership lessons: Managing a newsroom through high-pressure moments

    Leading a news team through high-pressure moments teaches you a lot about people. When you’ve managed a team of 200+ people during breaking news, high-stress cycles, HR challenges, and moments where the stakes feel sky-high… you learn what real leadership looks like. Here’s what’s stayed with me:🧭 Clarity beats speed. In a crisis, people don’t…