The Year We Go Analogue: Will This Impact Your Client Acquisition?

Your friends’ Instagram feeds that haven’t been updated for months. Someone announcing they got a physical planner for the first time in years. More mentions of vinyl, Polaroids, and spending time in nature without phones.

You’ve probably felt this shift even before all those pretty carousels announced (ironically, on social media) that 2026 is the year we go analogue. But I’m not here to add to them.

As the marketing strategist for talented but under-recognised women founders, I’m encouraging you to consider the aspect of this off-line resurgence that’s most relevant to your service-based business (and that I still haven’t seen anyone else talk about), especially if you got a little too comfortable relying on unpredictable word-of-mouth referrals and social media:

since people are spending less time scrolling, how will ‘the year we go analogue’ affect your lead generation and client acquisition?

And mind you: this goes beyond what could end up being just a trend, because our online behaviour #has already been changing, and there’s another challenge to take into account—and these are facts, not predictions.

So, let’s look into the offline and analogue resurgence together, so you can make the right adjustments and keep thriving (instead of seeing your lead generation and revenue go down with organic social media reach).

Is 2026 the age of analogue? 

Yes, 2026 is already considered the year we go analogue, and it might very well end up being the start of a much bigger and longer shift, although I most definitely do not believe it’s going to be as drastic as some make it out to be.

But overall:

• People are experiencing digital burnout after years of endless scrolling, inflated promises that didn’t deliver (like “Buy my online course so you can start working only 3h a day”), and influencers showcasing their perfectly curated lives

• As a result, they’re now craving phone detoxes and more meaningful off-line experiences, like owning some physical media (instead of relying entirely on subscriptions), reading books in cafes, planning fun activities with friends, or going for walks in nature without endless pings

So, if people—and statistically, that’s bound to include some of your ideal clients—are spending LESS time online, especially on social media, what does that mean for your visibility and client acquisition?

My thoughts as a marketing strategist (who’s already seen all kinds of trends and drastic statements)

I used to work in a marketing department, and I’ve been running my own business since 2019. 

So, as a marketer, I’ve already seen plenty of bold statements about trends and tactics that were meant to be the next big thing (anyone remembers NFTs?) or, on the contrary, being dead (“SEO is dead”, “Email marketing is dead”, “Blogging is dead”—and yet you’re still reading).

And that’s why I take them with a pinch of salt. So, when it comes to 2026 being the year we go analogue, let me be clear:

• No, I don’t believe everyone will ditch social media, phones, and the online space

• Yes, there will be a shift in how people engage online. In fact, it’s already started. Overall, we are becoming more mindful about how, when, with whom, and why we engage online

If you want to keep thriving, you must make changes to your marketing… and not just because it’s the year we go analogue

I wouldn’t be writing this blog post for you if it was just a temporary trend.

Sure, some people being so vocal about the year we go analogue might very well be a trend. But these are facts:

• We’ve already been spending less and less time on social media – Social media usage peaked in 2022 and has been going down slowly but steadily since then

• Organic reach on social media is harder than ever – In 2025, in particular, did you often feel like “Nobody is seeing my posts”, even though you used to be able to reach 10x more people? It wasn’t just you. For example, during Q3 in 2025, LinkedIn reach was down 65% from its peak. This is due to a variety of factors, but especially users becoming more mindful with their engagement, and social media platforms focusing on a pay-to-play model (= they’re making organic reach harder so that you start paying for ads to reach more people. Cheeky, I know)

• People are tired of impersonal, AI-generated content – They were already becoming more mindful with how they used social media. Now that so many business owners and content creators are relying so heavily on AI? I’ve lost count of how many conversations I’ve had or how many posts I’ve seen where people are complaining that “Everyone in my feed sounds the same. I’m thinking of leaving this platform”

So, the moral of the story?

People are experiencing digital burnout and are no longer engaging in the same way they did years ago. So, if you want your business to keep thriving and reaching your ideal clients consistently, you must adapt. 

Relying on unpredictable word-of-mouth referrals or putting all your eggs in the social media basket has always been a risky game. I’ve been a broken record about this for years. Now, during the year we go analogue and with those additional challenges, it’d be more reckless than offering me pineapple on pizza (context: I’m Italian).

Marketing your services during the year we go analogue (and beyond): how to keep reaching and signing the right clients consistently 

I want you to read this with the right expectations: 

• This isn’t an exhaustive list – There are other options, of course. With my clients, we focus on personalised strategies based on their unique situation, strengths, challenges, and goals. But these are some excellent starting points 

• Be realistic: you can’t implement all these steps and tactics – You’re running a business, first and foremost. Your marketing and the actions you take regularly should be there to help you do it more smoothly and keep signing new clients, not to overwhelm you or turn you into a content creator or influencer. Secondly, you don’t even need to do ‘everything’, anyway (although you do need to go beyond word of mouth and social media, if you want to sign clients more predictably)

• I don’t do all these things myself – On top of everything I’ve just shared, I’m autistic. So, for example, I really struggle to ‘build relationships’, and don’t even get me started on coffee chats. However, I still included points that don’t work for me but might very well play to your strengths, too (and vice versa)

Now, let’s get into the key steps to “future-proof” your marketing during the age of analogue and trickier social media reach. Or…

if you’d rather do this with the right 1:1 support (without getting overwhelmed or second-guessing yourself), check out The Intentional Authority

Clarify your messaging, and be memorable for your ideal clients

It’s not 2021 anymore: gone are the days when “just showing up consistently” and “being a generic service provider for everyone” was enough to get clients. 

Markets are becoming more saturated, and your audience has heard the same buzzwords a thousand times, especially during the boom of new online businesses during the pandemic. 

So, if you want to be THE ONE they think of, even during the year they go analogue:

• Clarify your positioning and messaging, and make them magnetic for your specific ideal clients – Position your services as the obvious bridge between their problems and goals, something tangible and specific (not a vague “I’ll supercharge your business” or “Live your truth”).
  In your marketing, keep focusing on your ideal clients. After all, if you want them to keep noticing it and engaging with it, even now that they’re using their phones and social media more mindfully, it must immediately grab their attention and make them think “OMG, it’s like she wrote this about ME!”

• Keep it consistent… and be a broken record – We need to see the same message multiple times in order to absorb it. So, if you want your ideal clients to remember you (and most importantly, how you can help them), you can’t keep jumping from one topic to the next or tweaking your headlines and website copy every month

• Share what only you can share – Personally, I don’t care about whether or not you’re using AI. But if your marketing content could be entirely written by AI (or a competitor), you won’t stand out during the year we go analogue, let alone be remembered.
  Instead, include your perspective, client stories and social proof, relevant personal stories, and so on. Stand for something. And help your ideal clients look at their situation from a different perspective, instead of telling them what they already know or are getting from ChatGPT

• Show up as an actual authority and business owner (while still being yourself, of course) – Over the past few years, gurus and self-proclaimed personal branding experts have been saying that you must “always give value” and that “as long as you’re authentic, clients will want to work with you”. As if!
  But as a consequence, many solopreneurs and founders have been showing up as more of a free resource, online friend, or influencer. Basically, as someone their audience likes and supports… but isn’t even thinking of paying. And that’s why their marketing doesn’t feel worth the time and energy they’re putting into it: it mostly brings them likes, engagement, and undecided leads rather than enough ideal clients.
  So, don’t ever forget why you’re here and what your business depends on. Instead of focusing on vanity metrics and content that makes you feel popular, lead with your unique message and tie it back to your services

That way, it doesn’t matter if your ideal clients have missed your latest social media post or are enjoying a phone-free walk in the woods when they realise they’re ready to solve their problem or achieve their goal: you will be the one who comes to mind.

Use social media more mindfully

I’m by no means telling you that “social media is dead” or that you shouldn’t be on it. But… 

• Depend less on social media – Don’t put all your marketing eggs in this basket, and don’t spread yourself thin by trying to be active on every platform. That’s not the best use of your time, energy, or money, especially now that social media usage is going down and people are engaging differently!

• Use these platforms strategically, and stay focused – Start seeing social media as one part of your marketing and client acquisition strategy (especially as a way to reach new people and stay top of mind, while still inviting them to take action regularly), not to feel popular with influencer-style content and then complain when you don’t get as much engagement

And for the record, you’re not imagining it: when you post a picture of your cat or talk about pineapple on pizza, you are getting more engagement… but that’s because you’re sharing light-hearted content that everyone and their dog can easily have an opinion on. 

The kind of magnetic content that activates your ideal clients will probably get less engagement. From the outside, it might look like ‘it bombed’… even though it brought you actual leads.

For example, my client Rita’s social media “got me a lot of reactions, comments, followers and irrelevant DMs, but no clients.” And after we changed her messaging and overall strategy together: “My relevant network is growing at quite a pace as well, with 32 new connections in just 7 days since I started using my new brand messaging, all from my ideal audience. I started getting my first organic enquiries on social media within the first month.” 

So, remember: are you here to get cheap dopamine or to connect with your ideal clients?

Get people away from your social media feeds

Most of my clients come to me complaining that “Hardly anyone sees my posts!”

And while there are some tweaks we make to improve their chances of reaching more of the right people, I always tell them the same thing: we can’t control the algorithm, but what we do have control over is our actions and strategy.

So, instead of continuing to do more of the same and magically expecting different results (which sounds an awful lot like the definition of insanity, but I know it’s easy to fall into this trap when “posting on socials” has become a familiar habit), focus on turning your social media followers and eyeballs into “someone you can stay in touch with, without an algorithm getting in the way”. 

For example, grow an email list (without letting it gather dust), a Telegram group, or a low-ticket community.

Reach your ideal clients online but in different and more strategic ways 

Yes, it’s the year we go analogue, and people are more selective with how they engage online, but they’re still consuming content!

So, instead of continuing to rely so heavily on social media or spray-and-pray tactics, prioritise other ways to keep reaching your clients.

For example (and mind you: you can’t expect overnight results with most of these tactics, but they will be worth it in the long run, and unlike social media posts with a short shelf-life, they’ll keep working in the background for you):

• Optimise your website for SEO, and write blog posts to be found on Google and through AI

• Appear on the podcasts your ideal clients listen to in their spare time

• Plan collaborations with complementary service providers 

• Do some PR with online publications

And no matter what you do, remember: the goal isn’t ‘visibility for the sake of it’. You must also direct your ideal clients to channels you own, so you can stay in touch or make the next step a no-brainer.

Consider some offline activities, too 

Use ‘the year we go analogue’ to your advantage by physically showing up in front of your target audience or giving them something they can use offline.

For example:

• Attend networking and relevant events 

• Speak at those events

• Organise your own 

• Write a book 

• Do some PR with offline publications

And once again, always have a strategy to stay in touch with your ideal clients afterwards.

Be more proactive

Personally, I prefer inbound marketing, but that doesn’t mean we can always afford to get lazy with our lead generation and client acquisition, especially if you have specific targets (like wanting to sign x new clients before you go on holiday). 

So, consider reaching out to your ideal clients:

• Cold and warm outreach 

• Building relationships (for example, in the DMs)

I’ll be completely honest: being autistic, that’s one of the things I really struggle with. So, I stopped feeling guilty for not doing coffee chats or starting 20 ‘casual’ chats in my DMs every day.

However, if I think I might be able to help someone, I do occasionally start strategic conversations. Personally, I prefer being more upfront about it rather than pretending we’re having a casual chat. Some love this because they appreciate my transparency and the fact that I save them time by getting straight to the point in a no-pressure way, some others hate it—and that’s okay. 

Find what works for you.

Don’t sleep on client retention

It’s not just about finding new clients.

In fact, did you know you have a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, compared to only 5-20% for a new prospect? 

It makes sense when you think about it, especially as a service provider: past clients already got to experience your genius. And yet we often forget about them, even though I’m sure you can help them again.

So, find the right way to stay in touch, keep them in your world, or offer them something new to re-activate them.

For example, I encouraged several of my clients to reach out to their past clients or create exclusive offers, and that brought in new sales and cash they weren’t expecting. 

And if you’d rather implement all this with the right guidance and a bespoke strategy that plays to your strenghts, check out The Intentional Authority

Keep thriving during the year we go analogue and beyond: implement the right marketing strategy and authority-boosting plan for you

Don’t be fooled: this is bigger than a few people switching to old cameras and vinyl. ‘The year we go analogue’ isn’t a trend. It’s a sign that our online habits have already been changing.

So, if you want to keep working with your ideal clients (without panicking or getting frustrated whenever word of mouth goes quiet or your reach and engagement go down), your marketing must adapt.

Remember, though: you don’t need to try and do everything or spread yourself thin. Craft the right strategy for you and keep taking action without getting distracted or going off-track.

If you’re serious about starting to do that while also avoiding wasting months on scattered action and second-guessing yourself, I’d love to support you. 

During my 90-day 1:1 programme, you will: 

• Clarify your messaging, positioning yourself as the obvious choice for your ideal clients and knowing exactly what to lead with and repeat in your marketing to truly connect with them 

• Implement more efficient and structured marketing, so that you only use your time and energy for high-impact tactics and action that feed into your business goals and that actually help you sign high-level clients (not “posting more on social media and complaining because the algorithm is hiding your content”) 

• Boost your authority and conviction, stepping things up without trying to be someone you’re not, and finally owning your brilliance and expertise instead of downplaying them 

So, if you’re serious about gaining back hours and headspace every week while attracting more of the high-ticket, perfect-fit clients who energise you (during the year we go analogue and beyond)...