The Reelies 2026: My Weekend in Atlanta 🏆

The Reelies Red Carpet + Award Ceremony has become a beloved annual business trip for Social with Karen. In 2024, I attended for the first time and came home with my first Reelies win.

This year, I came back as a presenter, a 5x finalist, and a 2x winner!

I was nominated for:

• Best Educational Reel
• Best Supporting Acting in a Reel
• Best Location Reel
• Best Caught on Camera Reel
• Best Original Reel

And I took home the awards for Best Location Reel and Best Caught on Camera Reel!

With those two wins, I now have six Reelies wins total, a milestone that the creator of The Reelies announced to the theater, making me the most Reelies-winning creator in the history of the awards.

(I’d like to thank my clients….)

But this year was also different for me because, for the first time, I really stepped outside of my comfort zone and submitted some of my own content.

All of my previous Reelies submissions have been content I created for my clients. And while I’m incredibly proud of that work, I realized I needed to start putting myself and my own creativity out there, too.

It was also a challenge to show up, even when I didn’t feel like it (something I can’t expect my clients to do if I’m not willing to do it myself).

But let’s talk a little more about the weekend itself, which was just as fun as the awards.

The night before The Reelies, I was invited to an Adobe-sponsored dinner with some incredibly talented creators and industry friends.

The next morning, I headed to a beautiful rooftop brunch sponsored by Flodesk before getting ready for the ceremony.

People underestimate how important community is in the creator space, so I’m especially grateful to Adobe and Flodesk for including me!

I’ve loved watching The Reelies grow over the years and seeing more and more creators get the recognition they deserve. This year, it was an honor to be asked to present the award for Best Reel Made With Photos.

Over the years, The Reelies has become more than just an award show for me.

Some of the connections I’ve made through this community have turned into genuine friendships, and those relationships have played a meaningful role in the growth of Social With Karen.

There’s also something incredibly motivating about being in a room full of people who are constantly creating, experimenting, and putting their ideas out into the world. I always leave feeling inspired by what’s possible when people give themselves the space to be creative.

Here’s to another year of creating, connecting, and celebrating the people who make this community so special.

Meet all the 2026 winners here.

See you at The Reelies 2027!