Navigating social media trends can feel like walking a tightrope—one misstep could compromise your brand’s credibility. However, when approached thoughtfully, trends can significantly boost your visibility and brand engagement. This guide outlines key strategies for effectively leveraging social media trends while avoiding common pitfalls, ensuring your brand remains authentic and impactful.
The Allure of Virality
The temptation to go viral is strong, but it’s not a guaranteed path to success and can sometimes harm your brand’s reputation. While trend-hopping may offer short-term visibility, they can distract from your long-term strategy if not handled carefully. In fact, 86% of consumers say authenticity in social media is crucial when deciding which brands to support (Stackla, 2021). Rather than chasing fleeting virality, focus on creating content that aligns with your brand values and resonates with your audience.
Maintaining balance is key when walking the “Trendy Tightrope.” Jumping on too many trends can confuse your audience and dilute your brand message. Be selective and strategic; overloading your feed with fleeting memes can alienate loyal customers. If you can’t connect a trend to your brand within a few minutes of brainstorming, it’s best to skip it. If there is a trend you’d like your brand to be connected to, but don’t have the resources or desire for it to come from official accounts, you can also lean on partnerships with content creators. You can learn more about Lundmark’s experience managing influencer campaigns here.
Content Consistency and Trust
The Edelman Trust Barometer shows that 61% of consumers are more likely to support trusted brands, emphasizing the need for consistent, meaningful content. Chasing trends without substance often alienates consumers, while aligning trends with your brand’s values strengthens connections and loyalty. However, not all trends fit every demographic. Salesforce notes that 73% of consumers expect brands to understand their unique needs, making it crucial to focus on relevant trends.
Careless trend adoption can harm your brand’s reputation. Most consumers will unfollow brands sharing content that feels irrelevant to them. To maintain trust and engagement with your target audience, ensure trends align with your brand’s values.
Lastly, consistent metrics are vital. Trends can distort data, complicating the analysis of true performance. A 2023 Sprout Social survey found that 90% of marketers believe company success depends on effectively using social media data and insights. So, ensure you’re focused on sustained brand engagement, not just temporary spikes, for long-term strategy.
Trendspotting Essentials
Staying updated with social media trends is essential for timely and effective content. Follow industry leaders, influencers, and trending topics on social platforms. Use discovery tools like Google Trends, BuzzSumo, and TikTok Discover to spot emerging trends. This helps you assess their relevance to your brand and stay ahead of the curve.
Joining online communities on platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit allows you to observe discussions and identify trends within your niche. These groups are valuable for early trend detection and content inspiration.
Social listening tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social can monitor brand mentions, competitors, and relevant keywords, helping you understand your audience’s discussions and preferences. This insight enables you to tailor your trendspotting strategy to better meet their expectations and foster deeper connections. Social listening also helps identify emerging conversations and influencers, positioning your brand as a thought leader.
Analyzing competitors’ activities can offer insights into effective trend adoption. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs help you gather data on successful strategies. Use these insights to inform your approach while maintaining your brand’s unique voice. By learning from competitors, you can craft a trend strategy that keeps your brand relevant and distinct in a crowded market.
Balancing Trendy and Timeless Content
By now, you’ve identified relevant trends and are ready to post. However, it’s crucial that these trends don’t overshadow your core messaging. Creating a content calendar that balances trendy posts with evergreen content is important for maintaining long-term brand identity. This ensures your strategic brand messaging remains clear and consistent for your audience.
Timeless, or evergreen, content provides long-term value and stability to your content strategy, ensuring your brand message remains consistent even when trends fade. With 47% of buyers viewing 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with the sales process (Marketing Charts, 2022), it’s clear that a mix of content types is necessary to nurture leads effectively.
Navigating Copyrights
Finally, navigating copyright law is critical when publishing anything on social media—especially trends. Ensure you have the rights to use any content, including music, images, and videos. Always credit original creators when possible and avoid using copyrighted material without permission. Familiarize yourself with platform-specific guidelines to avoid violations. This cautious approach safeguards your brand against potential legal issues and fosters ethical content creation.
Ultimately, this post is a lot of marketing talk for, “Be Careful & Be Thoughtful.” Sharing one or two unrelated TikTok trends on your feed likely won’t ruin your brand, but making a habit out of posting irrelevant content to your audience is a good way to alienate followers and potential customers. Utilize the tools and tactics outlined above to streamline trendspotting and ensure the content you’re putting the effort in creating is the content your audience will put the effort into consuming.
For more discussion on social media strategies or assistance in managing your brand’s social media presence, please reach out to Lundmark.
