Key Takeaways:
Know what a social trend is and how to identify one.
Understand how to stay in the loop with trends.
Discover how to incorporate them into your brand’s content.
Like people, social trends are constantly changing. Keeping abreast of the constantly-shifting trends of social media can be a tricky endeavor for any business leader, and figuring out which ones to integrate into your content marketing plan can be overwhelming. To ensure you don’t get left behind, we’ll explore what social trends are and share tips on which trends should be embraced and how to incorporate them into your content plan.
Defining Social Trends
A social media trend can be defined as a pattern of behavior or interest that gains momentum and becomes widespread among a group of platform users. It can take the form of a hashtag, style, challenge, topics, or sounds/music.
Whether the trend fades fast or continues to linger depends a lot on the person who started the trend and what they did to capitalize on the trend. Some factors that influence trend longevity include the level of engagement and participation, the relevance and novelty of the topic and the platform it originates on.
A social media trend can take the form of a hashtag, style, challenge, topics, or sounds/music.
How to Know Which Social Trends to Embrace
When you are selecting trends to capitalize on for your business, choose ones that make sense for your business and your audience. You must also come across authentically with the trend you’re promoting. According to SocialMediaToday, 90% of consumers say they value authenticity when selecting a brand to support. That means choosing a trend that naturally aligns with your brand’s personality and values. For instance, if your business has a sophisticated and upscale vibe, search for challenges and hashtags that fit that style.
3 Tips for Identifying Social Trends
One of the best ways to stay on top of social trends is to stay active on your business’s social channels. But let’s face it — no one can monitor what’s trending on multiple channels 24/7. Here are some nifty tools to help keep you in the loop about the latest trends while you juggle all the rest of your to-dos as a small business leader.
- Use Social Listening Tools
Tools like Hootsuite Insights, BuzzSumo, and Google Trends can help you track conversations and help you spot emerging trends and content.
- Follow Influencers
Social media influencers are often the sources that generate, or at least perpetuate, trends. If you’re not already doing so, start following major influencers in your business’s niche.
- Take Advantage of Social Platform Data
Many social platforms have sections within the platform that show you what’s trending, so you don’t have to dig for this information. Your platform insights will also show you which of your business’s content is trending with your audience so you can leverage that in your future content strategy. For example, TikTok has a Creative Center that you can filter by songs, hashtags, and creators over a set period.
Use social listening tools like Hootsuite Insights, BuzzSumo, and Google Trends to help you stay on top of social trends so you can incorporate them into your content plan.
The Importance of Timeliness
When incorporating social trends into your marketing, timeliness is essential. While some trends can last months or years, many trends tend to last for only a few days or weeks. So, the sooner you create and share a creative that promotes a trend, the more engagement you’ll have with these posts.
How to Fit Trends into Your Content Plan
Stay informed about social trends and let it inform the topics you select when planning out your content calendar. We recommend planning out your content at least one month out.
Carve out time within your schedule to browse social trends and brainstorm ways to include it in the content that you’re producing. Don’t just write down your ideas someplace and forget about it. Consider starting a brainstorming document that you consult as you map out your content topics each month.
Sharpen Your Social with a TTG Mentor
Ready to enhance the content that you share on your social channels? Partner with a Technology Therapy® Group mentor. We offer one-on-one and team coaching services to step up your brand’s presence on social so you can get the engagement you’re seeking.
