Trend Identification: Making Trends a Seamless Part of Your Content Cadence

SOURCE: Ignite Social Media

Raise your hand if as a social media marketer, you’ve ever heard (or said) “we want to go viral on this”. You probably have; and it’s ok, we’re guilty of it too. However, we then snap back to reality and realize you can’t just “make it go viral”.

Instead of chasing virality, it’s better for brands to focus on trend identification to see what resonates with your audience and then gain a larger reach because of the content. But how do you make trends a seamless part of your content cadence? We’ll answer that and give some further tips below.

What is Trend Identification?

So, what exactly is “trend identification”? The simple answer is that it’s the process of looking on social platforms to see what sounds, dances, pop culture clips, or news are most talked about and gaining traction online. However, it’s not just the content itself that is trendy; it could be new features on platforms that social channels are prioritizing in the feeds.

How Do You Evaluate if a Trend is Right for Your Brand?

Once you’ve identified a trend and you’re interested in participating in it, stop and ask yourself one big question – “does this make sense for my brand?”. When you’re contemplating whether or not to do a trend, it’s important to stay authentic to your brand message and voice. There’s a fine line between entertaining your audience where they naturally engage with your content and confusing them garnering the reaction: “Why did this brand talk about this?”. As a brand, you don’t want to overdo trends, but you do want to make sure your team is on top of them.

When is the Best Time to Participate in a Social Media Trend?

Timing is everything when it comes to trends. Like the news-cycle, trends have lifespans that come and go so quickly because there is always a new trend following behind. Due to the nature of social, there is usually a larger window to jump in on a trend that can last up to two weeks. The key is not being last and posting just to post. Creating your own spin on the trend, ensuring humor, and showing expertise can all come across easily in the content.

How Do You Use Hashtags and Audio for Trend Participation?

A key piece of participating in a trend is using the correct hashtags and audio sound when relevant. When users want to see more of a trend, those are the two features that they will click on to see more, and you want to be sure your video pops up in the search. One thing to keep in mind: sometimes the specific audio isn’t available for business use (this occurs mainly on TikTok). When your brand wants to use audio that isn’t available, we recommend selecting another TikTok trending audio so your video will still have that searchability, but attach the real audio you want to use to the video when producing it.

What Can Brands Do to Identify Trends?

How Do You Build a Trend Identification Process?

Here at Ignite, we have a team aptly named the Trend Identification Team (we’ll let you figure out the acronym). Our multi-discipline and multi-generational team meets every Monday morning and discusses the trends from the weekend or the last week that we’ve seen on social. We discuss the hottest TV topics, cringiest clips or dances we consistently see on our feeds, the latest world and national news, and more. We then identify 1-2 trends that we can easily create and publish by Tuesday afternoon, so we stay timely. It’s a quick turnaround, but when you have a team that can thoughtfully crank out quality content, it works. When we identify great trends that aren’t chosen for that week, we move them to our evergreen monthly calendar. It’s a 2-for-1 content planning!

How Should Social Media Marketers Approach Trending Content?

So, whether you’re a team of one or a team of many, be sure you’re trend hunting for your brand. If you’ve been on social scrolling video after video, it’s clear to see that platforms are prioritizing trending content. Now get in on the trend action in the right and relevant way! This is the fun part of working in social media, so play around, see what works, and enjoy getting into the conversation.

SOURCE: Ignite Social Media