Be Careful of Social Media Trends
Social media is always evolving. It’s natural to want to keep up by following the trends. Before you jump on the bandwagon and follow a social media trend, it’s important to understand that not all trends are created equally and not all of them will benefit your business. Following a trend could even backfire on you and hurt your reputation and goals that you’ve set. Here are a few things to consider before following social media trends:
Understanding Trends
Social media trends move fast. In fact, trend cycles are moving quicker than ever. Trends come and go and there’s no predicting how long one will be the center of attention, which means it’s crucial that you pick the right ones for your brand or business. Attempting to follow every trend that comes around is a good way to get off track from what’s been working for your business up until this point. A trend should be considered a helpful addition to your already successful social media strategy. You should never rely on trends to keep your business thriving.
Choosing a Trend
Understand that all trends don’t apply to all people, brands, and businesses. Some trends are niche situations. If you are a brand that focuses on athletic clothing, following a trend that focuses on beauty, travel, or crafting won’t be beneficial. While you might get your brand business in front of more eyes, they aren’t your target audience and this move won’t lead to conversions.
If you embrace your niche, taking advantage of social media trends can benefit your business. You will only follow trends that make sense to your niche which will help you to stand out, get more eyes on your social media account and business, and make you memorable for the right reasons. By honing in on your niche, you will target your ideal audience. By following a social media trend within your niche, you can also become noticed by influencers who may want to partner with your brand or business.
Vanity Metrics
Vanity metrics look good on paper, but don’t add real value to your brand and business. Following trends simply to get noticed and get more likes and shares won’t benefit your business unless they have the ROI to go with them. This means that people must do more than like your posts. They have to click on the links, visit your website, and make purchases. If you decide to follow a trend, but notice that vanity metrics are outweighing traffic to your website and sales, this is a trend that isn’t working for your business.
Authenticity
Keeping up with trends can be beneficial if it makes sense to your business, but you need to make sure that you remain authentic. If you decide to follow a trend, make sure that you use your brand’s unique voice and personality. If a certain trend means that you need to communicate in a different way than your target audience is used to, the trend is not right for your business. You want your audience to recognize you whether you are active in a trend or not. This builds brand loyalty and long-term success.
You should always consider your end goal before deciding to follow a social media trend. What works for one business won’t necessarily work for yours, especially if your niches are different. Don’t jump into a trend without considering the benefits and risks. New trends are always around the corner, so you don’t have to be part of them all.
Categorized in: Social Media
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