How to leverage trends on social.

Viral fame through trend-hopping is a temptation for just about every brand, but it comes with risks. Here, Ewan Miles, Strategy Executive outlines the pillars of trend strategy – and some home truths.

Want to go trend hopping? Arm yourself with these tips.

Hopping on a social media trend, whether a format or a conversation, is difficult for brands. It requires being in tune with the conversation, knowing how it fits in with your message, and proactively seeking new opportunities.

Brands that lack agility will suffer, appearing out of touch, or joining a conversation where they don’t belong. Here, I break down three important factors in leveraging trends for brands (timing, tone, and audience) to help you build a tight strategy for trend spotting. Many brands get it wrong, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get it right.

1. Timing

Trending formats can fade from popularity quickly, posing a challenge for brands. Factors that affect a trend’s shelf-life include how easy it is to recreate; whether it drives sharing among fans; and how niche it is.

To capitalize on trends, spot them early. Ensure that everyone in your team shares trends when they see them, and motivate people to present an execution. Organize brainstorms to draw on ideas.

Be both proactive and reactive; designate a person to frequently search for trending formats. They should catch trends early and generate content ideas promptly to shorten the turnaround time.

If another brand jumps a trend early, it may reveal problems related to brands joining the trend. If not, move to reactively take advantage. Judge your level of caution and if you think you have a strong idea, go for it. Minimizing turnaround time remains crucial, which leads to a hard truth.

You might be too slow.

You must be agile. If assets need multiple approval stages, or complicated internal sign-off routes slow you down, it’s unlikely you can be effective. And regardless, you can’t just hop the first trend you see; time for research and understanding is essential.

You can still achieve quick wins in these cases. Allocate resources for proactive trend monitoring and keep up to date. Prioritize static assets; approving these quickly is typically easier than with video assets. Maintain a list of content constraints and pre-approved topics to draw from.

Read the full article and find from Strategy Executive Ewan Miles on The Drum here.