Today, as we all know, we live in a fast-paced digital world where news and trends come and go at lightning speed to the extent that if you haven’t caught up with yesterday’s news today, tomorrow might be too late.
This might sound exhausting but if you want to excel in digital marketing, it’s really essential to stay current with social media trends because you’d want to connect with your audience as much as possible. After all, who wants to engage with a brand that sounds and looks outdated?
We understand that running a business is already a lot of work, and it feels like you need to keep track of everything all the time. That’s why, in this article, we’ve put together a list of simple ways to help you stay constantly updated on social trends. Let’s see how it all works out.
Why Staying Up to Date on Social Media Trends Matters
Since staying up-to-date at all times may seem like a daunting task, you might be tempted to believe that you can run your business without keeping up with trends. But we can assure you: staying up-to-date is crucial.
Aside from the rapid pace of the digital world, social media are also now accessible to people of all ages, genders, and nationalities around the world. The forecast even suggests that by 2023, the number of social media users will reach 4.89 billion people, which is a massive audience.
What does this mean for businesses, you may ask? While you have the opportunity to reach a vast number of potential customers, you’ll also face a vast number of competitors in the online marketing world.
Therefore, in simplest terms, the key to making your brand and products recognized on social media platforms among this large pool is to “stay relevant” because algorithms will prioritize content that resonates with users at that moment to keep the users engaged.
On top of that, achieving and maintaining this “relevance” is not a one-time task. Social media algorithms, whether on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or TikTok, are constantly evolving. What worked just a month ago may no longer be effective today. That’s why constantly staying updated is essential.
Therefore, if you’re aiming to excel on this journey, be prepared for continuous learning—it’s undoubtedly a long but rewarding path.
Strategies for Staying Informed
Now that you understand why staying updated is essential and highly recommended, the next question is probably: How can I manage to do that? Don’t worry; here is a list of ways to follow social media trends. We can promise that it’s not rocket science.
Follow Influential Voices
One of the easiest ways to stay updated is by following influential voices, which include social media experts, influencers, and industry leaders. By following these individuals, you’ll quickly become aware of current trends through their original and sponsored content.
If you’re lucky, you might even spot trends before they go mainstream, as these influential figures can be trendsetters of fashion, makeup, and product preferences.
A list of recommended influencers to follow will likely depend on which industry you are in. For instance, if you’re in the beauty industry, consider following influencers like Rihanna (and her brand’s account, Fenty Beauty), Jeffree Star, Michelle Phan, and the list goes on.
Use Social Media Analytics
Let us remind you that we’re living in the digital age, where automated assistants are readily available almost anywhere and anytime. Therefore, you can utilize tools like Mandala AI and Google Analytics, just to name a couple, to discover current trends.
These tools provide insights into what your customers are searching for in your industry, allow you to observe customer behavior through the funnel approach (which we’ve discussed in another article; feel free to check it out), and help you understand various customer demographics.
By leveraging Social Media Analytics, you will be able to identify current trends in time. Sometimes, these tools are so advanced that they can detect trends even before they become mainstream.
Attend Industry Webinars and Conferences
Even though you’re engaged in online marketing, your resources don’t always have to be online, and in fact, they should not always be online.
Since the COVID-19 era, many companies and brands have hosted webinars and conferences worldwide. These events provide an opportunity to gain the most up-to-date trends and insights about social media from industry experts.
Therefore, if you receive an invitation, don’t hesitate to join! Additionally, if there are free and nearby events, consider attending those as well.
Aim to participate in these conferences on a monthly or, even better, quarterly basis. For those who may not have the availability to attend offline events, virtual events are still better than nothing.
Remember that such events always offer a guaranteed way to network and interact with individuals in the same industry but with diverse backgrounds.
Join Social Media Marketing Communities
Besides participating in events where you can connect with industry experts, don’t overlook the value of joining Social Media Marketing Online Communities too.
These communities may come in the forms of LinkedIn Groups, Facebook Groups, Discord Groups, Slack Groups, forums, or perhaps groups on other social media platforms within your niche market.
The benefits are akin to those of attending events: you can network with numerous social media experts and fellow business owners. Additionally, you may discover valuable advice, case studies, and effective hacks to solve your work-related challenges. However, the best part is that you can reach out to or exchange ideas with your group members at any time.
Some examples of free-to-join Social Media Marketing Communities include the CXL – Conversion Optimization, Analytics & Growth Group on Facebook, or Growth Hackers, a free tech forum, among others.
Read Industry Blogs and News
Last but not least, there is still one way left to connect with social media experts, and that is to read industry blogs and news. Written resources are quite reliable because most blogs, newsletters, magazines, and journals are likely authored by individuals who are expertised in social media after all.
This step is fairly straightforward. First, subscribe to trade journals, publications, newsletters, and magazines. Second, set up a specific time on your schedule to receive notifications for newly updated articles. Finally, take the time to actually read them.
Reading these bite-sized articles will allow you to read so many worthwhile success stories and challenging case studies. And since this is one of the most efficient and least time-consuming ways to stay updated on trends, it is highly recommended to do.
Here are some publications you might want to consider subscribing to: TechCrunch, Content Marketing Institute, Mashable SE Asia, and so on.
Leveraging Social Media Platforms
As we told you, staying informed about your industry is an ongoing journey. While the earlier tips we provided are fundamental, there are still more effective ways to use your social media platforms to stay ahead of trends.
Follow Official Social Media Channels
In order to achieve your digital marketing goals, it’s recommended to utilize as many social media formats and platforms as possible, which may require following official social media channels.
The primary benefit of doing this is that official social media channels constantly update their policies, share announcements, and unveil new developments within the application. For instance, Instagram often introduces its latest Instagram Shopping features on its platform first. Keep in mind that these channels are typically the first source of news since they are the official accounts.
The easiest thing you can do now is to consider following Instagram’s official account on Instagram, Meta’s official account on Facebook, and YouTube’s official channel on YouTube.
Engage in Trending Hashtags and Topics
This is a pro-level technique. You’re probably aware that on online platforms, most people enjoy keeping up with what’s currently trending, right? Well, this can sometimes turn into a valuable business opportunity if your engagement is impressive enough. It could lead to more impressions and potentially more followers.
Depending on the nature of each platform, some platforms might not be the most suitable for engaging with trending hashtags and topics. We believe that one platform that’s suitable to engage with trends is X (formerly known as Twitter).
Let’s take a look at an example tweet from a well-known brand like Dunkin’ (@dunkindonuts).
Back in 2015, there was a worldwide online controversy—it was a picture of “the dress” that sparked debates over whether it was blue/black or white/gold.
Dunkin’ Donuts seized this opportunity by creating a picture of donuts topped with blue/black and white/gold frostings and tweeting, “Doesn’t matter if it’s blue/black or white/gold, they still taste delicious. #thedress.”
Doesn't matter if it’s blue/black or white/gold, they still taste delicious. #thedress pic.twitter.com/Oq8srrAKnd
— Dunkin' (@dunkindonuts) February 27, 2015
Although this tweet may not have been the funniest or most relevant, it shows how the brand capitalized on the moment, and it did receive a decent amount of likes and retweets.
So, don’t be afraid to get creative, inject some humor, and have fun while playing with current trends—especially if they’re relevant to your brand or products!
Monitoring Algorithm Changes
We’ve discussed steps to consistently discover new trends to some extent. However, there’s one last key to staying updated about social media trends, and here’s a spoiler alert: many people often overlook this during the initial stages because it’s not directly a trend, but it significantly influences trends. That key is a change in the algorithm.
Monitoring algorithm changes on social media is a crucial aspect of digital marketing. It helps you understand how each social media platform evaluates and ranks your content, channel, or page. Changing algorithms can impact how your content reaches your audiences, as you may have seen with examples from major social media platforms like Instagram or YouTube. Therefore, the sooner you learn about these changes, the quicker you can optimize your strategies accordingly, resulting in better performance.
This underscores why it’s important to follow the official sources of the platform your brand is on, constantly read news about social media platforms, and also consider using automated tools like Mandala AI, Hootsuite, and Keyhole to quickly identify the changes.
The Power of Data
As you may have noticed, there are various aspects to staying ‘in-trend.’ These may include new app features, trending controversies, algorithm changes, case studies, or even success stories from fellow business owners.
Before wrapping up, if you’ve read the entire article up to this point, try asking yourself: ‘What’s currently trending?’ If the answer doesn’t come to mind instantly, you might want to consider following some of our recommendations above. Don’t give up since we have to learn new things every day after all, so it’s never too late to start today.
