Timing isn’t nearly when a development peaks; it’s additionally about your model’s agility. Listed below are some questions to think about:
- Do now we have set guidelines with authorized and comms about what we are able to and might’t point out as a model?
- Does this reduce the belief that our clients/viewers have in us?
- Does this align with who we’re as a model or align with our Best Buyer Profile (ICP)?
- Is that this a short-term play for consideration and engagement, or are we a model that strives to be culturally related?
- Do now we have long-term initiatives to entertain or be “in the know” with our viewers?
Participating with tendencies ought to by no means come on the expense of your model’s belief and authenticity. In case your viewers sees your try as inauthentic, they may lose religion in your model and never take you as severely. Does leaping on this make sense in a manner the place your viewers is perhaps delighted and amused that you simply jumped into the dialog versus feeling just like the model is begging for consideration?
All the time contemplate whether or not a trending reference aligns with model values and messaging. Playful references are a simple approach to discover these alternatives with out breaking by your model guardrails. In that case, what would this seem like? Will you reference a sure film scene or meme that isn’t tainted by any present scandals?
It’s not sufficient to query model security when contemplating leaping on to a development; one wants to acknowledge if the client base would get the reference within the first place. Is that this a well-liked development or do you must be chronically on-line to get it?
Viewers
Studying the room is crucial when participating with popular culture moments. How may this age badly?
Popular culture tendencies may be fleeting, and what’s humorous or related as we speak might be outdated—or worse, offensive—tomorrow. Assess whether or not your present viewers is speaking about it, and extra critically, what the sentiment round it’s. Participating with a development that’s controversial or negatively perceived may backfire, harming your model’s fame.
The social strategist doesn’t present their expertise in saying sure to each development that’s attainable to leap on, however within the ones they are saying no to. It may be tempting to leap on a development within the second, forgetting the long-lasting implications of a misstep (the web is endlessly). Understanding a model nicely sufficient to discern what are the most effective alternatives is the mark of an excellent strategist.
Cultural relevance
It’s very important to steadiness short-term beneficial properties like engagement spikes with long-term targets. A sudden burst of consideration would possibly really feel rewarding, but it surely hardly ever builds sustained loyalty. Manufacturers ought to weigh whether or not leaping onto a development is a mere bid for fast consideration or a real effort to remain culturally related.
There isn’t essentially a proper or unsuitable reply to this as a result of every model has its personal distinctive id and technique. For some, continual trend-chasing can dilute their model message, whereas for others, it’s a goldmine of alternative.
