Leveraging Memes and Trending Content on Social Media

Keeping up with social media trends can be almost as challenging as keeping up with social media-driven technology. What is popular one moment can be obsolete the next. Jumping on a trend that seems to be going viral may sound like a good idea to gain attention, but could backfire and harm your company’s image or reputation.

Different content formats can trend year to year and in some cases, a trend can become a mainstay. Some trends are created or influenced by popular social networks, such as how Snapchat started the Stories format trend, or how Twitter introduced the hashtags trend, both of which remain popular today.

Publishing your content in a trending format can help boost the visibility of your post, particularly while the trend is on the rise. Some content formats that trend include:

Memes - Memes are a particular style of content that can be displayed as text, photos, graphics, or videos. They are copied, posted, and then spread rapidly online, especially on social networks. Memes are often humorous and can contain small variations to suit the sender and the message or sentiment they are trying to convey.

Videos - Video lengths and styles can change. Short form video continues to trend as people’s attention spans decrease and information overload increases. Hand-held selfie videos and rapid cuts are video styles that are trending.

User-Generated Content (UGC) - As consumers seek authentic content they can trust, they tend to gravitate toward messages from peers or "real people" rather than companies.

Influencer Marketing - Another type of UGC is produced and posted by an influencer-someone who is well-known locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally, particularly through their online presence. Anyone with a large and loyal following online can be considered an influencer. Influencers capitalize on their online popularity by charging for their posts.

AI-Generated Content - As AI tools become increasingly sophisticated, the content created with those tools is trending including text, graphics, photos, and videos. This trend is concerning to copyright holders and others who are worried that the computer-generated content could mislead people since they appear to be genuine or true.

Besides content formats, different content topics can trend online including:

1. Current events - Breaking news, in particular, may start to trend online, and often more so if the news is controversial such as political news or negative such as a tragedy or disaster. As the saying goes, good news travels fast online, but bad news travels faster.
2. Popular culture - Movies, television shows, music, sports, and other entertainment media tends to drive a lot of trending content, including memes.
3. Rumors and gossip - In line with bad news traveling fast, unsubstantiated information often takes hold of online conversations and can trend.
4. Misinformation - A darker side of rumors is the deliberate spreading of misleading or false information that may seem true and worth sharing but is false and potentially dangerous.

How do you navigate what’s trending and know what to leverage and what to ignore? Here are a few things to think about.

Is it true or real? Because trust is an essential part of good customer and client relationships and your company’s reputation, posting false or misleading information can break that trust quickly and be difficult to regain.

Is it on brand? You have probably spent time and money building your company’s reputation, or if you’ve experienced some kind of business-related crisis, rebuilding it. Jumping on a trend for some extra likes on a social network could turn into a communications nightmare if it isn’t a positive reflection of your brand.

Is it suitable for your audience? Different content formats and types of content can trend with different demographics. What might seem funny or endearing to a Millennial could be considered offensive to a Boomer. Know your audience and assess a trend based on who you are trying to attract and engage online.

Is it achieving a business goal? Trying to get more likes on a post can be a short-term goal but it may not translate into any significant or lasting outcomes for your business. However, if your goal is building up your social media audience, you could potentially leverage appropriate trends and build your image, or a specific marketing or advertising campaign, around them.

When jumping on a trend, especially using memes, be careful that what you post is not controversial or offensive. If you’re experimenting with content that is a departure from your regular fare, be prepared for some pushback. Have a strategy in place in case that content elicits negative feedback from your audience. Plan out how you’ll determine if you should remove the trending content if the reactions are extreme, and if and how you might decide if an apology is needed.

There are risks as well as rewards to posting trending content. Being strategic can help you gain more benefits while minimizing the risks.