How to Follow Social Media Platform Trends
Following platform trends for social media marketing is a powerful way to keep your content relevant, engaging, and aligned with your audience’s interests. Social media platforms are dynamic, with trends constantly evolving based on user behavior, popular culture, technology, and algorithms. To effectively leverage these trends in your Los Angeles digital marketing strategy, consider the following key steps:
1. Stay Informed and Up-to-Date
The first step in following platform trends is staying informed about what’s happening on the platforms you use. Social media trends can range from viral challenges and hashtags to new content formats and algorithm changes. To spot emerging trends, regularly consume content on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
You can also follow social media influencers, marketers, and brands in your industry to get a sense of what’s trending. Industry blogs, newsletters, and podcasts focused on social media marketing (like Social Media Examiner or Buffer’s blog) can provide insights into new trends and best practices. By being proactive, you’ll be ready to capitalize on a trend before it peaks or becomes oversaturated.
2. Leverage Trending Hashtags and Challenges
Trending hashtags and challenges are among the easiest ways to tap into social media trends. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok thrive on challenges where users create content around a specific theme, using a common hashtag to group related posts. By participating in these challenges, your brand can increase its visibility and reach new audiences.
When using trending hashtags, ensure they align with your brand and messaging. It’s not enough to just participate—ensure your content stays authentic and consistent with your brand values. You can also create branded hashtag challenges to engage your audience uniquely.
3. Use Platform-Specific Features
Every social media platform has its own set of features, and platforms often prioritize content that utilizes their latest tools. For example, Instagram prioritizes Reels over other formats in its algorithm, while LinkedIn has begun to emphasize native video content. Staying up to date with new features and using them to create content can help your posts gain more visibility.
TikTok’s Duets and Stitch features, Instagram’s Reels and Guides, Twitter’s Spaces, and YouTube Shorts are platform-specific tools that brands can leverage to tap into what’s trending. When platforms launch new features, they prioritize that content in users’ feeds to encourage widespread adoption, making it a great time to experiment with those tools.
4. Incorporate Trending Music and Sounds
Many trends on TikTok and Instagram revolve around specific songs or audio clips. Using trending music or sound bites in your videos can help increase engagement and boost your post’s reach. However, ensure that the music or sound complements your content and brand message. Just like with hashtags, avoid using trending sounds just to follow a trend—it should feel authentic.
TikTok’s “For You” page, in particular, is driven by trending audio, so using popular sound clips is a great way to make your content discoverable by a wider audience. Platforms often have built-in libraries of trending sounds, so take advantage of these when creating your posts.
5. Engage with Influencers and Content Creators
Influencer marketing continues to be a solid way to ride social media trends. Influencers often lead the way when discovering and setting trends, particularly on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Partnering with influencers who align with your brand can help you reach a broader audience and tap into current trends.
Micro-influencers, in particular, can be a cost-effective way to access niche trends and communities. When choosing influencers, focus on engagement levels and audience alignment rather than follower count alone. Collaborating on content incorporating popular trends can connect your brand to current conversations more.
6. Analyze Competitors and Industry Leaders
Look at what your competitors and industry leaders are doing on social media. You can gain valuable insights by observing how they respond to trends, which ones they engage with, and what kind of content resonates with their audience. While you don’t want to copy what others are doing, competitor analysis can inspire new ideas and help you avoid falling behind in your market.
Tools like BuzzSumo, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social can help you monitor industry trends and your competitors’ performance.
7. Monitor Analytics and Adapt
Trends come and go quickly, so tracking the performance of your trend-based content is essential. Social media analytics tools can help you measure engagement, reach, and conversions. Platforms like Instagram Insights, TikTok Analytics, and YouTube Analytics provide valuable data on how your audience interacts with your trend-based posts.
If you notice a particular trend is resonating well with your audience, adapt your strategy to create more content around that theme. Conversely, if a trend doesn’t perform as expected, pivot quickly and try something new.
Conclusion
Following platform trends for social media marketing is about staying informed, being adaptable, and finding creative ways to integrate those trends into your content. By participating in trending challenges, using popular hashtags, engaging with influencers, and embracing new platform features, you can keep your brand relevant, expand your reach, and connect with your audience more meaningfully. Always stay true to your brand’s identity, ensuring your trend-based content feels authentic and resonates with your target audience.