The Importance Of Keeping Up With Fast-Paced Video Trends

However, the world of video marketing is fast-paced, and trends come and go at a high velocity. New videos are trending on social media every day, and staying updated on and leveraging the latest hashtags or viral phenomenons can feel overwhelming. If you want to ride the newest meme trend, you need to do so before it’s already old. This presents a big challenge for marketing teams today. Creating brand video content around online video trends can be extremely powerful when done well but requires a deep understanding of your target audience and a very agile way of working.

Related reading: How to keep up with video trends in 2021?

Give Your Marketing Team The Mandate To Experiment

The reason so many brands fail on social media is simply that they’re not quick and agile enough. Speed is the name of the game, and to move fast, your marketing team needs a high level of autonomy. If something is trending, there’s no time to run ideas through heavy corporate machinery – the opportunity is then and there, and then, it’s gone. 

Trust your marketing directors, creatives, and social media managers. Whoever is closest to the content and has their ear to the ground should be free to post and interact. They know and understand these platforms and trends, and they know what is required to succeed. Allow them to explore, experiment, and trust their judgment.

Not Every Attempt Will Be Successful

Social media trends and engagement are unpredictable things, and it’s usually beneficial not to be too focused on hard goals. By pressuring your team to deliver specific metrics, you risk losing their creativity and playfulness – two things that are vital for long-term social media success.

Make sure there is a shared understanding of your brand voice and your core message, and then step and let your people work their magic. Some of the best-performing brands on Social Media are the ones that don’t act like “brands” but as people with distinct personalities. That requires timing and agility and can only be achieved with a high level of creative freedom. Understand that not every tweet or video clip will become a viral success. But also know that the ones that do can propel your growth to unprecedented levels. 

If You’re Not On TikTok, You’re Missing Out

Think again if you still believe TikTok is an app for kids who like to dance in front of their smartphones. Sure, a significant part of the TikTok user base still consists of teenagers and young adults, but the platform is quickly growing and turning into so much more. And already, 38% of TikTok’s users in the US are older than 30 years. The earlier you join a new social platform, the quicker you’ll build your audience there. And the brands that were quick on joining TikTok are reaping huge rewards today. 

Related reading: Should Your Brand Be On TikTok?

Allow Your Marketing Team To Have Fun With It

Don’t Try To Catch Every Viral Trend 

You’ll never be able to ride every wave, and trying to do so will only make your team spread themselves too thin. It’s important to know when to keep it simple and when to go all in and create something more ambitious. Sometimes it’s as simple as your social media manager and their phone creating quick one-off videos in the office. But, there are also times when it’s a good idea to reach out to a creative video production agency and step it up a level in quality and production. Don’t try to force things one way or the other.

Avoid The Common Pitfalls

• Not understanding the trend

One common mistake is not building on the video trend correctly. Social media video trends and memes have a lot of nuances, and far too often, you see brands missing the “point.” If you miss the point of the trend, it will just come off as inauthentic and disingenuous. And the last thing you want is your content to become viral for that reason. 

• Not giving credit where credit is due

Always make sure to tag the original creator of the trend/meme/dance. This will show you are in touch with the trend and not an outsider looking in, trying to take advantage of it. You have to play by the rules of the platform.

• Getting hung up on incorporating your “message” everywhere

People don’t just interact on social media to convey a “message”; they interact because it’s social and because it’s fun. Many brands make the mistake of incorporating a sales message in everything they do, which is often perceived as very off-putting on social platforms. Instead of focusing on your brand message, it’s usually better to focus on honing your brand voice. You can’t “brand” trends, and trying to do so will often result in failures that make you look out of touch, which is precisely what you don’t want.

How Covalent Can Help 

Viral video trends can be a marketer’s best friend when leveraged well. But they can also damage your brand and make you look out of touch if the execution is not on point. It’s a balance to strike, and we’re happy to help. Covalent is a creative video production company, and we can support you with all things related to video. 

Get in touch to explore how we can help your brand come alive with social media video!