The Trend Trap: Why Real Growth Isn’t Found in the Fads
Everyone has tried it at least once. Learn how to follow a new trend that went completely viral just to not have the same success as so many others on the internet. Left frustrated and defeated, another trend is attempted just to follow the same path and never really finding a niche.
This is a very common occurrence. It is super normal for businesses to feel like they are chasing their tail or chasing an unreachable carrot, just barely missing it and always trying to catch-up to the latest “in thing”.
This unfortunately is completely unsustainable. Passion fades into burnout, and love transitions to frustration and dread. So, how can these be avoided? How does one catch up to the trends that are always moving away from them?
Trend Temptation
Here’s the truth – trends and the desire to follow them is very similar to “shiny object syndrome”. Seeing the fame and views that come with it fuels that overwhelming desire to get into that group. Often, this leads to jumping between programs and types of media. Maybe at the beginning working with reels, and after seeing someone's success with podcasts, changed routes. With no success, changing from podcasts to blogs, and from blogs to TikTok, while completely dropping each previous method during the changeover.
This inconsistency is a sure-fire way to guarantee that none of the attempts go viral. By jumping around so much there is no way for people to always find where the content is, therefore negating any previous attempt when changed. Viewers will be confused and frustrated at the lack of direction and will not want to continue to watch or read it.
See, using trends as a marketing strategy has three major downfalls. Inconsistency, inauthenticity, and short-term focus. Inconsistent posting and inauthenticity deter people from being interested in your content and having a short-term focus will seal the fate.
Turning Trends into Tools
So, how do you use the trends to your advantage? They are tools aren’t they? Short answer, YES! However, avoiding the pitfalls that will drain success dry can be difficult, and once in one, it can feel impossible to get out.
This is why it is important to choose what kind of content is ideal before beginning to create an account or trying a trend. Ask questions like “Is this trend being done for quick views or is this something that the business would promote?”. The response will be telling and help give direction on how to proceed.
Be sure the content of the post aligns with the ideals of the business. Posting with the mindset that the quality of the post is more important than the performance of it. Good posts get more consistent traction than ones who post the same content again and again or follow someone else's post a bit too closely.
Consistency (or lack thereof) is another very common downfall that can hurt the account. It is just about impossible to organically “trend” on an app. Most often, continuous discipline and consistency pushes more traction and allows for better performance on a post, not sporadic recreations of current fads.
Purpose over Performance
What can be taken out of all of this? Trends aren’t all that and following them won’t guarantee a post will perform well. Consistency, discipline, and drive are what will. It’s not necessary to do everything, just the right things consistently. Following these few key points will help ensure that purpose is being prioritized over performance.
Emphasize the content of the post. Pay attention to the reason why you are posting. If you don’t feel there’s a solid reason to post something, don’t! The quality and content of the post is just as important as posting consistently.
Understand the trend beforehand. This may seem obvious, but sometimes the most obvious things are the ones we skip. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the trend before creating your own version.
Remember the numbers don’t equal success. Keep reminding yourself that the amount of views or likes is not as important as consistency and progress. Engagement will funnel in as you continue to create, but you have to keep at it and trust that your work will pay off.
