With billions of active users around the world, social media has a huge potential for communication. However, navigating this vast digital world can be overwhelming. We work hard to ensure our client’s messages stand out amidst the chaos of posts, tweets and stories.
In this article, we’ll share important tips on how to recognize and leverage social media trends to create deeper connections and increase your brand’s visibility.
Your team likely spends hours on each client account each week if your agency offers social media management. Sometimes, you focus on high-level analytics and optimization. However, in some cases, you may be wasting time on tasks you could automate.
Increasingly, smart agencies are relying on AI for simple but time-consuming tasks like choosing what or when to post. Many people have started using AI to automate brand monitoring, social media posting, influencer discovery, and understanding social media trends. You can automate elements of social management using AI-powered tools like Linkfluence and Cortex.
2. Master TikTok to increase your followers’ engagement and reach
TikTok has been a top social media trend since its launch in 2017. Its short-form video format has proven to be a huge hit, and the app has quickly built a global user base of over 800 million. Users spend around 500 minutes per month on the app, and engagement rates per post exceed 50%.
Because the majority of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24, they probably aren’t your agency’s target audience. However, the platform can be the ideal match for its users, especially those who could become TikTok influencers. By becoming a TikTok expert, you can help your team establish impressive reach and engagement. Then, you can ensure they’re prepared to take advantage of advertising and revenue opportunities as they become more common.
3. Use Instagram Reels to showcase your agency’s creativity
Instagram launched Reels in mid-2020, and the reaction has been explosive. Brands around the world have racked up millions of views on their most popular games. Many brands have significantly increased their engagement on Reels compared to typical Stories or video posts. Reels can also increase brand awareness and audiences by appearing in your own Explore feed.
The platforms’ audiences and collaboration opportunities differ greatly, even though they share similar formats. Compared to TikTok’s 100 million users, Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users. Because over 30% of Instagram users are between 25 and 34 years old, the audience is also more mature. If your agency has already invested in Instagram, adding Reels to the mix is a great way to let your creativity shine while growing your audience and increasing your engagement rate.
4. Use stickers to increase the value of Instagram stories
Do you like the idea of Instagram Stories but would prefer them to add value to your agency? Instagram is constantly adding new stickers with the goal of increasing engagement and revenue. Here are some new options your organization can explore:
- Increase engagement: Use quiz stickers to educate your followers and get audience feedback, or hashtag stickers to drive discovery.
- Get DMs: Encourage followers to start conversations with your team by adding DM Me stickers.
- Build connections: Use mention stickers to tag customers and influencers.
- Sell products and services: Help your customers generate revenue by adding shopping stickers or gift cards.
5. Start discussions on Reddit through polls
Not all agencies focus on Reddit, but if your clients buy popular products that have high customer satisfaction, you’ll likely pay attention to the Reddit community.
A valuable way to provide social proof to your customers and gain traction and engagement for new products or ideas is to build a strong community on Reddit. Reddit’s poll feature allows community members to ask specific questions natively and increase engagement compared to a text post. Poll response rates can also improve.
This makes polls a very useful tool for increasing your Reddit community engagement and taking advantage of social media trends that are relevant to your client’s audiences.
6. Take advantage of LinkedIn surveys for lead generation
LinkedIn launched several new features in 2020, and the survey option offers a lot of potential for agencies. Create surveys from your company page or personal profile to achieve goals like:
- Evaluate your audience’s goals: Have current events caused a shift in your audience’s goals? Find out what they’re planning to align your offerings appropriately.
- Know your audience’s pain points: What are your audience’s biggest challenges? Ask your followers what they’re struggling with to come up with new content ideas.
- Gauge interest in new ideas: Thinking about offering a new program or service? Survey your audience to gauge interest and use the results to guide your launch.
- Start conversations: Want to get your followers talking or find out how your audience feels about emerging trends? Ask simple questions so followers can quickly engage and encourage them to comment further.
- Qualify leads: Need to fill your agency’s pipeline? Survey your audience about the strategies they want to prioritize and use their responses to build a list of prospects for future follow-ups.
As a social platform designed for professionals, LinkedIn is the optimal place to share your team’s thought leadership. But why limit yourself to basic posts, articles, or videos when you can host full-fledged events on LinkedIn? Try the new LinkedIn Events feature and:
- Broadcast public or private events with LinkedIn Live—no Zoom required.
- Create a LinkedIn landing page to promote your event.
- Drive organic discovery by sharing events to your feed and adding them to the events tab of your Page.
- Generate interest through polls and videos before events.
- Interact with attendees via live chat during events.
- Share highlights on your page and collect feedback after events.
If your agency supports e-commerce clients, you can help them drive more conversions by becoming a social commerce expert.
Here’s how to take advantage of some of these shopping-focused social media trends:
- Pinterest: Nearly half of Pinterest users visit the platform to shop and research products. Create Rich Pins from your clients’ product pages to make shoppable Pins that drive sales.
- Instagram: For years, Instagram users have relied on the platform for product discovery and research. With Instagram Shopping, you can tag products in customer posts, carousel posts, and Stories so followers can instantly purchase.
- Facebook: New for 2021, Facebook Live Shopping lets your customers host their own shopping shows at home. Help them learn how to sell during live streams by linking to products on your website or in your Facebook Catalog.
When you stay on top of social media trends, you can stay relevant and keep your brand top of mind with your target audience. By doing so, you’ll be able to connect with your audience on a deeper level and build brand awareness and loyalty.
- Engagement: Social media is all about engagement, and following trends is one of the best ways to encourage that engagement. By using popular hashtags, creating viral content, and keeping up with meme culture, you can create content that resonates with your audience and motivates them to engage with your brand.
- Increase your reach: Creating content around a trending topic makes you more likely to reach a wider audience. People are always looking for the latest and greatest, and if your content is part of that trend, you can tap into that demand and increase your reach.
- Gain an edge: If you are one of the few companies in your industry that stays on top of social media trends, you will have a significant competitive advantage. By identifying what is trending and creating content around those trends, you will be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors and position yourself as a leader in your industry.
- Boost Sales: The goal of any business is to make sales. Social media trends can help you achieve this. By creating relevant and engaging content, you will be able to attract new customers, increase customer loyalty, and ultimately drive sales.
