How to Keep Up with Social Media Trends

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Social media marketers should be keeping up with the latest social media trends to ensure their content reflects the most recent trends in the digital world. Doing so will boost your engagement, keep your audience happy and therefore boost your ROI online.

The world of social media is incredibly fast-paced, with new trends emerging both weekly and monthly, so tracking these trends is a must, as part of your social strategy. We know that keeping up with the top trends can be tricky if you don’t know the right places to look, which is why we are here to give you our top tips on keeping up with all the latest trends.

Join Facebook Marketing Groups

A great way to plan trends into your social media campaign is by joining social media marketing groups on Facebook. Not only can you learn some great social media tips from private groups, but in the larger groups, you will almost always find discussion about the latest trends and announcements.
These groups also allow you to turn on notifications so that you are notified when someone posts on the group; this means you’ll always be aware of what’s going on regarding social media. Groups like the Social Media Managers Group and the Social Media Marketing Group are great pages to start with.

Listen to Social Media Podcasts

Small businesses may struggle to keep up with trends because they will typically have a small team and a large workload. This means that time really is of the essence. Podcasts are ideal for those that are always on the move or simply don’t have much time to sit down and browse through social networks to find trending topics. Podcasts can be listened to in the car, on the train, or while you’re working (if you’re good at multi-tasking). There are a range of podcasts that discuss social trends, content formats, and creating brand awareness through social networks. Some podcasts release new episodes each week, so you can stay in the know about content that will truly grip your target audience. Some of our favourite podcasts include the Social Media Marketing Talk Show with Michael Stelzner, Marketing Trends by Salesforce and the Social Pros Podcast.

Subscribe to Newsletters

Email newsletters are another great way for businesses to stay updated with the latest news and topics on social media. You can subscribe (for free) to a range of social media newsletters which will be delivered straight to your inbox each week. If you want to improve your marketing strategy, we highly recommend that you subscribe to social emails to read when you get free time. Developing your brand through engaging social content can help you retain customers while also reaching new prospective customers. Sociality.io is an example that sends out weekly emails to newsletter subscribers with the latest happenings on social media, including any trends that have come about.

The Daily Carnage is another useful newsletter that can not only keep you updated with trends but also help your business to engage with its audience in other ways too!

Create a Twitter Stream with Hashtags

A Twitter Stream is a page/display on Twitter that shows you only what you have requested for the stream, for example, certain hashtags or accounts. This helps to filter social trends from general everyday tweets so you can easily view the latest discussions and hashtags on trends for boosting social media engagement.

Because so many people use Twitter, hashtags can become confusing; general hashtags like #socialmedia or #marketing may be too saturated with spam tweets or information that won’t help you keep up with trends.

It’s therefore important to research the hashtags that will help you with your social platforms. Websites like Hashtags.org can help you to find the best hashtags to create a Twitter stream from.

Follow Hashtags on Instagram

Similarly to Twitter streams, you can choose to ‘follow’ certain hashtags on Instagram so that they display on your feed. This is a good option as you will be reminded of trends and announcements while scrolling through your own social media anyway, so you don’t have to spend time searching.

To follow a hashtag on Instagram, simply search for it on the ‘Explore’ page and tap the blue ‘follow’ button at the top of the screen.

This will automatically send any posts with the hashtag to your feed. Some of the best hashtags to track on Instagram include #socialmediamarketing, #socialmediatips, #socialmediatrends.

Follow Influencers in the Social Media Industry

There are some big industry players that announce new features on social media platforms, and give tips on things like influencer marketing, brand loyalty, and exclusive content through Instagram stories and live streaming.

These influencers are well worth following on your social channels to keep updated with trends. Many of the big social marketing influencers have experience running their own brands, so they can give you advice and tips from a business perspective. Influencers to follow include @simplydigital.gr, @marketingharry, @growwithvix, @thelucasokeefe.

Read Digital Marketing Blogs

Another way to keep up with social trends for your business or personal brand is to bookmark social media blogs. Reputable blogs will announce new trends, features and tools that you can use to gain new customers.

Many businesses now read blogs in order to make a positive impact on their strategies; because blogs will discuss, in-depth, things you should and shouldn’t be doing on social media. To keep up with trends, why not take a look at blogs such as our very own Feedalpha blog, Social Media Today, and Brand 24.

Other Integrated Facebook Tools

Other tools that are integrated into other channels such as Facebook can help you to keep customers engaged with your brand.

Facebook Blueprint is a free online course with a range of series for those that work in social media. Blueprint has helped a number of brands reach business goals and keep up with trends. It also offers you certification to display once you have completed the course.

The Facebook Business Manager is another free tool to help with social media use, by allowing you to manage your account in one place, view notifications and send messages. This can help you to save time so you can spend more time finding out about the recent social trends.

Plan and Schedule Your Social Media Marketing

Around 40% of the world’s population use social media, which is why it is now more important than ever that your business has a presence online.

Feedalpha can help with just that; our scheduling tool allows you to plan and schedule engaging and innovative content through one platform. Our App updates its content every day so you’ll always have something trending to share! Find out more about Feedalpha here and contact us with any queries on info@feedalpha.com or +353 (59) 910 5049.