While some social media trends can be useful, such as highly relevant hash tags and cohesive brand messages that portray your company in a way you want to be seen, other trends have no place in the corporate world.
Avoid These Social Media Trends at All Cost
If you have been feeling the pressure to go off the reservation or you are battling to know what to share, one way to prevent social media disaster is to invest in a strategy. A social media strategy that is designed exclusively for channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn is your best chance of reaching your audience without the risk of a badly conceived post. Whatever you do however, make sure that you approach social media trends with a great deal of caution.
What makes social media trends so dangerous? If you consider the impact that these trends have, you will soon see what makes it risky to blindly follow trends.
Overly automated messages
If you have scheduled automated messages for events in your area, you may want to check them the day before they are meant to go live. The biggest risk of scheduled posts is that they may not always be accurate at the time of going live. A local online magazine was caught by this trap earlier this year when the 2017 Cape Argus cycle tour. Their scheduled Facebook post went live as other news outlets and followers were discussing the cancelled event, and was only deleted when the page in question realised their error a few hours later.
Fake news
Fake news has become a phenomenon into itself. Even if you feel passionately about the news content, unless you have verified the facts that are in the article, it is better to give it a miss. If you share something that is then proven to be fake news, you will look like you have not done your homework. As a general rule of thumb, it is best to stay clear of any strong messages that may end up doing your brand reputation more harm than good, whether they are fake or not. This applies to controversial re-posts and shares as well.
Irrelevant challenges and memes
From the Harlem Shake to the Ice Bucket Challenges, every year brings a brand new challenge. Unless it has a direct meaning to your brand, or there is a genuine purpose in doing the challenge, such as fundraising, it is best to approach these with caution. The same applies with memes. These can be lighthearted and fun, but they can also completely miss the mark, becoming an embarrassment instead. Trying to link random memes or events to your messaging is never a good idea.
What are your pet peeves when it comes to online trends? Share your worst social media trends and let us know which ones you plan to avoid.