What’s up everyone! I hope you are all having a great week 🙏. It’s been a busy week for me and the Cadence team. We’re prepping for some super exciting launches that will flight in the coming weeks so I have been locked in. Also…If you’re not already following us on Instagram, make sure to go give us a follow here.
Today’s issue is a fun one. Let’s get to it.
In this issue, we will go over the following:
A word on hijacking trends: the role of trends, how to approach them, and more.
What stopped my scroll: Manor Golf dropped some 🔥
Social Pro Spotlight: Alexus Brittain talks about boundaries for social pros
5 hot social job opportunities that you should check out
Let’s go! 💪
-Sam
If you work in social media, there’s a good chance you have jumped on a trend before for your brand account.
I mean…who hasn’t?
There’s a certain thrill and adrenaline you get when you jump on a trend.
You’ll come across a trend, create your version of it, run it on your brand page, share it with your friends - and then sit back and watch the engagements roll in.
And if it performs super well, and you’ll feel like the smartest human alive.
Trend hijacking is enjoyable and is a great tactic for brands. As you can insert yourself into cultural moments, drive brand engagement, generate shares & word of mouth, maybe a spike in followers. And if you’re lucky, some earned media.
But…jumping on trends is a tactic. Not a strategy.
Let me simplify this even more.
If jumping on trends is your strategy, then you don’t have a strategy.
There is nothing wrong with jumping on trends. And if it makes sense for your brand then I highly encourage you to jump on trends. They're beneficial and they can generate spikes in awareness, follower growth, engagements and so much more. But trends shouldn’t be at your foundation and core. At the end of the day, you should be spending less time hijacking trends and more time creating an ownable social DNA that drives brand, community, and business growth.
So what should you do about trends? Here are some actionable steps and recommendations 👇
Become known for something on social media. If you’re not known for something, then you’re not known at all. Struggling? Here’s a whole issue I wrote on this.
When you do hijack trends, do it with intent. Simply put, don’t just jump on a trend to be a participant. Jump on a trend to innovate it, and add to it, and be highly memorable. I also wrote an issue on this a few weeks ago. Check it out here.
Be different and don’t follow the crowd. When brands jump on trends, you’re being a follower and you’re joining a crowd. Instead, run the opposite way. Sometimes when other brands zig, you need to zag.
Establish a content pillar for hijacking trends. Then label these, build reports on them (I use Sprout Social to do this by the way), and gather insights on how trend hijacking content performs against other content pillars. How does it stack up against the other pillars? We need to be obsessed with social data, as this informs better content creation.
Focus on originality. Be you. Be ownable. Be unique. Simply put, you need to focus on being worth following than creating trends that’s trying to generate followers. Does that make sense?
WHAT STOPPED MY SCROLL
Manors Golf is a very underrated brand on social media that many may not know about. They excel in creating highly unique, ownable and shareable social creative that differs from other golf apparel brands. It feels premium, differentiated, and elevated.
This creative specifically really stood out to me. They aimed to fill the entire green with golf balls - an outrageous challenge by their creative director. Spoiler alert: they failed.
The creative execution was genius. As it led by iPhone-led capture, transitions to an aerial shot, and the abundance of golf balls stops the scroll and is just outrageous (and excessive).
SOCIAL PRO SHOUTOUT
Setting boundaries as a social media professional is a lot easier said than done, but it is essential. This is one of the best social posts about setting boundaries in this field by Alexus. Make sure to go give Alexus a follow on LinkedIn!
SOCIAL OPPS
If you’re on the job hunt and exploring new Social Media Opportunities, here are some roles to check out.
✌️ KBYG (Know Before You Go)
Before you go…here are a few quick hitters for you! We’ve got a new Instagram update and a few reminders.
‼️ Forward to a friend! If you do find Stronger Social helpful, be sure to forward to a friend.
✍️ Want to get featured? Have you scrolled across LinkedIn and really liked a a post about social media that deserves more hype and attention? You can submit it here for a chance to be featured in the next social pro shoutout.
📲 View the archive. Catch up on previous issues here and learn developing high-performing social strategies, social media lessons/insights, and social media career coaching tips.
🤔 Got a topic that you want to see addressed in a future issue?If so, respond to this email and let me know.
Sam Wells
Thanks for reading and hope you have a great week!
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