The fundamentals always need to be clear. In other words, you must have clarity on: 1 - Who your true ideal client is - beyond the avatar. Who is your buyer? What makes them a buyer? What makes someone your ideal audience? 2 - What your positioning is. What is your brand promise? What is it that you ACTUALLY do for your clients? 3 - What are you uniquely bringing to the table? What is your unique approach? WHen you understand these things, it doesn't matter what trends are happening on social media - you always connect what you want to incorporate with your fundamental brand message strategy.

The first thing to keep in mind when building a professional brand is that you shouldn't jump on every social media trend. Some trends may gain massive attention, but they won’t always align with your brand. To determine which trends are right for you, you must first have a clear understanding of what your brand stands for and what it doesn’t. This clarity will guide you in deciding when it's beneficial to engage with a trend and when it's best to steer clear.

I’ll embrace new social media trends that align with our brand values while ensuring our core messaging remains consistent. By experimenting with formats that suit our audience, like short videos or interactive posts, I can stay relevant. Regularly revisiting brand guidelines ensures we adapt without compromising consistency.

As always, stay grounded in your brand’s core values and voice. Trends can be exciting, but not every trend will align with your brand. Before jumping in, ask yourself if it fits with your message. Adapt trends in a way that stays true to who you are, instead of bending too much to fit the trend. Use the trend as a tool to enhance your brand’s visibility without losing what makes you unique. The key is to stay consistent while staying relevant.

In brand management, we often conform the brand qualities to meet the medium and achieve consistency and relevance. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? How much adjustment of messaging is necessary to leverage multiple channels? Riding out a shift in consumer preferences will test the mettle of any brand. An adaptable and elastic brand that adheres to its guiding principles is more likely to slot into social platforms and withstand trends. If it fits, it fits. If not, the metrics will determine the extent of a course correction. The volatility of social media lends credence to speculation and the need for contingency planning. For brand developers, the inherent challenge is futureproofing the business as effectively as possible.