Content Marketing Weekly

May 18, 2024

So, here we are with the latest weekly edition of this newsletter that aims to provide insights about the do's and don'ts of content marketing for startups and SMEs. The differentiation is necessary because a startup's branding and brand-building needs are almost entirely different from an established brand or an enterprise. Without further ado, let's dive into this week's topic!

Here is How Your Trends-Driven Marketing Campaign Might Be a Flash in The Pan!

The emergence of digital marketing in the last 25 years has been phenomenal. It has helped create iconic businesses and success stories that would have been unimaginable just about 30 years ago. The internet hasn’t yet entered its 30s, but it is already the biggest force in almost everything that we do.

For a startup founder or a small business owner like you, digital marketing is an empowering tool that enables you to rub shoulders with the biggies, grab eyeballs across geographical boundaries, and at a lesser cost compared to the conventional marketing channels.

However, its evolution has also seen digital marketing become quite complex, fast-paced, and unpredictable. The algorithms at the platforms keep changing, Google keeps revamping its Ads framework, and with AI inside, marketing content generation is also undergoing a transformation. One of the most popular practices among modern brands is to encash the trend. There is a sports event, go for it, and paint your ads in the local team’s colours. There is a festival, introduce specials, and quite often businesses make announcements and launch campaigns to align themselves with prevailing socio-political trends. There is a great charm in trends-driven marketing. It can propel your brand from obscurity to the pop-culture within hours or days. At the same time, ‘viral trends’ change every week or two, and once a trend is gone, so is the hype associated with it. It’s like the initial booster stage of a rocket that can help it surge through the atmosphere, but to reach its celestial destination, it needs constant energy and has to maintain a sustained speed. As a brand, there are a lot of reasons why trends-driven marketing might not help you achieve lasting results and consumer recall. Let’s take a look at some of these:

The Nature of Trends: Fleeting and Unpredictable

Trends are, by definition, temporary. They are like the ‘breaking news’ of the day that changes every day. What is popular today may be forgotten tomorrow. This ephemeral nature makes it challenging to build a long-term marketing strategy around trends. A campaign centered on a trending topic or meme might generate a short burst of attention, but once the trend fades, so does the campaign’s impact. For any brand to leverage trend-driven marketing effectively, it is important to have a strong content creation team that tracks the real-time happenings, identifies and strategically plans campaigns that seamlessly transition from one trend to another. If your marketing team fails to do that then you would struggle to consolidate the fleeting visibility that a trend can provide.

The Bandwagon Effect: Overcrowded Market Space

When a trend gains momentum, everyone wants a piece of the action. This bandwagon effect can quickly lead to market saturation. The more brands that jump on a trend, the harder it becomes to stand out. What starts as a unique and engaging campaign can quickly become one of many, lost in a sea of similar messages. This overcrowded market space dilutes the effectiveness of individual campaigns, making it difficult for any one brand to make a significant impact. Even if it is the most interesting event of the day, you are likely to stop being impressed after the first 5-6 ads related to it that you come across.

Authenticity Matters: The Risk of Seeming Inauthentic

Consumers are increasingly savvy and can spot when a brand is trying too hard to capitalize on a trend. Nobody is impressed when the ad campaign comes across as patched on to the trend in a bid to garner attention. We can all recall the ‘Jaago Re’ campaigns by Tata Tea related to elections that were released a decade or so back. Unless you can ensure a brand plugin of that quality, and are able to highlight how your brand ethos align with the trend, you would just come across as an opportunistic brand trying desperately to find relevance. This not only diminishes the campaign’s effectiveness but can also erode trust with the audience.

Resource Allocation: Short-Term Gains vs. Long-Term Goals

Trends-driven campaigns often require significant resources—time, money, and creative energy. While these campaigns can yield short-term gains, they can also divert resources from long-term marketing goals. A relentless focus on chasing trends can lead to a reactive rather than proactive marketing strategy. Brands that continuously shift their focus to the next big thing may struggle to develop a consistent brand identity or build lasting relationships with their audience.

Measuring Success: Beyond Immediate Metrics

Success in trends-driven marketing is often measured by immediate metrics such as likes, shares, and engagement rates. While these metrics can indicate a campaign’s initial impact, they don’t necessarily translate to long-term success. True marketing success is measured by sustained brand awareness, customer loyalty, and conversion rates. Trends-driven campaigns can generate impressive numbers in the short term, but without a strategy to maintain engagement, these numbers can quickly dwindle.

The Importance of Balance: Integrating Trends Wisely

Despite the pitfalls, trends-driven marketing isn’t inherently bad. When executed thoughtfully, it can enhance a broader marketing strategy. The key is balance. Rather than relying solely on trends, brands should integrate them into a comprehensive marketing plan that includes both short-term and long-term strategies. This approach ensures that while the brand remains current and engaging, it also builds a stable foundation for sustained success.

Conclusion

Trends-driven marketing campaigns offer exciting opportunities but come with significant risks. Their ephemeral nature, the potential for market saturation, authenticity issues, resource allocation concerns, and the challenge of measuring true success all contribute to the risk of these campaigns being a flash in the pan. Brands must approach trends with a strategic mindset, ensuring that they enhance rather than overshadow long-term marketing goals. By doing so, they can enjoy the benefits of trends while building a lasting and meaningful connection with their audience.

P.S: To create an effective content marketing strategy that helps you leverage the trends, and ensures sustained brand messaging, feel free to connect with me through messages or comments below. Do follow the newsletter for more insights, inputs, and latest information on content marketing, week-after-week!