Should Your Brand Jump on Every Trend?

Everyday on social media, there’s a new trend: a new dance, colour, font, a new trending sound. You name it, there’s always something new. Over the last few weeks, Jess, Giovanna and I have been discussing the butter-yellow font we’ve seen everywhere and chances are you have too. If you haven’t, scroll down your Instagram feed for two minutes and you’ll notice. Butter yellow here, butter yellow there, oftentimes used all in the same way.

It led us to wonder: when is something still a cool trend, and when has it been taken too far? More importantly, does every trend need to be followed by every brand?

Not every trend fits your brand 

Imagine taking the time to build your brand identity:  your tone, fonts, colour palette and overall visual direction. Then, one day, deciding to set it all aside and start using yellow simply because it’s appearing on every other post online. The purpose of building a distinct brand identity is to stand out and become recognizable among all the other content competing for your audience’s attention. So, if participating in a trend requires you to abandon what you’ve already established, is it really worth following?

Know why you’re participating 

Don’t get me wrong, we love a good trend. But most importantly, we want to be sure if we’re participating in a trend, that it serves a clear purpose. Is the goal awareness, engagement, education, community-building, or simply entertainment? If there’s no clear purpose, it may be better to skip it.

Not every post needs to generate leads or communicate a major brand message, either. Sometimes the purpose really is just to have fun and show a little personality. The important part is knowing why you’re doing it instead of joining simply because everyone else is.

Some trends are already oversaturated

There’s usually a sweet spot between jumping on a trend while it still feels fresh and joining after everyone has already done their version of it. Once your audience has seen the same format, sound or joke dozens of times, your version needs to bring something different to the table.

Joining too late can make a brand look like it’s chasing attention rather than contributing something interesting.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be the first one there. In fact, rushing to participate can sometimes lead to content that feels disconnected from your brand. But before adding another version of the same trend to someone’s feed, ask yourself: what are we adding?

If the answer is “not much” or “nothing new” sitting this one out might actually be the stronger choice.

You don’t have to be everywhere

There can be pressure, especially on social media, to constantly react to whatever is happening online. But being culturally aware doesn’t mean participating in every cultural moment.

Sometimes the most strategic decision is simply saying, “This one isn’t for us.”

Brands that have a strong identity tend to know the difference between a trend they can genuinely make their own and one they’re better off watching from the sidelines.

So, should your brand jump on trends? Absolutely, when they make sense and fit. 

Before you do, ask yourself a few questions: Does this fit our brand? Does our audience care? Can we put our own spin on it? And most importantly, do we actually have a reason to participate?

Our overall  advice: don’t change your brand to fit a trend. Find a way to make the trend fit your brand identity instead.

Written by: Gabrielle T.