How can I improve my content marketing?
Viral trends aren’t going anywhere. In fact, it seems like every week there is a new trend to craze over online. For any brand, it’s fun to hop on existing trends, but many like to create their own. As we’ve seen over the years, trends may change but the purpose stays the same. Whether your goal is to educate, to entertain or to inspire action, here are a few marketing wins that every brand can learn from.
- The Broomstick Challenge
If you’ve been online in the past few days, you’ve probably seen many balancing broomsticks on your feed. In case you missed it, there was a rumor (debunked by NASA) that swept the internet this week. The trend made people think gravity was so strong on Monday that a broom could stand upright with no support. Of course, it’s simple physics that your broom will stand upright any day of the year, but this hoax is a great example of how brands can interact with trends that are harmless and humorous.
- Holidays
It’s February and that means love is in the air! Holiday related posts are easy for any brand to capitalize on if they are widely celebrated like Valentine’s Day. The San Antonio Zoo in Texas has taken an innovative approach to gain visibility (and revenue) this Valentine’s Day through its program “Cry Me a Cockroach.” For only $5, you can name a cockroach after your ex that will then be the animals’ dinner on Valentine’s Day. Like any successful trend, there are more options the more you donate, and if you live out of town, the entire event will be livestreamed.
- ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Though it is a few years old, this tend reinforces the idea that as the trends change, the purpose behind the mission stays the same. I’m sure you all remember the time when we were pouring buckets of ice on ourselves, I know I do. At the time, ALS was a relatively unknown disease but eight weeks later the ALS Association received more than $110 million in donations. The name of the game was “every drop counts” to support ALS research by either accepting the challenge or donating. This created a fun atmosphere for people and brands to support the greater good, while raising money and awareness for the disease.
