Nicki Minaj & The Reality of Jumping on Social Media Trends

Nicki Minaj & The Reality of Jumping on Social Media Trends

The Nicki Minaj and her "cousin's friend's" drama has been a gift to the meme creators of Trinidad and Tobago. For a week, local timelines have been filled with hilarious content about the international headline. However, many local marketers were quick to ask what and when local tourism companies or businesses would jump on the trend.

Chasing trends is not a strategy recommended by many marketers due to the complex nature of its success. While it may seem like a quick method for engagement the truth is, it requires some key insights and understanding of your audience.

Here are some factors to consider before you make that tweet about Nicki's cousin's friend:

Brand Alignment

While it is important to stay on top of trends on social media it doesn't mean that your brand should try and jump on every single one. Brands that see success from trends, find a trend that perfectly aligns with the brand's message and product.

For example, think about the Cialis ad with JW's voice over on the Daily Show. The segment which highlights JW's take on Minaj's recent comments perfectly aligned with an ad for the erectile dysfunction treatment company.

Audience Alignment

In equal measure, companies have to analyze whether a trendy post is relevant to their audience. An in-depth understanding of your audience and their interest will always help guide your content in the right direction. Thus, an effective "trendy" post will occur if you use a trend that reflects your desired target audience's interest.

For example, if your target market is people between the ages of 50-65 with an interest in health and wellness, using the current Nicki Minaj story may not be for you.

But let's say you are a local musician and you came up with a funny song about the situation and you have a young millennial and Gen-Z audience?

Well in that case - Go for it, like this artist below ↓

Found a trend that works for your brand? Choose simplicity

So, you have found a trend that reflects something from your brand, but now you have to think about the content to create. In this case, simplicity is key. With trends, you have to jump on the wagon quickly. Therefore, creating simple content that perfectly aligns the brand and the trend will be a quick and effective method.

Remember these posts are typically meant to be quick and funny ways to boost engagement and entertain your audience.

All that being said, what was your favourite meme or ad to come out of this Nicki Minaj story?

Tell us in the comments!

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