By now, we’ve all probably seen the viral video of the cheating couple caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert. If you’re not familiar (or you’re reading from the future and have already forgotten) you can get the full rundown here.
Businesses and brands didn’t wait long to turn the incident into a trend, and as is the case with viral moments, there’s a good mix of cringey, average, and genuinely funny pieces of content capitalizing on the joke. Here are just a few:
Ryanair is famous for their sarcastic tone and frequent trolling of customers, as shown by this Tweet.
Ikea chose a more family-friendly approach they labeled as ‘HR Approved’.
The Savannah Bananas are known for capitalizing on viral moments and dance trends
Seeing this trend utilized so widely (and with a varied amount of responses) got us thinking: how do you know when to jump on a viral moment as a small business?
How to decide if a trend is right for you
- Is it relevant to where your audience is online? A trend might be viral on one platform, but if your customers are primarily on a completely different platform, it won't resonate. (A TikTok dance trend won't work if your B2B audience is primarily on LinkedIn, for example.)
- Does the trend genuinely fit your brand's personality, values, and voice? Forcing participation comes across as inauthentic and could potentially damage your credibility. Your audience can usually tell when brands are trying too hard.
- Do you understand the potential downside? Some trends involve controversial topics, inappropriate content, or could be misinterpreted. Ask yourself how the trend might age and whether it could create negative associations with your brand later (and if that’s still worth the potential social reach).
- Can you draw a straight line between what you offer as a brand and the trend? If you can’t make the connection between what you offer and what’s trending, there’s no point in hopping on the trend. We like what local ice cream shop Deja Moo did here to connect their brand with the viral moment.
How to execute the trend successfully
- You need to understand that trends are for engagement and reach, not sales. Trying to monetize a joke can feel disingenuous to an audience, so make sure to keep the focus on connecting the trend to what your business offers.
- You need to understand the trend to replicate it. We’ve all seen a business or brand try and jump on a trend without fully understanding what the trend actually is. Do a quick Google search, check out examples from more than one brand, or ask someone more trend-savvy for an explanation.
- You need to move quickly. Even 24 hours can be too late — your replication of the trend could easily be lost in a wave of similar content getting pushed out by accounts all looking to capitalize on the exact same thing. Trends also come and go quickly, so making sure you’re jumping on the bandwagon before it peaks is crucial to performance.
- Not every trend is for every small business. You don’t have to jump on every viral moment to be successful on social media. In fact, sometimes it’s best to avoid trends that don’t align with who you are as a brand. Family-friendly businesses, for example, might do best to lean away from the current kiss cam moment.
Whatever the next viral trend brings, you're now ready to ask the questions that matter for your small business. (But maybe avoid any that involve kiss cams in the future!)
Want more relevant advice like this in your inbox weekly? Sign up for our email newsletter here.
