It doesn’t take an Internet genius to know that technology is changing faster than any human can keep up with. Just when you think you have mastered the latest and greatest trend, another one pops up. That social media platform you wined and dined last month is suddenly as archaic as a dinosaur.
You stare at your brilliant marketing plan and realize you are living in a cartoon version of The Flintstones while your peers have inexplicably (and quickly, no less) migrated over to The Jetsons.
And from everything they say, it’s so much better over there. The buttons are fancier, and everything works sooo much faster.
And in that neverending race to be better and faster, it can be easy to throw your hands up in the air and succumb to becoming the marketing equivalent of an old geezer. It’s impossible to stay up-to-date on marketing trends, so why even try? you think.
Here’s why you shouldn’t give up keeping up-to-date on marketing trends.
Marketing trends are constantly changing, it’s true. Take social media, just for one example. Most people have gone through distinctive phases with social media platforms (and you can practically tell someone’s age by which platform they prefer). First, there was MySpace, then Facebook, then Instagram and Snapchat, and all the rest. In the past year, TikTok became a household name, becoming a top contender in the social media royalty game (and doing it more quickly than anyone could have anticipated).
You could argue that TikTok’s massive speed in popularity is partially due to the nature of the platform itself, speaking to a ravenous culture at the perfect moment. And that’s not even taking into account newer social media platforms on the scene, such as Clubhouse. Odds are, by now, you have been asked if you’ve received an invitation.
But what if this huge growth is telling of something even more important: the possibility that technology is changing faster than ever.
You might hear all of this and think, why bother? I can’t possibly do marketing for all of these platforms. And that doesn’t even cover paid ads, print marketing, event marketing, or public relations.
Why even try!?!
Here’s the thing. Knowing the latest marketing trends is not a catch-all situation, or even a one-and-done situation. The same holds true for any sales strategy, not just social media. Unless you are a major corporation with endless marketing budgets and staff, you can’t have your finger in every pie.
So go easy on yourself. The good news is, you don’t have to know everything.
There’s An Easier Way to Know the Marketing Trends that Matter
So if you can’t keep on top of all the online marketing trends (or even offline marketing trends) what can you do?
The best thing to do is to have a birdseye view of the landscape. Join up with other entrepreneurs and business owners that are on the same journey, and listen in on the conversation. You are bound to find out about the trends that really matter to your business or sector. You’ll know which social media platforms you have to be on (or risk severe damage or even death to your business). You’ll get insights on which influencers are a “must” for you to reach out to.
Because here’s the thing. If you don’t keep on the marketing trends that matter most to your success, there is somebody who probably is. And that somebody is…
You guessed it. Your competitor.
They’re probably keeping tabs on where your audience is hanging out, who they are following on YouTube, and their collective binge-watching behaviors on Netflix. They probably heard about whatever latest algorithm changes Google just announced that could kill any hardworking business’ website traffic.
Which brings us to the next point….
Keeping up-to-date on basic marketing trends related to algorithms and rules is a MUST.
It is a common lament we hear as marketers here at SizzleForce.
Facebook Business Manager locked me out!!!!
The truth is, all of these online media giants can get a bit persnickety. Just to name a few ways they like to throw marketers a curveball: they change the rules about who can and can’t have access to your account. They change the way the Google algorithm reads your website, and if you don’t realize it, your website traffic (and your sales) tank. Instagram places new rules on what you can and can’t say in your advertisements.
There are thousands of different ways to break the rules, anger the algorithm, and get your business banned or your Google rankings docked. If this happens, they can take A LOT of time to fix (and often require a fairly hefty budget to hire computer geniuses to sort it all out).
The only way to avoid these situations is to have at least a basic knowledge of how the platforms work, so you can fend off headaches later on. Since you probably don’t do marketing as your day job, you probably don’t want to spend your time pouring the internet for lengthy manuals of what you can and cannot do. That sounds about as fun as reading the encyclopedia.
So is there a better way?
Stay on Top of Important Marketing Trends the Easy (and Fun) Way
The best way to stay on top of the online marketing trends that matter is to link up with those who know. The people who do geek out on this stuff and read all those lengthy articles for FUN.
At SizzleForce, we’re exactly those kind of people. And you’re in luck…
We’d LOVE to connect with you! Our goal is to help small business owners (like you) tackle their marketing with tried-and-true, DIY strategies. With our decades of combined experience, we have a unique understanding of the marketing framework that matters most to any business.
Schedule your free 30-minute consultation with our hard-working team of copywriters and social media experts! We’re here, we’re always on top of the latest marketing trends and we want to help YOU grow your business!
We can’t wait to meet you! Schedule a call, now!