Imagine this: you’re scrolling through your social media feed, and everywhere you look, there’s always something trendy.

Influencers are quickly jumping on. You start to feel that anxiety, the fear of missing out.

It feels like a race, doesn’t it?

A race to stay relevant, to capture fleeting attention. But what if I told you that this relentless chase might be undermining your brand’s true potential?

The Trend Chasing Trap

Let’s dig deeper into this. Trends are alluring because they promise quick engagement and visibility.

It’s natural to want to hop on the bandwagon when you see others getting likes, shares, and comments.

But this race to chase trends can have a significant downside.

By constantly shifting your focus to the latest trend, you risk losing sight of your core message and identity.

You become reactive, always scrambling to keep up rather than setting your own pace and direction.

The Hidden Cost of Trends

When you focus solely on chasing trends, you risk diluting your brand’s identity.

Instead of building a loyal community around your brand and unique voice, you become dependent on the ever-changing whims of the internet.

Your content becomes reactive rather than proactive, and your audience might struggle to see the real you among  the noise.

Let’s break this down further. Think about the amount of effort you put into jumping on every trend.

The planning, the recording, the editing… and the constant need to stay updated—it’s exhausting. And for what? A temporary spike in engagement? Trends are fleeting.

They might give you a momentary boost, but they rarely contribute to long-term growth and loyalty.

Influencers who, despite racking up millions of views, found that they couldn’t stay relevant. The time invested in chasing trends paid off as long as they kept investing their time in chasing trends, creating a vicious circle.

Eventually, they realized the value of staying true to their story and values.

Now, it’s easier for them to stay relevant because they focused on authenticity rather than the ephemeral hunt for views. It’s slow growth, for sure, but it’s solid. 

This also strengthened their connection with their audience.

Remember to build your content about what matters. If you build based on trends, your followers will be there for the trends, not for you. Unless you are the one who sets the trend.

When you shift your strategy to focus on your personal story and values, things will change.

Your content will become more consistent and authentic, and your audience will begin to connect with you on a deeper level.

As a result, your revenue will increase, and your brand will become stronger.

Plan and Simplicity

Think about the brands you truly admire.

Chances are, they don’t chase every trend.

Instead, they have a clear, consistent message and strategy that resonates deeply with their audience.

They leverage trends, sure, but they don’t let trends define them.

Here’s a strategy that has worked for years: Plan and Simplicity.

Focus on your core message, your unique value proposition.

Create content that reflects your brand’s values and speaks to your audience’s needs and desires. The uses and gratifications of your audience. 

Use trends to enhance your message, not overshadow it.

For instance, if a new trend aligns with your brand’s mission, jump on it in a way that reinforces your message.

But don’t feel pressured to participate in every viral moment. 

Consistency and authenticity build trust and loyalty—two things that are far more valuable than fleeting attention.

Strategic Use of Trends

Now, let’s address the strategic use of trends.

Trends can be powerful if used wisely as part of a broader strategy.

The key is not to let trends define you but to use them to amplify your existing message.

This means selectively participating in trends that align with your brand’s values and message, rather than trying to keep up with every fleeting fad.

Using trends strategically can help you get people to hear about your brand.

However, it’s important to acknowledge that this approach is time-consuming.

Creating trend-based content yourself requires and consumes significant resources.

In some cases, it can be more resource-intensive than traditional paid ads, which can often provide better exposure with less effort and expense.

Reducing Noise

This brings us to an essential principle of communication theory: reducing noise.

In communication, noise refers to anything that disrupts or distorts the message you’re trying to convey.

By chasing every trend, you’re adding to the noise and making it harder for your brand’s true message to come through.

Instead, focus on clarity and consistency.

By reducing the noise, you ensure that your brand’s message cuts through and becomes a symbol in the minds of your audience.

Following trends means you’re just adding more noise.

Trendy content is often consumed quickly and forgotten just as fast. People are not intellectually invested in it; they move on to the next trend without a second thought. 

Do you remember the last brand that has jumped on to a trend lately? Chances are, you don’t.

And if you do, it’s because the brand was the trend.

Marketing creatives know this:  People have limited resources in their brain to remember things and they rather remember the trend itself than the brand.

Your brand becomes irrelevant. 

Your content gets lost in the noise. 

Let’s delve into the communication model a bit more. Noise can come in many forms—background noise, distractions, or anything that causes your audience to lose focus on your message.

By consistently jumping on trends, you’re essentially becoming the noise.

The trend is the message, and just as noise canceling headphones works, your audience’s brain will cancel your message.

Your audience might see you, but they won’t hear you.

To truly connect, you need to become the main message.

Be authentic and leverage them

As a brand content creator, you have the power to shape your brand’s narrative.

Don’t let the tyranny of trends dictate your strategy.

Use them wisely, but always stay true to your brand.

Your audience will appreciate the authenticity and clarity, and you’ll build a stronger, more loyal community in the long run.

Remember, it’s about balance. Leveraging trends can give you a boost, but a well-planned, consistent strategy rooted in your brand’s core values will be more sustainable for you.

Content creation is not a marketplace, It’s not about being the loudest in the room; it’s about being the most genuine, it’s about delivering value.

In essence

If you’re ready to break free from the tyranny of trend hunting and build a brand that stands the test of time, hit that subscribe button.

Join us on this journey to creating valuable content.

Share your thoughts in the comments below—what trends have you found useful, and where do you draw the line? Let’s build something incredible together.

Thanks for watching. I’m Carlos Yasik, Bye bye.