Social media challenges and new trends pop up all the time. It can be overwhelming to keep up and know what will work best for your business, that’s authentic to you. I would argue when it comes to marketing that authenticity is one of the most important elements. After all, people buy from people and nothing is more cringe-worthy than watching someone fake it. So, how do you stay open-minded to trying new things while being authentic?
🤔 Ask yourself why should you do the social media challenge?
When you’re feeling compelled to keep up with all the trends, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Are you participating in the ‘how it started, how it’s going’ social media challenge because it brings you joy and you think your customers will enjoy it? Or are you doing it because you feel like you have to? If it’s the latter, I suggest you ditch it. You’re busy enough. Move on and participate in the next trend.
💕 Put your own spin on it.
If you’re on the fence about following a trend, consider putting your own spin on it to make it more authentic to you. This is a great way to participate but also show your creativity. Your customers will love it. Below is an example of how we put a spin on the Dolly Parton Challenge that was popular at the beginning of the year. Instead of using Crystal in the pictures, we used her dogs. This added a funny, playful element to the challenge. Being playful is authentic to our brand.
👍 Remember your mission and values.
Your marketing—whether it’s email, social, or signage—should always represent your mission and values. Take a cue from Jerry Maguire and remember to check in with this. Things move fast. So take a step back and think of why you’re in business in the first place. Looking over your mission or values is a great place to start when creating authentic content. Can you create a quick video that talks about how you’re different from the competition? Can you share a heartfelt message about why you started your business? This is extremely authentic content that people LOVE.
Bonus Tip:
Keep in mind, I’m still encouraging you to try new things like social media challenges, and to push yourself. Step outside your comfort zone but only if you can do so authentically. Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!
And, if you need holiday post ideas, get our free Head-To-Mistletoe Marketing Resource to help your store with easy-to-use posting strategies that will stand out in the Feed and drive in more customers this holiday season.
Thank you! Needed to hear this, take that step back, and forget what others are doing that just isn’t my business and me. Stress lifted!
You’re welcome, Linda! 😁 You do a lot already. Keep up the good work.
Thanks this was helpful. I guess my head is under the sand (or under too much product at this moment) because I am not often aware of any of the “challenges” out there. Am I missing something?
I’m happy it was helpful, Ginny! You’re not necessarily missing anything. I used the word “challenge” to generalize viral trends. For example, in February people were sharing pictures as I have in the example I have above and it was called the “Dolly Parton Challenge”.