From the course: Social Media Marketing Trends

The value of micro vs. macro social media trends

From the course: Social Media Marketing Trends

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The value of micro vs. macro social media trends

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(upbeat music) - Trends worth following, drive meaningful change. The impact of a social media trend varies significantly, depending on whether it's a micro or macro trend. It's important to understand the differences between both types, as you'll be better prepared to apply them to your marketing in a strategic way. For starters, micro trends in social media marketing are specific patterns of activity, or the adoption of new features and tactics popularized on a particular social network. They often have a shorter life span and a reduced level of impact, given these trends only affect users and businesses active on a singular social platform. For example, using creative face filters and lenses began as a micro trend on Snapchat, as it was a unique, enjoyable and easy-to-use feature that consumers quickly embraced. It presented an opportunity for businesses to join in and create sponsored versions of face filters and lenses to earn some of the attention that this trend was garnering on the platform. Paying attention to the micro trends on a given channel can help your team adapt its strategy on that network to continue to reach your customers and achieve your marketing goals. These trends often remain specific to a certain channel, which means you'll likely need to be active on that social network already in order to embrace a particular trend. And this is why micro trends tend to be more narrow in their reach, as they're not as universally applicable. On the other hand, macro trends in social media marketing have broad appeal, as these are emerging, widespread shifts in behavior, and the adoption of new social media approaches. Macro trends are changes occurring across social media holistically, and aren't limited to one social network, so they impact consumers and businesses on numerous social channels at once. For instance, the adoption of audio experiences on social media is a prime example of a macro trend, as it's been embraced on Clubhouse, Discord, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Because a macro trend is universally applicable across different social networks and use cases, it'll be easier for your organization to figure out the best way of thoughtfully embracing it. The downside of macro trends is that their popularity and ease of adoption leads to a large influx of businesses competing to drive results from following these trends. As a result, certain trends are more difficult to gain visibility from, or they fall out of favor more quickly amongst consumers because they're oversaturated with activity from brands. The best case scenario is to pay attention to both micro and macro trends and make thoughtful decisions on which are relevant for your brand and will have a noticeable impact. Embracing a mix of micro and macro social media trends can help you make important changes to your marketing that better positions you as an adaptable brand with longevity.

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