Zig When Others Zag | Why Jumping on Trends Won’t Work

Today we’re talking about zigging when others zag. The reason I say this is I’m seeing more and more people jumping on trends. Now, if you jump on a trend because it’s fun, fine. But if you’re jumping on trends expecting measurable marketing results, you’re going to be disappointed.

Because by the time something becomes a trend, you’re too late.

Everybody just looks and thinks: “Oh, that again”. Like when I was at Uni, everyone started doing the Harlem Shake. Then offices started doing it. Even Manchester City famously did it in their changing room. Literally everyone was doing it.

But at that point, if you start doing it for your accountancy practice in Shrewsbury, it’s probably not gonna land. OK, some people might find it funny. They see that you don’t take yourselves too seriously.

“My books are late, stop shaking around”

But most people would be like: “Just do my books, stop shaking around. I haven’t had my management accounts, but you’re dressed as a dragon, twerking on a table.”

Trend fatigue is real. By the time the hundredth person’s done it, it’s not cool anymore.

There was a girl during lockdown who learned to skip and got really, really good at it. Then skipping became a trend, and everyone started doing it. But she stuck with it, and now she has millions of followers and she’s sponsored by Adidas.

But she was first. If you then went: “Well, I’m going to be the pogo stick person,” it’s too late; the skipping girl got there first.

What makes the skipping girl – and a lot of and entrepreneurs and even athletes – so successful, is that she’s passionate enough to stick at it. And you have to be a special kind of person to do the same thing over and over again without getting bored.

“Make up your own trend”

You have to find your own thing. Make up your own trend. And that’s really hard to do.

People see others online being silly and getting paid, and they assume it must be easy. But what they don’t realize is that the Logan Pauls of the world are doing so much work to get that one video to land.

I keep getting served these videos where someone flicks a playing card across a room, and it lands perfectly between two CDs, which then knocks a golf ball into a hole. They’ve taken 67,000 attempts to get that shot, but you only see the successful one.

Another big trend which hit after COVID was webinars.

Everyone thought they could do a webinar, and some people really can; we’ve got clients who absolutely smash it. But some people are terrible at webinars and should never go near them.

“Focus on timeless strategies”

The point is, don’t automatically jump on a trend just because everyone else is doing it. Stay focussed on timeless strategies based on proven tactics that have already been shown to work.

Things like direct mail campaigns with a follow-up call, running ads-to-a-lead-magnet, running a lead-magnet-to-nurture sequence, or direct-to-purchase.

If you’ve got a good e-commerce store, why over-complicate it? Just run direct-to-purchase ads. Or have a stand at an event.

Weirdly, we had tint fitters in the office today, and one of them told me about his dad’s business. His dad fits tint film on camper van windows, but most camper van windows are plastic, not glass, so normal tint film doesn’t work.

He’s one of the only people in the UK who distributes a special material that works on plastic windows, and he asked if we could help with ads.

“It’s just vanity metrics”

I told him the first thing he should do is go to some camper van shows. He didn’t get it at first. But I explained that it would cost far less to have a stall at a show, demonstrate the product, and see if there’s demand.

Once he proves there’s demand, then he should do ads. Sometimes, you have to reframe your success metrics for marketing.

If you get loads of views, great. But if you can’t turn views into sales, it’s just vanity metrics. Vanity metrics do have a place – sometimes you just want the brand to be seen. But if your turnover is dropping, your marketing isn’t working.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 10,000 followers if those people are never going to buy from you. It’s better to be popular with a few people who actually care than to be liked by loads of people who will never buy anything.

“You’re mental, why are you posting that?”

If you have a personal brand and you’re jumping on trends that don’t align with your values, you’ll struggle to build trust.

There’s someone who comes to mind – a tradesman, very respected, has good reviews, well-established. Not a client of ours, but his brand is really clean and polished.

Then he added me on Facebook, and his Facebook is a horror show.

It was full of extreme political opinions. Even if I agreed with him, I’d think: “You’re absolutely mental. Why are you posting this? Who is this content for?” It actually started making me uncomfortable.

“It’s a fine line…”

Anyway, in business, you need to understand your audience.

Know your tribe and who you’re speaking to. Because if you really knew your tribe, maybe you wouldn’t need to chase trends. You’ll already know what your audience wants, not what’s currently going viral.

Yes, trends like Harlem Shake appeal to the masses, but that’s not what you’re supposed to be doing in business. These aren’t the kinds of trends that build a business.

And on the flip side, don’t just be a contrarian or a troublemaker just to attract attention. It’s a fine line.

Don’t miss the next episode of Stay Hungry – we’ll dive into straight-talking insights on business marketing, growth mindset, and the realities of running a business. And if you want to take the hassle out of your marketing, we’ve got you covered with our done-for-you service.