I continue to pontificate on this mini edition-arc, where we’re focusing on some of the key themes that consolidated themselves this year, and will reign in 2022. (AKA – a very fancy way of saying ‘trends’ without saying trends. Because trends are not cool 🙄)
This stuff that came up over and over again, in our weekly marketing news editorial – The Thirst List on Thursdays. We’ve looked at the headlines each week, and invited someone in the business world to discuss their thoughts on the subjects with us, all year.
It’s been incredibly fun.
But also, eye-opening.
Today we draw your attention to 2 phenomena that are noteworthy.
In 2021, a number of things really became big.
They became a phenomenon or a movement.
Know this: people talk about movements, and how inciting a movement is one of the most definitive ways in which to build an audience.
Yes, it is.
However, inciting a movement is NOT EASY.
With that in mind, here’s more on a couple of movements worthy of mention, to inspire you as you head into a whole new year of marketing ahead of you.
Free Britney
The Free Britney movement was created by Britney Spears’ fans.
It is a hashtag.
#freebritney
It started to spread with it knowledge for people on what a conservatorship even was! Britney was under the conservatorship of her father when the movement began. It gathered so much audience that Britney actually won her case, and she’s no longer under his forcible control now.
The story is compelling.
And if you needed a further proofpoint for the power of a hashtag… you know… there’s one.
And then there’s TikTok
This is the phenomenon that will rule amongst the masses in 2022. Though it’s not new, it’s really ruled the pandemic. In 2021, it started to go mainstream.
Businesses started to find it.
Not for profit organizations started to find it.
Hands up if anyone remembers the trends that dominated 🙋♀️
- Feta Pasta – Grocery stores ran out of the ingredients to make this pasta recipe because it was such a big viral trend. The secret was its simplicity.
- True Crime became a really big deal with people listening to more of that and applying it to real life active incidents.
How does this break down to B2B?
I have a couple of key things that you want to note.
- Do not dismiss TikTok because you ‘don’t dance’
‘Ack! I don’t want to dance in front of a camera, Susan!!! Don’t make me do that.’ You don’t have to. You want to think beyond dancing on TikTok. The polar opposite of dancing is what you’re seeing more small businesses do – text and slideshows. That’s kinda drivel too, I’m sorry! The sweet spot I believe is putting together a slightly more entertaining version of any of the current videos that you make. Think about behind the scenes, for example. And, keep reading!
2. Cue into the music. We can all do THAT!
We can all get behind good music. It’s kinda a universal truth. One we talk about a lot for brands when employing an entertainment quotient in your content. Most TikTok trends (and reels as well if you want to go the Instagram direction) tend to rely heavily on some type of trending music.
So think about what your genre is, and pick a space for yourself. Then find those pieces of music and figure out a way to get videos together.
Or, you know…. Just hire creators 😂
