The Socialize Strategy - Maximizing Trends

Introduction: "Socialize Strategy"
• Podcasting from the Road: A brief reflection on how content creation can happen anywhere, even from a sparsely decorated Airbnb.
• Main Topic: Understanding the balance between using trends and creating original content.
 
Section 1: Understanding Social Media Trends
• Defining Trends: What are social media trends and why should you care?
• Two Types of Trends:

1. Audio-Driven Trends:
Example: Lip-syncing trends or specific sounds gaining popularity.
How the algorithm pushes these to a wider audience.

2. Conceptual Trends:
Example: The Roman Empire trend – how it started and evolved.
These trends are based on ideas, not tied to a specific audio.
 
Section 2: Why Should You Use Trends?
• Reach and Visibility:
o How trends increase your chances of appearing on the For You page.
o The opportunity to get in front of new viewers and grow your audience.
• Connecting the Dots:
o How trends can help lead people back to your business or content.
o Using trends strategically to share what you do and why people should follow you.
 
Section 3: Using Trends with Purpose
• Example from Helen’s Experience:
o Using a trend to showcase her expertise (e.g., predicting viral success and tying it to teaching content creation).
o Important Lesson: Don’t just jump on a trend for fun—make sure it connects back to what you offer.
• The Bridge Between Trend and Value:
o How trends can help highlight your core message without losing authenticity.
 
Section 4: Finding Balance – Trends vs. Original Content
• The Risk of Overusing Trends:
o How too many trends without showing expertise can hurt your credibility.
• Balancing Content:
o Why a mix of trends and original content is necessary.
o Example: Posting tutorials alongside fun, trending videos.
• Staying Consistent with Your Brand:
o How to maintain a connection with your audience while using trends effectively.
 
Section 5: Strategies for Maintaining Content Consistency
• Content Planning:
o Tips for planning content ahead of time to ensure consistency, even during busy or vacation periods.
o Pro Tip: Keep content drafts ready to go, and don’t be afraid to have a backlog.
• Keeping Content Diverse:
o Rotating between tutorial videos, trends, and behind-the-scenes content.
 
Section 6: The Shift to Mighty Networks
• Exciting Announcement: Helen’s move to a new platform – Mighty Networks.
o Focus on community building and better accessibility for content.
o How this change will enhance the experience for content creators.
 
Conclusion:
• Recap: The key to success is finding the right balance between trends and original content.
• Final Thoughts: Focus on making every piece of content intentional and aligned with your brand’s mission.
• Call to Action: Stay tuned for next week’s episode and have a great weekend!
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Episode Transcript

Helen (00:00):
Welcome to the Socialize Strategy. Happy Friday. I'm

(00:03):
podcasting on the go this weekfrom an Airbnb an Airbnb that is
actually sparsely decorated, ifI'm saying. It's it's very nice,
but it doesn't have a lot ofdecor. So this is the best spot
I could find with some lightcoming in the window and this is
just a lesson to you to say thatno matter where you are, you can
always figure out how to makecontent.

(00:24):
Alright. The topic for today isTrends versus original content
ideas, when to use them, why touse them, how to balance, and
the whole ball of wax. I'm goingto start with describing the
types of trends in case youdon't even understand what
trends are, and I'm sure most ofyou that are listening do

(00:45):
understand what trends are. Butfor the new people who have just
rolled in, I just want todescribe the types of trends
that there are. And I will putthem into two buckets, two
different buckets and one beingaudio driven, which is one type
of trend where an audio istrending and that and a lot of
people are using it in the samestyle of content to put

(01:07):
something on the screen, to talkabout whatever it is that is
relatable, and you can go backto Tuesday's newsletter and see
some examples of trends and howpeople use them in different
ways.
But the other type of trend isreally something that is not
attached to any specific audio,but it's something that a lot of
people are doing. For example,the Roman Empire trend, when

(01:29):
there was a situation going onwhere women in particular were
asking their significant otherif how often they think about
the Roman Empire, and thatbecame a thing because
unbeknownst to many of usladies, men think about the
Roman Empire often, apparently.So that was a really funny trend
that was going on, and then itbecame what is the female

(01:50):
version of the Roman Empire?What is it that's on our mind
all the time that we don't evenrealize we think about often? So
that's a conceptual trend.
So we've got audio trends andwe've got conceptual trends. And
the audio trends are usuallydriven by the audio, but then
different people will use thataudio in different ways. And a

(02:12):
lot of times, the trend that isthe visual idea trends along
with the audio. So if someone'slip syncing something, like, I
don't wanna be friends, that'strending right now. And it's, I
don't wanna be friends, and it'slike people screaming why that
they don't wanna be friends andthen putting text on the screen
saying why they don't wanna befriends with someone.

(02:32):
So that's an example of an audiotrend. So it's driven by the
sound, the sound is gettingpushed out by the algorithm
because a lot of people aremaking videos using that sound,
so the algorithm picks that up,becomes aware that that is
something popular and thatstarts to be pushed out in the
algorithm. Okay? So that's anaudio trend, and then the other

(02:53):
one is a conceptual trend. Andnow let me just go back and say
why to use trends in the firstplace.
And it really is for that reasonI just described. When the
algorithm is pushing out atrend, you have more likelihood
to be seen and have your videoget some views. You might land
on the For You page more likely,and then you'll have that

(03:14):
benefit of getting in front ofnew viewers and build your
audience that way. And so I'mgoing to explain how that's
done, but that's the reason touse Trends because the audio is
being favored. And when an audioor a concept is being favored,
more eyeballs will tend to seeit.

(03:35):
So a lot of people will come onto social media and they think
they're gonna just talk abouttheir podcast or they're going
to share about their business ortalk about what kind of coaching
they do. And they're notmaximizing the opportunity on
social media which is driven bytrends. So yes, you can do that

(03:55):
content, you can make youroriginal ideas about your
business, whatever it is youwant to talk about, but
balancing in those trends nowand again gives you an
opportunity to get in front ofmore viewers, get more views,
and potentially get thoseviewers to turn into followers.
But that's the part where youhave to connect the dots and

(04:15):
that's what I want to describenow. In order to connect the
dots and get your viewers onyour Trends to then become
followers of your content, thereneeds to be a motivation for the
follow.
There needs to be a connectionto what you're offering people
on social media, what serve howare you serving your audience?
How are you adding value to yourviewers if they find you? So

(04:39):
that is why it makes so muchsense to connect the trend to
something that you are doing.And I'm going to use my own
examples because that's the bestway to describe something is to
understand by example. Sothere's a trend going on right
now where people are using howdo I even describe this trend?
Where people are saying, they'rekind of going back in time and

(05:02):
then they're predicting thefuture. So for in my case, was
she doesn't know it yet, butshe's going to post a stop
motion tutorial and gain amillion followers on social
media and become known as theTikTok teacher and then da da da
da. So it's like this predictiontrend. And so if I was to just
use the prediction trend and notmention my expertise, I've

(05:27):
wasted that use of the trend. IfI would just have used it, for
example, to simply, talk aboutmy cancer journey.
If I was to say, oh, she doesn'tknow it yet, but she's gonna go
blind, end up with lymphoma, gothrough chemo, lose her hair,
and regain her eyesight, thatwould be a a good use of the
trend to say, oh, then she cameback from cancer, but it

(05:49):
wouldn't tie it into what Ioffer on social media. So there
wouldn't be a way for a personto know that they should follow
me because I haven't used thetrend to tell why I'm here on
social media. Alright? So take apause on that one for a second.
And realize that what I didinstead with the trend, for
example, is I said I posted shedoesn't realize it yet, but she

(06:11):
posts she's gonna post thistutorial.
She's gonna go viral. This she'sgonna gain millions of
followers, get known as theTikTok teacher. And then I went
on to say, and then lose hereyesight, go blind, go through
cancer, da da da, regain hereyesight, beat cancer, and
continue to teach contentcreators how to create content.
So I used it to tie in thatafter all of this, what I've

(06:33):
gone through, I am now teachingothers how to create content. So
in a sense, I am, I don't wannasay selling my business, but I'm
explaining my offer to peoplethrough that trend so that if
someone new happens to see mycontent because that that audio
is trending and then moreeyeballs are going to get on

(06:53):
that on that video, they willmore likely think, oh my
goodness, she teaches sheteaches creators?
Let me go back and see some ofher other videos. You get it? So
that's the bridge. You have touse the Trend and make the
bridge to why the person willthen go and look at the rest of
your videos or some of yourother videos or check the link

(07:13):
in your profile to find out moreabout you. The Trend needs to be
used to get your viewers andturn them into followers.
So the advantage of getting infront of more people, but then
being able to secure them asfollowers. And that's the reason
to use trends. And that's a longway to get there. But it was an
important way to to I think itwas important to understand how

(07:35):
to make that connection andreally understand the difference
between just doing a lip synctrend for the sake of the fun of
it versus using it intentionallyand then having it serve a
purpose on your content, on yourpage, on your for your business.
All of this is so importantbecause it's really how you're

(07:58):
gonna grow.
And if you just think, oh, I'mgonna do some videos that's
gonna be about my coachingbusiness, and then I'm gonna do
some videos that's just gonna beme being having fun lip syncing,
that's fine, except your lipsync video is gonna probably see
more views since it's a trendingaudio, and then people aren't
gonna know what else you do.They're not gonna be able to tie
to connect the dots and thinkthat they should follow you.

(08:21):
Okay? I think that's I'mprobably as clear as I could
explain it. I I try really hardto be crystal clear and and make
the points, but I just wannamake sure you understand how it
all ties together.
That's important. And thenthere's this other part, which
is balancing because if you areonly doing trends and you're
never sharing your expertise,then you're doing yourself a

(08:45):
disservice in the otherdirection. And I will say,
worked with someone recently ina private one on one session who
really understands how to dotrends and they were used doing
trends. They're doing it intheir office. I don't wanna say
what the business is.
But in their office, they weredoing trend after trend after
trend, and the people reallyunderstood how to do the trends.
But they were this person whowas running the business was

(09:06):
never really sharing or speakingabout her expertise and so you
weren't really getting thisperson's an expert in this.
You're not getting that fromjust trends. You can't just use
a trend and tell someone you'rean expert without showing that
you're an expert. So that wouldbe like me just doing trends
about being someone who teachescontent creation, but never

(09:28):
doing any videos where I'mteaching content creation.
You get it? I'm teaching thetutorials so it makes sense when
someone sees a trend and I'mcalling myself the TikTok
teacher or the content expert orwhatever, that they're then
going to be able to go to mypage, then they're going to see
other videos of me sharing myexpertise and then they are
going to trust and potentiallyfollow. That is a long way to

(09:50):
get there, but boy, it'simportant. And it's such an
important thing to understandabout social media because I
think a lot of people don't.They just think we're gonna have
fun.
We're gonna lip sync. We'regonna do trending dances. And I
love to do all that stuff. I do.I pride myself on my trending
dances and my outfit changes.
And occasionally, now that Ihave a large enough following, I

(10:11):
occasionally just do the trendfor fun without having it be a
purpose. But when I was buildingmy account, when I was building
my following, I was making everysingle video somehow intentional
back to what I was doing so thatI could tie the dots together,
could connect the dots and tie,you know, tie the whole thing
together so it would make sense.I'm getting tongue tied speaking

(10:33):
of getting tied. I'm tonguetied. It is a vacation week so
I'm not maybe I'm not on top ofmy game.
But I do, during this vacation,have been thinking about how to
make content and I had alreadyhad tutorials ready to post. So
I had four tutorials ready sothat I could in between my fun
roller coaster videos and mytheme park content because I'm

(10:56):
doing those types of things withmy family this week, I wanted to
have my tutorials to post. SoI'm constantly rotating in.
Tutorial, fun, fun, fun,tutorial, fun, fun, fun
tutorial. And the fun, fun, funis usually a trend and some kind
of vlog or something about whatI'm doing.
But I always am rotating thosetutorials in because when

(11:19):
someone sees me because of atrend, then they might go to my
page. They don't have to scroll20 videos to find out what my
content is about on a regularbasis. So it's connecting,
balancing, and connecting. Soit's connecting your trend
content back to what your pageis about and balancing your page

(11:40):
so that there's enough trendsbut also enough original content
so that you're not too heavy ineither direction. And I find
that type of balance is whatyour sweet spot will be.
And what will happen is on theFor You page, you'll end up
getting the the most popularthing that gets the most views
on your page. So my things thatend up getting more views are

(12:02):
tutorials. So my things inbetween don't get a lot of
views. Occasionally, when I do atrend, it will get a good amount
of views, but my followers havealready followed me for
tutorials. So when posttutorials that usually gets the
most views.
So you'll get to a place whereyou'll see what you need to
serve up more frequently versuswhat you need to do for your own

(12:23):
fun and you'll find your ownbalance. But the whole idea here
is not leaning too hard in oneor the other direction so that
you find a happy medium. I'mlooking at my lighting because I
don't even know what's going onright now. Speaking of content,
this is not the best content interms of visuals. But I'm here

(12:44):
because I like to show up and Ilike to make sure I'm
consistent.
And every Friday, I put thispodcast out, so I am making sure
it happens while I'm onvacation. And see, I'm doing it
in a messy Airbnb room, I'mmaking it happen. So that's a
sign and I am going to beworking on this in the studio
upcoming is how to balance thatcontent, how to get enough, get

(13:05):
ahead of it enough so thatyou're prepared for when things
are busy in your life or let'ssay you do want to go on a
hiatus for like a week or two orthree, some people like to take
four week vacations. I wish Iwas that person. But you can
continue to keep your contentgoing and no one would be the
wiser.
I think the people that knowthat I'm away are watching my

(13:25):
stories. So they are seeing myposts every day on my Instagram
stories because that's where I'msharing my daily my daily, like,
I guess, vlogging, day to day,if you will. But that's the kind
of thing where you can planenough and balance enough and
get ahead enough by getting yourcontent ready and getting it

(13:46):
into your drafts. So don't panicabout having a lot of drafts
because it is it's okay. I havelots of drafts.
We had a discussion about thisin the studio when somebody said
they didn't like to put a lot ofdrafts in the and keep a lot of
drafts. And they I said, manydrafts do you have? She says,
45. I said, oh, I have 1,500. SoI guess she's fine with her 45.

(14:08):
She was laughing. But we do havefun in there. We do have a
really good time in the studio.And speaking of that, I'm going
leave you with this. We areshifting platforms for the
studio.
I'm so excited about it. I willbe moving over to Mighty
Networks, which is where, it's awoman owned platform. The
founder is very, very she's soawesome at community building,

(14:30):
and the platform is way morefocused on being having
communication within it so thatthe members can connect with
each other and there's just moreopportunity for connection in
there. And as well, I like theformat of the way things are
laid out so it's really easy tofind the events, the tutorials,
the things that I'm offering,the mini challenges and all of
the things that I'm providingweek to week are going to be

(14:53):
much easier to access in thatapp because it's designed for
that. I think that I startedwith an app that I thought was
designed for that, but it turnsout that the platform I'm on now
is way more digital productheavy.
They are just trying to providea gateway to digital products
and I am trying to build acommunity of content creators

(15:14):
that can support each other andhelp each other and befriend
each other because together wecan really do amazing things.
I'm gonna leave you with that.Happy Friday. Have a wonderful
weekend, and I'll see you nextweek. Bye.
Thanks for listening.