How brands can overcome the ‘cringe era’
Everyone has a strong desire to jump on the bandwagon, especially brands. No one wants to be the odd one out. We all want to show off our ‘trendy’ knowledge, but sometimes it’s not needed.
What do you think of when we say summer 2024? Some of us will say a lack of sunshine and gloomy weather but there’s something more to it. Summer 2024 was a brat summer (yes, we know you’re sick of it) and the start of the cringe era.
This year, Charli XCX’s album campaign dominated social media. It was all about being yourself, doing whatever you want and embracing the chaotic side of yourself. And it’s fair to say it struck a chord with many.
By July, over 2.6 million Instagram posts were posted with #bratsummer. And after tweeting “Kamala IS brat”, the singer even got the Democratic presidential nominee in on the trend.
But the summer trends didn’t stop there. Once brat summer came to an end, it was all about being demure and mindful.
Originating as a TikTok sound by content creator Jools Lebron, the “very demure, very mindful” sound was a piece of advice on how to act in certain situations. Then, like most things on social media, it took on a life of its own and became a microtrend.
Patrick Ta Beauty, a cosmetic brand founded by makeup artist and influencer Patrick Ta, rushed to partner with Lebron and flew her out to the brand’s New York influencer event.
During the event, Lebron collaborated with Ta on a video modelling his brand’s new foundation, saying, “We don’t do a nasty dry foundation around here…We’re very creamy, very saturated, very dewy, very mindful.”
And he wasn’t the only one that jumped on the microtrend. Other brands also made use of the TikTok sound, which raised one important question for us. Do brands really need to join every trend they see?
Leave cringe alone
Everyone has a strong desire to jump on the bandwagon, especially brands. No one wants to be the odd one out. We all want to show off our ‘trendy’ knowledge, but sometimes it’s not needed.
Remember that your brand needs to be cohesive in the language it uses across all platforms, which includes your website and social media.
A brand jumping on a trend can be cringe. It’s like your strict boss turning up to the fun, colleagues-only party. The vibe just isn’t the same anymore.
We know this isn’t the case all the time, but often in the public’s eyes, once a brand joins in on a trend, that trend is now dead. It’s no longer an inside joke but a marketing tool instead.
However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid the trend altogether. To help your brand avoid becoming cringe, here are four questions to ask yourself before jumping on board:
1. Who is our audience?
If you already know who your audience is, ask yourself is the trend something that would appeal to them and would they understand it?
And if you don’t know much about your audience, this is your chance to find out more. Do research and find out their demographic, what their interests are and what kind of content they consume online.
Knowing your audience is crucial for any kind of marketing, but when it comes to social media trends, it can help you figure out if your audience will appreciate it or if they just won’t get it.
2. What’s our brand tone of voice?
Do you have a playful tone of voice or is it simple and straightforward? Knowing what your tone of voice is can help you shape the way you speak to your audience and interact with them.
If you’re a fresh, young brand, it might be important for you to adopt a similar tone of voice so that you can appeal to a young audience (if that’s who you’re targeting). If you want a more professional, formal tone of voice, it might not make sense to join trends where your brand is using words like ‘slay’ and even ‘cringe’.
Remember that your brand needs to be cohesive in the language it uses across all platforms, which includes your website and social media.
3. Are we being authentic?
It’s always useful to think twice and to properly plan what you put out online. If you’re forcing it and feel like you’re posting content for the sake of it, then maybe it’s not the right content that should be posted on your accounts. Instead, think about what it is that ties in more with your brand, your audience and your interests. Stay true to yourself – your audience will appreciate it.
4. Is it too late to jump on the trend?
Timing is everything, especially on social media. Everything moves so quickly so you need to be quick on the pulse when it comes to jumping on the trends. To do so, you need to make sure your social media team is keeping an eye on what’s going on online and are proactively planning relevant content.
The switch from brat summer to demure and mindful is proof of how quickly trends move along, and why you need to be quick, otherwise you’ll be too late to the party.
And that’s where the experts come in. To keep up, you need a social media expert on your marketing team (if you don’t already have one). They’ll know what’s trending, what’s dying down and what kind of trends are suited to your brand – without them, you’ll find social media overwhelming.
Want to start putting out fun, impactful content and avoid becoming a cringe brand? Get in touch with the Sticky team. We’ll help you out.
