As long as there is internet, there will be trending topics or stories that go viral. This provides a unique opportunity for businesses to use these trends wisely. It must be done the right way, however, and this is where it can get a little hard. As a business, you have to make sure that you’re using these trends while making your message meaningful; everything must be done with purpose behind it. Just a while ago we heard the delightful news of Prince George being born into the Royal Family and all across the social media world, #RoyalBaby was trending.

Now, it would have been easy to just throw that hashtag into any post you already had planned. However, your message might not have meshed with the hashtag about the Royal Baby. These are things to think about and there are definitely ways to take a viral concept and run with it, while maintaining your brand and your message.

Coca-Cola and Oreo knew in advance that something to do with the Royal Family would eventually trend come the birth of the young prince. They thought it over and planned well. Coca-Cola expressed a congratulations and tapped into the Royal Baby Fever conversation with a simple, “Time for a royal celebration” message. Oreo simply had a baby bottle filled with milk and an Oreo on a red pillow with the message, “Long live the crème.” Clever messages while still maintaining their own branding ideas.

Granted, Coca-Cola and Oreo had quite a bit of warning (almost 9 months in fact!). The principle is still the same whether you have 9 minutes, 9 hours, or 9 months to create a message. Think about how you can get into the conversation while keeping your branding ideas in place. If the trend doesn’t fit with your message, don’t jump on that particular bandwagon – wait for the next one and enjoy that ride instead.

We at Susan J. Campbell enjoy looking for trends and stories with potential to go viral. If you’re looking for someone to help you maintain your branding ideas while jumping into some fun topics, we would be happy to help.