Role of Trends in Social Media Advertising: Riding Wave Without Losing Brand Identity 

To ride the wave or bend the trend? That’s one of the most nagging questions many social media advertisers often grapple with.  

Bending the trend may seem attractive for seasoned advertising agencies that can ingeniously manipulate a market’s direction to their advantage. But while this strategy offers legitimate benefits, such as spotting opportunities ahead of everyone else, it’s always safer to adapt to a momentum than attempt to shift it.  

Riding the wave is particularly critical in social media advertising. It lets you tap into real opportunities rather than take a long shot on the market’s next, unpredictable move.  

In this blog, we delve into the role of trends in social media marketing.  

The post will examine why it’s best to ride the trend and how you can proactively jump into the momentum without losing your brand identity. 

Unpacking Social Media Marketing 

Before we examine the role of trends in social media advertisements, we should begin by demystifying what this concept is all about.  

So, what is social media marketing?  

Social media marketing (SMM) is precisely what it implies – marketing campaigns conducted on various social networks. It’s one of the most popular digital marketing techniques, a fact credited to the astronomical increase in the number of social media users.  

As of early 2026, there were approximately 5.6 billion social media users worldwide. That represents nearly 70% of the global population, which underscores the imperative of undertaking regular social media advertising.  

Facebook remains the most dominant social media platform, with over 3.07 billion monthly active users (MAUs). YouTube comes in second with over 2.5 billion MAUs.  

Perhaps you’ve always wondered, is YouTube social media?  

YouTube is not only the world’s largest online video-sharing platform. It’s also a globally renowned social media website, coming only second to Facebook in popularity.  

Instagram and WhatsApp are also fairly popular, with approximately 2 billion MAUs each.  

TikTok rounds up the list of the top 5 social advertising networks, with over 1.5 billion MAUs. 

Why Advertise On Social Media? 

Social media networks offer a platform for brands to showcase their products and services. Like other advertising channels, SMM can fulfil one or more of the following functions; 

• Increasing brand awareness and visibility 

• Building a brand identity and loyalty 

• Driving website traffic 

• Increasing audience engagement (for instance, through polls and quizzes) 

• Ramping up sales 

• Collecting user feedback 

• Understanding market trends 

To advertise effectively on social media, you must begin with relevant content.  

Platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) generally support blog-style content formats. Meanwhile, YouTube and TikTok are more geared towards audiovisual content.  

Whichever channel you prefer, ensure your messaging resonates with the target demographics. This helps foster audience engagement while seamlessly generating interest in your offerings.  

Social media advertising also relates to community building. Unlike other digital promotion methods, such as search engine optimization (SEO), success in SMM requires continuously fostering a loyal fan base on your various social networks.  

Moreover, social media advertising requires selecting proper key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs let you track your campaign’s success actively so you can implement changes on the go. 

What Are Social Media Trends? 

Trends are the engine that drives social media advertising. They refer to highly popular (but often seasonal) patterns in content creation and audience behavior, which brands can leverage to get ahead of the competition.  

Understanding social media trends is akin to gaining a foothold in the consumer’s mindset.  

When you know your audience’s next move, you can predict the market more accurately and align your offerings more strategically.    

Role of Social Media Advertising Trends for Businesses 

1. Boosting Online Visibility 

Success on social media depends primarily on your online visibility.  

It doesn’t matter how creatively you package your content. Unless it aligns with the current trends, the message will fade out before getting to the intended audience.  

We should also point out that many social networks inherently favor audience-relevant content. Therefore, leveraging trending elements is the first step in boosting your online visibility.  

Whether it’s using hashtags or posting short videos, adopting the raging social media trends enables algorithms to prioritize your content and increase its organic reach. 

2. Improving Engagement 

Trends can elicit a spirited conversation on social media, sparking curiosity among your otherwise passive audience segments.  

For instance, surveys have shown that storytelling has a deeper emotional appeal than regular content. Incorporating this strategy into your social media advertising campaign makes your messaging more relatable.  

In turn, more people would be happy to like, comment, save, or share your content.  

Note that social media algorithms also favour engaging posts. The more people who actively participate in your advertisements, the higher the content will rank on organic search. 

3. Enhancing Brand Relevance 

Trends are not some future opportunities to bet on. Rather, they’re a present force to capitalize on.  

Adopting trending patterns in your social media advertisements portrays your brand as knowledgeable about current market dynamics. It demonstrates a conscious awareness of your audience’s pain points, a critical aspect in winning consumer trust.  

If you’ve been struggling to establish a solid identity on social media unsuccessfully, now’s the time to make the trend your friend.  

Don’t bombard your community with generic and outdated content. Instead, wow them with something they’d be happy to share in their timelines to get the message out there. 

4. Recouping Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) 

Advertising accounts for a significant portion of gross revenues, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, every dollar spent on a social media ad should count.  

Embracing trending narratives is one creative way to increase your return on ad spend.  

As trending content will ramp up engagement, you can leverage these opportunities to improve conversion rates. More clients translate into higher ROAS.  

Besides, advertising to a larger, more homogenous clientele is cost-effective. It notably eliminates the need for repurposing your content to suit smaller, diverse audiences.  

5. Understanding Evolving Consumer Behaviors 

Consumer behaviors are constantly evolving.  

What appealed to your audience a few years ago may currently be deemed outdated, irrelevant, or even unethical. Social advertising trends serve as the pulse of the marketplace.  

By understanding what’s in vogue, you can tailor your offerings and messaging to align with current consumer interests.  

For instance, the recent past has seen a steady shift towards sustainable shopping. How you package your social media ads can determine whether you attract or repulse emerging eco-conscious market segments.  

6. Supporting Product Differentiation 

Trends aren’t your cue to fit in. While you’ll gain more by riding the trend than going against it, you can also tap into these opportunities to identify hidden gaps.  

Carefully research your competitors’ strategies. Then, think of how you can exploit those techniques to take your social advertising campaign to newer heights.  

Assume that everyone else understands shorter videos have a higher appeal than long-form content. To get ahead of the pack, you could leverage artificial intelligence (AI) tools to whip up compelling intros for your social media ads.  

Moreover, merely adopting a trend early can offer a significant edge over the competition. 

Some Noteworthy Trends in Social Media Advertising 

1. Hashtags 

Hashtags may be relatively old. But they’re no less impactful.  

What makes hashtags so appealing is that they cut across all major social networking websites. However, their efficacy depends on the overarching goal.  

TikTok and Instagram hashtags mostly help with content discovery. In contrast, Facebook relies on these tools for categorization.  

Define your objectives before incorporating hashtags into your social media marketing strategy. Besides, use content-relevant hashtags.  

Simply throwing tags around won’t generate meaningful engagement if they’re out of touch with your core messaging. 

2. Paid Advertisements 

Organic traffic no longer cuts it. To achieve higher visibility on social media, you must embrace more creative approaches like paid ads.  

A paid social media advertisement lets you sift out the noise and place your content right before relevant users. If properly implemented, this technique can enhance your brand’s visibility and increase ROAS.  

Start-ups can leverage paid social advertising to raise awareness of their offerings.  

For established brands, this innovative marketing strategy may help build customer loyalty and retarget previous clients. 

3. Video Dominance 

The recent past has seen a massive shift from blog-based to video-based social ads. According to observers, this trend is largely attributable to the emotionally appealing nature of audiovisual content.  

YouTube and TikTok dominate the video content market segment, both accounting for over 4 billion of the 5.6 billion global social media users.  

However, no two video ads are similar. Besides paid social media advertising, recent surveys have shown that most users favor short-form videos and emotional storytelling.  

The same is true for user-generated content (UGC). Brands leverage UGC for authentic endorsements, bypassing traditional recommendation techniques like online reviews. 

4. AI Content Generation 

Generative artificial intelligence is currently one of the most transformative innovations, with its influence spreading through social media content generation. Many digital advertisers have since embraced AI to curate relevant paid social ads.  

Research on AI’s impact on social media marketing suggests that leveraging artificial intelligence may help automate routine content generation tasks, such as production and editing.  

You can also use AI for post scheduling.  

Simply integrate a Gen AI tool into your social media content calendar, choose the time and date you’d want your posts to go live, and let the program handle the rest. 

5. Live Streaming 

The rise in young talents like IShowSpeed is a testament to the impact of social media live streaming.  

Streaming your commercials live increases engagement. It sieves out the filters, enabling your community to interact with your brand in the raw.  

According to estimates, live streams can be up to 10% more impactful than pre-recorded social ads.  

Note that live streams only work with audiovisual content. So, consider this trend while advertising on video-based socials like YouTube and TikTok. 

6. Shifts Towards Authenticity 

Gone are the days when social media advertisements were all show and no substance. To appeal to an increasingly picky consumer, you must embrace an authentic tone.  

Leverage AI-powered video marketing tools to create realistic content.  

Before posting an ad on social media, take your audience’s perspective to assess how your messaging might impact them. This enables you to adjust the tone and delivery where necessary.  

However, the shift towards authentic messaging shouldn’t discredit the significance of catchy visuals. You must still incorporate cozy aesthetics to seize your audience’s interest.   

How to Ride the Trend and Stay Relevant 

To ride social media trends without losing your brand’s identity, you must start by defining what your company stands for.  

Refer to your mission and vision statements often. Use those stated objectives, alongside your core ethical values, to filter out irrelevant trends.  

Next, research niche-relevant keywords to better understand your target audience. While social media trends abound, not all will be suitable for your ideal demographics.  

Ask yourself – will this advertising trend interest my clients?  

Other tips for leveraging social media advertisement trends include; 

1. Keep it natural 

A social media trend should fit seamlessly into your campaign’s objectives. This way, you can keep your engagements natural and generate high-value leads for your brands.  

Use a social media calendar to schedule your advertisements before publishing them.  

Before your adverts go live, modify them iteratively to align with your overarching marketing goals. 

2. Tweak it as needed 

We cannot overstate the dangers of wading into a trend headlong.  

Before you jump in, assess the trend for areas you can tweak to your own advantage.  

These gaps may be seemingly insignificant. But if properly exploited, they can make a difference between waging a successful and a failed campaign.  

Wrap Up 

Trends are critical to social media marketing success. By understanding the general market direction, you can predict consumer behavior more accurately and generate content that effectively addresses their pain points.  

Besides, following established social media advertising trends enables your brand to remain relevant in the fast-paced digital marketing landscape.  

The trick is to avoid chasing trends blindly. Rather, conduct extensive market research and jump in while the momentum is still in top gear.  

Remember that time waits for no man. And neither do social media trends.  

We should also reiterate the significance of riding the waves when they’re strong enough and shipping out before they crash onto the shoreline. In other words, always pay critical attention to key signals of trend reversals and respond appropriately.  

A decline in user engagement, a dip in your brand’s social media rankings, and shrinking margins are surefire indicators that the current trends have lost momentum.  

If you’re struggling to harness social media trends, you can always enlist the services of a professional advertising firm. Choose a company with a proven track record of waging successful social media marketing. Even better, consider someone who specializes in your niche.