How to Stay Up to Date With the Latest Social Media Trends?

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Life as a social media marketer is tricky, with the fast-paced nature of the job and the pressure of deadlines. That said, it’s important to keep yourself abreast of the latest trends going on social media, news, and tools that make your job easier.

With new platforms emerging every day, it can be hard to strike a proper balance. So, how do you stay updated with the latest social media trends? Is there something you can do about it?

In this post, we’ll cover the top 10 ways you can keep yourself updated about everything new on social media.

10 Tips to Stay Updated With the Latest Social Media Trends

1. Take control of your time

Spend 10 minutes each day browsing through your social media handle as it will give you a sense of the latest social media trends. You can create a folder in your browser and bookmark the sites that interest you. Each day, you can open your bookmarks and start reading your articles.  It’s a bit old-fashioned but can be very effective when done right.

2. Follow popular social media websites

To reach your digital marketing goals, you can use a variety of social media formats and platforms. The brands looking for an audience will have to choose from an ever-expanding list of platforms for social media communication.

Hence, it’s important to keep yourself aware of their policies, updates, and new developments. You can follow their official social media handles to keep yourself updated about new announcements, features, etc.

Some popular social media websites to follow include – TechCrunch, Social Chefs, Content Marketing Institute, Social Media Examiner, etc.

3. Sign up for social media newsletters 

To stay on top of all the news, best practices, and future trends while building your social media profile can be challenging. Following blogs and newsletters that deliver the latest social media insights straight into your mailbox are among the best ways to stay ahead in the social media game.

The likes of Social Media Today, GeekOut, and the Buffer newsletter are great for knowing about the current social media trends.

4. Use news aggregators

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People try several ways to keep up with the new social media trends. They visit certain websites every day or search the web. Using a news aggregator makes it easier to stay up-to-date with the latest industry news.

It automatically serves the latest content on your device using RSS feeds and push notifications. You can use tools like Feedly, Techmeme, and Flipboard to do so.

5. Set up your Google Alerts

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If you want to monitor a specific keyword, platform, or feature, you can set up Google alerts to receive news directly in your inbox instead of visiting websites manually.

Setting up a Google Alert is super easy – requiring you just to sign in, enter a search term, choose a frequency, and how you want the content to be delivered. 

6. Keep an eye on competitors

Brands can use social media platforms to further their business goals and build customer relationships. They can also use them to keep track of their competitors. 

Make sure you make time each week to review what your competitors are posting. Take inspiration from emerging trends in your industry and use them to build your brand.

7. Tune in to podcasts

Listening to podcasts is one of the best ways to gather information about recent social media trends. Various podcasts are available on almost every audio platform and is packed with valuable insights. 

Seth Godin, Neil Patel, and Gary Vaynerchuk have some great podcasts covering a variety of new social media trends and other information. You can either listen to them online or download them on your device.

8. Solicit customer feedback

Surveys and customer interaction on social media pages can bring you closer to understanding your audience, their needs, interests, and how your team can serve them better.

Customer feedback and interviews can help determine what kind of content resonates the most with your audience. 

9. Join groups on LinkedIn and Facebook

You need to find communities where you can consistently provide value, spend quality time with your target demographic and engage in a value-driven conversation.

If you’re serious about knowing more about the latest social media trends, join a Facebook or LinkedIn group to maximize your knowledge and surround yourself with like-minded people.

10. Participate in events

Thousands of events and conferences are held every year for business owners, marketing specialists, and social media lovers worldwide. If you wish to stay on top of things, you must attend one at least once every six months. 

Business conferences are usually centered on current and future trends, so you’re certain not to miss anything.

11. Setting up an IFTTT

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By setting up connections with other apps and services you already use for content sharing and discovery, IFTTT (“If this, then that”) is a nifty tool that lets you discover and share content.

You can save time by setting up IFTTT by creating an automated reminder, or ‘Recipe’ as they call it, to serve up information on the recent social media trends, news, and updates, based on your content preferences.

12. Make a list of top thought leaders in the industry

Making a list of the top voices in social media can also help you stay updated about the latest trends going on social media. It would be a good idea to follow them on the platform they have major successes on.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced digital marketing landscape, you need to stay up-to-date with the latest social media trends to excel at your job and compete with your rivals.

With the tips mentioned above, you can keep yourself updated, learning everything you need to stay ahead of the curve and provide consistent value.

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