By Lauren Trujillo | June 7, 2022

We all know the drill by now – where pop culture goes, social media trends follow in a BIG way. (And if you don’t know the drill, listen up! This could be important for your biz!) Even the smallest moments in pop culture can become surprisingly relevant, and even viral, on social media platforms overnight.

Thanks to the internet (and the rising star of the pandemic era, Tiktok), companies and brands of all sizes are joining in on current pop culture trends and harnessing their marketing power too! Anything from a movie, TV show, meme, award show slip-up *cough cough Will Smith cough cough*, etc. can quickly become a pop culture phenomenon! While referencing these moments in traditional media and advertising can still make a small impact, they are best used online.

But why, you ask? Let’s break it down!

Brand Loyalty

Referencing pop culture is one of the best ways for a brand to feel more relatable to their end customer. Pop culture moments only become so because there is a shared experience around them. By being part of these experiences, brands show their customers they are relatable, which helps cultivate brand loyalty.

Remember, your customers are people with personal tastes and preferences, so relating to them through a shared pop culture moment is a great way to reflect their personality within your brand! 

Humanizing Your Brand

In this digital age, we as consumers are no longer content with a simple, transactional relationship with brands. We’re all looking for something more purposeful! #DidYouKnow that, according to Sprout Social, over 64% of customers in 2022 expect to connect with brands through their social platforms? 

With both of these expectations in mind, brands need to step it up online and show the more human side of their business. Gone are the days of using social channels solely to sell products! Showing that you’re attuned to pop culture references is a great way to humanize your online presence.

Understanding Your Customers 

The next step is determining who your target audience is! If your target audience is 40-50 year old females, you likely won’t receive the growth you're looking for if the trends you’re referencing are only relevant to males between the ages of 15 and 18. 

Gathering data about your target audience's topics of interest, preferences, and general lifestyles is key to understanding what to market and what they’ll appreciate. 

Where to Begin?

If this all sounds new or intimidating to you as a business owner, the good news is that there is no shortage of material to choose from within pop culture’s current scope – the pop culture world is your oyster! Here are three easy ways to join in on the hype:

1. Quite literally, join in on the hype.

Keep your ears open to the movies, memes, TV shows, celebrity couples, etc., that you start hearing about often. Check to see which topics are trending on Twitter for a great place to start!

2. Hashtag Holidays

Sure, holidays like Christmas and Halloween are perfect for more significant marketing campaigns, but don’t ignore  hashtag holidays! These smaller holidays present fun marketing opportunities and ways to join in on what people are talking about. If you type in “National ______ Day” for *almost* anything, there will likely be a day for it. 

Think of this as an opportunity to participate in conversations your audience might be having, even if the holiday doesn’t necessarily relate to your brand specifically. Get creative!

3. Staying Informed on Trends 

To be successful in adding pop culture into your marketing, you must balance what’s relevant to your brand and vision and what’s currently trending. 

Using a reference that’s no longer trending on the internet may not have the same impact, if at all, versus references that are ALL the hype this week! This means being prepared and staying quick on your feet is a must! Many pop culture phenomena happen overnight, and could quite literally be irrelevant within the next few days.

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Try these tactics out and let us know how your audience engages with trending pop culture content — it could be your brand's big break. Trust us — all the cool kids are doing it!