Why do you try so hard to keep up with the latest trends?

Chasing hot topics is something that operators often do, especially new media operators . From big things like the European Cup, holidays, and national policies to small things like celebrity weddings, movie hits, and hype topics, they use a thousand different methods to chase hot topics and do so relentlessly day after day. But, have you ever thought about why you chase hot topics?

PART1: You can’t chase hot spots just because you want to!

Let me give you a bloody example. Xiaoli works in new media operations at an Internet finance company. Her main job is to maintain the company's Weibo and WeChat accounts. The company's leaders don't pay much attention to fans and followers. New media mainly serves as the company's external voice, and the job is actually not very difficult. Xiaoli just graduated this year. She is a very competitive girl. After taking over the new media, she worked hard to increase the number of users and readership. Therefore, every time there is a hot topic on the Internet, she will follow it and write an original article, make some small illustrations, or record a short video and post it. The content is rich and varied, and the effects are mixed. What she didn't expect was that she was persuaded to leave the company before the probation period was over.

Later I read what she posted and found that it was a bit too much to dissuade her from doing it, but it was actually understandable.

During her three months at the company, she posted too much content on the official WeChat public account, including "universal two-child policy, Warcraft movie, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, railway speed-up, young handsome guys hooking up, college entrance examination, Beijing housing prices, European Cup, 618, Lei Yang, farmers moving to cities to buy houses, Internet conference", etc. All of them were the first posts, and each article was like a commentary or news report, and had nothing to do with the company's products and direction. When I first saw it, I actually thought it was a propaganda column of a portal website.

What she said may be a bit exaggerated, but Xiaoli was really fired. Chasing hot topics in new media operations is a good thing, but you have to be sensible in doing so. You cannot decide what content an official media should publish based on personal preferences. Just like I am a loyal fan of World of Warcraft, but I must not use the official WeChat to promote the World of Warcraft promotional video. Not all hot spots are suitable for you to follow, and not all hot spots must be followed. Before following a hot spot, you must understand the product positioning and target audience, and do useful publicity instead of blindly following the trend.

PART2: Think carefully before doing it, why chase the hot topics?

You need to have a goal when doing everything. Since you want to follow hot topics, you must also know why you want to follow them. Below are the major goals I have summarized for following hot topics. You can refer to them and find your own goals!

For brand exposure and new users

Exposure and dissemination are major issues that new media operations are very concerned about. Only with exposure and dissemination can there be readership, and more people can discover your content, which will then generate attention and new users. Hot content will make your users interested in reading, and then increase users' reading and sharing, allowing the content to be disseminated and the brand to receive more exposure.

When I was doing WeChat operations , every time I followed a hot topic, the most important thing was not how much attention it gained, but the number of views of the content in the Moments. The higher the number of views in the Moments, the greater the exposure of my brand, and the number of new users must be quite a lot.

Therefore, chasing hot topics is just a means, and the ultimate goal is to spread the brand and increase new users.

Improve content quality and maintain old users

Some WeChat and Weibo accounts have built-in fan functions. Because you have many product functions on them, users need to follow your Weibo or WeChat to use them. For other types, you probably have to create content yourself and rely on content to succeed.

The quality of the content is an important criterion for testing whether you are qualified as a new media editor. Hot topics are generally the hottest ones at the moment and the ones that are most easily discussed by everyone. By following the hot topics and making some small changes that are in line with the characteristics of your own products, the effect will naturally be good. At the same time, in the process of chasing hot spots, if the main population of the hot spots also matches your user population, then your users will take a few more glances at the content because the content is more popular, which enhances the relationship with users and maintains user stickiness. Therefore, following hot topics is also a good way to improve content quality and maintain user stickiness.

For performance, for KPI

To be honest, what is the purpose of creating new media and why do we need new users? In the end, don’t we still hope to create value and gain some profits? Therefore, when I am chasing hot topics, I will also consider profits. If I can organize an activity during the hot period, guide users to spread the word, and finally help the company create a little profit, then when the boss looks at you, will he feel warm?

Of course, I won’t give examples of this kind as there are too many of them. You can refer to the official accounts of shopping websites!

PART3: Details to pay attention to when chasing hot spots

Distinguish products and user types, don’t chase all hot spots

This point corresponds to the example above. First of all, we need to be clear about the type of our product and the corresponding population, and choose hot spots that are suitable for this group of people, have some connection with the products we operate, or can play a promotional role after adaptation.

For example, if I am in the recruitment business , most of my user groups are white-collar workers or students. If I follow a current hot topic such as the universal two-child policy, the effect may not be very good. However, if I follow a hot topic such as the college entrance examination, the effect will be very good. Therefore, you must not follow the trend blindly, but follow hot topics selectively.

Don’t criticize hot topics

In the process of chasing hot spots, you can choose to adapt the hot spots, plan activities based on the hot spots, etc. Please remember, try to avoid criticizing the hot spots, because the image you represent is not you, but your company! Therefore, we must be cautious when writing. We are just borrowing the popularity and should avoid commenting, let alone imposing our own subjective views and guiding fans' emotions.

Know your goals

The purpose of chasing hot spots is to achieve better results. Some companies just want to use them for publicity, while others want to use them to hold events and attract new users. Therefore, when you are chasing hot spots, you must first clarify your goals and then do it. Don’t do it blindly without knowing the direction. You can give yourself an expectation. If you fail to meet the expectations, analyze your own problems based on the data . Repeat this process and you will improve quickly.

Finally, no matter what you do, you must first understand why you want to chase hot spots. After all, the effect is the most important.

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