Social Media Trends #WTF #LOL #OMG

A look back to find the future of social media trends

Where exactly did social media all begin? Maybe older than around 1200 BCE, as far back as Phoenician alphabet , social media is all about conversations. What’s interesting is the primal alphabet spread through Phoenician merchants, and now many of us “merchants” are spreading social media far and wide. The alphabet’s success was due in part to its phonetic nature; Phoenician was the first widely used script in which one sound was represented by one symbol.

Think about your marketing as one sound represented by one symbol.

So, if you think about your social media message and marketing as one sound represented by one symbol you can potentially recreate the success, evolution and the spread of the Phoenician alphabet. Now think about the tools the merchants had during those days. These merchants could reach only those who they directly came in contact with. Think about how ideas spread now. It’s the same concept but multiplied exponentially.

So how are we as a society leverages this incredible ability? Well, a quick look on buzzfeed (which is a pretty cool site) at what’s being shared and you’ll see all the amazing ideas and information we are spreading as a global society.

Top Shared Buzzfeed Articles

25 Amazing Benefits Of Living With Your Best Friends

720,139 Views

23 Things Only Ladies With Big Boobs Will Understand

702,642 Views

21 Awesome Dog Breeds You Never Heard Of And Need To Know About Immediately

662,942 Views

If Modern-Day Harry Potter Had Instagram

477,703 Views

British Rowing Team Strips Down Once Again To Fight Homophobia

465,594 Views
Full List at Buzzfeed

What? So what did we learn?

#WTF #LOL #OMG….I’m sure the first Phoenician merchants who started to share their new found way of communication had no idea what kind of Pandora’s box they were opening for future generations. Now, I’m the first one to admit this content is funny as hell, but…

As marketers, we have two choices. We can feed the ADD social media collective conscious monster that says if we share content about “23 Things Only Ladies With Big Boobs Will Understand”, we’ll get a ton of shares and views, which is perfect if your selling bra’s to ladies with big boobs. Or we can figure out away to use the principals that make this type of article spread so fast in a positive way.

You may not be selling bras to ladies with big boobs, but maybe you just have to substitute “you customers demographic” for “ladies” and “big boobs” for “your cool product” Yes, I said you should think of your product like big boobs.

We have to acknowledge the brilliance of the article. There is no doubt in the minds of the reader who the article is for. However, I’d bet that there were more male’s who clicked on the article then females. It also addresses a topic that many females are extremely proud of. We share things that reflect our own desires to have or be.

So where are social media marketing trends going?

The same way social trends have gone for centuries. Share ideas that speak to the internal conversations your customers are having and think about the primal instincts that kick in, like the feeling of importance, the feeling of belonging, the feeling of receiving value, yes and even big boobs. I’m thinking social media is the same as it was 1000′s of years ago. Now were just using the social networks and over thinking the hell out of it.

Have fun with you marketing, but for the love of everything holy lets think about turning the ADD social media collective conscious monster slightly in a direction where when future generations look back on the “SMA” Social Media History Archive they’ll be proud of ideas and visions we are sharing through our companies and social media marketing campaigns?

How do you feel about what we are consuming and the way content marketing is heading?

Image credits to: Buzzfeed.com and Jenna Marbles (who cracks us up and is the master of the ADD social media collective conscious monster.)

Read more:

• International Social Media Trends And Tools