On the internet, you can be many things. You can be offensive, provocative, beloved, controversial, and much more. But as a brand, perhaps the worst thing you can be is cringe. Due to general public distrust or suspicion around corporations, their behavior online, especially when it comes to trends and pop culture discussions, is heavily scrutinized.
On the one hand, hopping on the crypto trend could be a great way to connect with your audience and signal cultural relevance. On the other hand, it can be one of the easiest ways to be deemed as cringe by your audience. A lot of content has been put out in the past regarding brands and their online cringiness, but in this article, we’ll explain how exactly to embrace trends without falling into the trap.
What Makes Cringe?
Generally speaking, cringing is the physical or mental response to another person or even ourselves engaging in behavior that is socially awkward or uncomfortable. The most classic example is thinking back to things you did or said in your youth and being embarrassed retrospectively.
In this context, however, cringe refers to a corporate entity engaging in behavior that is supposed to make it endearing or appealing, but instead makes it seem out of touch or misguided.
From the 2010s, brands have tried to curate online identities, whether by creating a specific social media-based voice or embracing trends. On the one hand, embracing trends is not necessarily a negative thing. At any given point in time, they are trending memes, sounds, content formats, and pop cultural references that consumers are engaging with. A brand looking to seem relevant can do so easily by embracing these trends.
On the other hand, a crypto trend has to be approached with some level of care. Because consumers are hypervigilant and always on the lookout for signs of inauthenticity, you can actually alienate them by embracing trends without proper consideration. It’s actually a running joke on the internet now that when a corporation begins referencing a trend, it’s the sign that it has outlived its welcome.
How to Embrace A Crypto Trend Without Being Cringe
So, how do you make use of crypto trends and endear yourself to an audience without embarrassing your brand? Here are a few things to consider:
Proper Timing
When it comes to crypto trends, timing is almost as important as the content itself. It’s been generally accepted that most memes and other trends have a certain life cycle in the internet’s marketplace. There are early adopters who push the meme into public consciousness and make it interesting. Then, the general public begins to reference it and use it.
Towards the end, corporations and consumers will continue to use it, but with diminishing returns. Think of how the 6-7 trend was very popular last year, but is now considered a relic of the past. Any brand trying to make a 6-7 joke at this point in time will come off as behind the times and cringe.
To avoid this fate, you’ll have to embrace a crypto trend at just the right time. Ideally, you want to do so right as it is leaving the early adopters stage and becoming more mainstream. Being one of the first brands to hop on it puts you ahead of the competition and makes you seem pop-culturally relevant. Once most of your competitors have already embraced the trend and engagement is declining, it might be better to sit it out and avoid looking stale.
Proper Context
Always remember that a crypto trend is essentially like a joke or a social reference. It’s better not to say it at all than to say it in a way that reveals a lack of understanding. Many corporate entities have been mocked for using trends and memes in the incorrect format. In the same way an older person might not understand current lingo and misuse it, a brand can significantly age itself by making this mistake.
So, as a crypto trend is taking off, make sure you understand what the inside joke is and apply it correctly to your own marketing efforts. There are resources online like Urban Dictionary, subreddits, and even AI tools that will break down the joke and explain the proper context. Once you have this, it’s probably safe to go ahead and apply it. If your marketing teams still don’t understand the context, it might be safer to skip out on it.
Don’t Overdo It
As a rule, a crypto trend can only be referenced a finite number of times before the emotional impact is diminished and customers begin to feel bored. The quickest way to kill any meme or trend is to overdo it, and you have to apply this within your marketing.
Say there is a trending format being used for crypto-related memes. You might deploy it in a single ad campaign or a handful of social media posts. But after this, it’s best not to reference it again for a long time, if at all.
While some trend formats are evergreen, you should not be known to always use the same format for crypto trends. This is a quick way to make your project look desperate for attention, and cringe. So, embrace the trend when it is culturally relevant, but also know when to put it to sleep.
Know Your Audience
As we’ve said, a crypto trend is essentially like a joke, and if there’s one thing we know about jokes is that no single joke lands well with every audience. Before you infuse a crypto trend into your social media activities or marketing efforts, take a moment to consider your audience.
For example, the 6-7 or very demure trend was a largely youth-driven effort a few years ago. However, many adults did not take to it or simply didn’t understand it. If your target market as a crypto business is professionals in their 50s saving for retirement, a 6-7 me will not likely endear you to them.
As we’ve noted in a previous blog post, it’s best to analyse your current and intended audience to determine their age, gender, location, and more. Once you know this, you’ll know what crypto trends to embrace to appeal to them. What will appeal to a 22-year-old college kid is not what a 40-year-old working professional will want, and this will save you from hopping on irrelevant trends or using them in an ineffective way.
Conclusion
A crypto trend can do a lot of heavy lifting for your business in real time. It can endear you to an audience, drive sales, and help create social capital. At the same time, hopping on your crypto trend without thought can make you come off as cringey, which is perhaps one of the worst things to happen to a business on the internet.
Luckily, with the tips noted in this article, you should be well on your way to dominating your internet space. Reach out to us here at Proleo for your crypto marketing needs, and we will craft something effective and culturally relevant, no cringe included.
