Like them or not, tendencies are an integral a part of social media’s make-up. However for manufacturers, their efficacy will be hit or miss.
In line with The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, social customers are break up: 40% assume it’s cool for manufacturers to leap on tendencies, whereas 33% assume it’s embarrassing. One other 27% say it’s solely efficient if a model reacts inside 24–48 hours.
With that mentioned, manufacturers should be fluent in on-line tradition—and understanding tendencies is a core a part of it. Per The 2026 Social Media Content material Technique Report, 70% of social customers imagine manufacturers already do job of maintaining with tendencies and cultural moments. Alternatively, 43% say manufacturers don’t publish really unique content material.
These figures imply that manufacturers are strolling a high-quality line: sustain with on-line tendencies however don’t depend on them a lot that you simply abandon originality.
We’ll discover the ways you should use to strike that steadiness in your trendjacking technique, in addition to a few of the manufacturers already nailing it.
What’s trendjacking?
On social media, trendjacking is the act of partaking in real-time, viral tendencies, akin to memes, sounds, challenges or hashtags.
Trendjacking may also help enhance consciousness and engagement as a result of tendencies create a shared level of reference that plugs you into an already-engaged viewers. Plus, it embeds you in culturally related conversations, which is particularly essential for manufacturers within the B2C and CPG industries.
The simplest trendjacking examples transcend copying the format, placing a model‑particular spin on the pattern. It’s not sufficient to easily mimic the system and slap your brand on it. It’s a must to make the content material related and resonant to your business, services or products.
For example, a number of manufacturers capitalized on one of many greatest cultural moments of 2025: the discharge of Taylor Swift’s album, The Lifetime of a Showgirl. The pattern noticed companies meme-ify the album cowl on social, incorporating glitter and sequins, and hues of mint and orange.
Beloved sport present Wheel of Fortune did the identical factor whereas placing its personal spin on it: celebrating its very personal showgirl, Vanna White.
The way to good a trendjacking technique
Whereas trendjacking will be an artform, mastering it doesn’t must be complicated. By following these ways, you possibly can create a balanced trendjacking technique that allows well timed manufacturing, marries trending and unique content material, and builds a definite model id.
Create a newsroom
A social media newsroom is a digital one-stop store the place a model compiles all its information, bulletins and multimedia content material for simple entry and distribution.
To undertake this framework, construct a cross-functional workforce, collect various information and information sources, and create a course of for creating content material quick. The latter is particularly necessary as a result of pattern lifecycles are usually quick; wait too lengthy, and also you’ll miss the boat.
Thankfully, a centralized hub makes it simpler to maneuver at tempo. Moreover, there are lots of different ways you should use to speed up content material manufacturing and approval timelines. Issues like shared templates, asynchronous communication channels like Slack and versatile editorial calendar house could make an enormous distinction.
Steadiness trending and unique content material
It’s time to settle a debate as previous as social media itself: it’s not trending vs. unique content material—one of the best methods have each.
Whilst you can completely leverage tendencies, you continue to have to create unique content material, together with collection. For instance, a few of Nationwide Geographic’s Epic Meals Journeys with Mark Wiens YouTube collection is amongst its hottest content material on the platform.
Unique content material lays the groundwork for a novel and recognizable model id. Trending content material then turns into the well timed layer that sits atop that basis, fostering each relevance and attain.
Collectively, these two content material sorts construct a balanced ecosystem that retains your model constant and culturally related.
Add one thing to on-line tradition
Trendjacking is the right alternative to not solely draw from on-line tradition however contribute to it.
In line with Dejaih Smith, social media pattern analyst and author for Silence, Model! and Senior Social Neighborhood Supervisor at Sony Photos Leisure for Jeopardy! & Wheel of Fortune, 2026 is the 12 months of the Tastemaker on social media. And opposite to well-liked perception, it’s not celebrities and mega influencers who form tendencies of their infancy—it’s micro-creators and communities.
“Earlier than a pattern reaches the plenty, it normally begins as a whisper inside area of interest communities—an aesthetic experiment, a fandom reference or a meme circulating with out context,” writes Smith on Substack. “These early indicators not often seem in pattern experiences.”
Living proof, after the TV collection Heated Rivalry captured the hearts of viewers worldwide, Jeopardy! referenced the fandom on its present and its Instagram.
To remain forward of the tendencies—and doubtlessly even begin your personal—analysis these area of interest communities. Take a detailed take a look at those most resonant together with your goal market. Smith recommends specializing in psychographics quite than demographics.
“Age, gender and placement reveal little or no about why somebody chooses one product over one other. Understanding the communities they take part in, the references they acknowledge, the aesthetics they gravitate towards and the creators they belief reveals the cultural logic behind their choices.”
With this data, you possibly can flip social insights and newsroom headlines into social intelligence that harnesses these uncooked, real-time viewers insights, and embed them into your methods).
Keep true to your model id
We’ve mentioned it already, and we’ll say it once more: you possibly can’t simply recycle tendencies—it’s worthwhile to tailor them to your model values.
Consider it this manner: when you put up the identical meme as each different model in your sector, you gained’t stand out. To keep away from this, infuse your trendjacking content material with private parts distinctive to your model. This may make sure that your content material is tied to your business, services or products whereas concurrently offering substance to your viewers.
Trendjacking examples from manufacturers which have mastered it
For a lot of companies, trendjacking is an integral a part of their social technique. Let’s check out 4 manufacturers that haven’t simply embraced the tactic however aced it:
IKEA
If anybody is aware of how to reply to cultural moments, it’s IKEA’s Responsive Mission Group. Per Elissa Wardrop, Social Media Specialist and Content material Creator at IKEA World, the workforce was developed to “create content material in response to information, tendencies, popular culture moments and key calendar dates (like April Fools’ or Valentine’s Day)—shortly, creatively and in a cost-efficient approach with what we name the IKEA ‘twinkle within the eye.’”
To this point, the workforce has leveraged a few of the most iconic on-line tendencies and popular culture moments worldwide, together with Netflix’s beloved present Bridgerton.
When the present’s fourth season was launched, one scene specifically sparked a number of on-line dialog: the bath scene (IYKYK).
IKEA inserted itself into the discourse with a cheeky put up selling one in every of its reasonably priced bathmats. Because it was shared so shortly after the discharge of season 4, half two, audiences thought that the model was performing quick.
The fact? The Responsive Mission Group deliberate it for weeks, regardless of a lot of its members by no means having seen this system.
“I’ve by no means watched a single episode. So off I went to look at the trailer and spent a while within the feedback part (a goldmine for context), and shortly understood that the ‘rest room scene’ was extremely anticipated by e book followers. And that perception was sufficient to form a related, culturally conscious put up,” mentioned Wardrop.
“Studying the feedback on the IKEA posts, the surface world appears to assume we acted at lightning pace after the season had aired. The fact on this state of affairs is we’d pre-empted the second utilizing indicators from the trailer and fan dialog.”
The marketing campaign was a hit, even catching the attention of Sophie herself. The actress who performs her, Yerin Ha, commented on the unique put up and shared the content material to her Instagram Story.
Monzo Financial institution
Finance is usually a difficult sector for manufacturers making their title on social. Companies on this business must navigate strict laws, taboos and steep studying curves to attach with audiences. With so many obstacles, crafting a social technique can really feel not possible.
With that mentioned, Monzo Financial institution makes it work. As an alternative of utilizing social to debate or promote its merchandise, Monzo makes use of it as a brand-building device. It doesn’t matter what type of content material it posts—be it a street-style interview or a meme—the British financial institution prioritizes relatability, accessibility and relevance to face out on social.
This strategy additionally informs the tendencies that Monzo jumps on. For example, to usher within the new 12 months, many social customers shared their “ins” and “outs” for 2026. Manufacturers had been fast to partake within the pattern, together with Monzo.
Somewhat than specializing in monetary themes—which could possibly be complicated for on a regular basis customers and dangerous for Monzo—the model forged a wider web. Along with utilizing human language, the enterprise made popular culture and life-style references that almost anybody might relate to.
By embracing an irreverent tone and trending content material sorts, Monzo is breaking free from banks’ “protected and stuffy” status on social. As an alternative, it’s carving its personal house, one which feels culturally fluent, well timed and likeable.
Slate
As a devoted picture and video-editing device for social media entrepreneurs, Slate is ideally positioned to observe and repurpose social tendencies.
On LinkedIn, the model doesn’t undertake conventional company communicate; as an alternative, it flips the skilled community on its head by leaning into well timed and trending moments.
One in every of these tendencies is 2016 nostalgia. Ten years on, evidently social customers are craving for 2016 greater than ever. Per the BBC, searches for “2016” on TikTok surged by 452% in January. Plus, greater than 55 million movies have been created utilizing the app’s filter named after the 12 months.
Slate capitalized on the pattern by highlighting the evolution of social media and, extra particularly, the roles of social media managers.
With this distinction, Slate turns nostalgia into an in-depth understanding of the social media advertising sector and the professionals who work inside it. It’s a easy but efficient method to not solely keep related however to strengthen its business experience in addition to its connection to and understanding of its core viewers: social media managers.
Popeyes
Simple specialists in trendjacking, Popeyes is thought for its well timed and disruptive social media presence. The American quick meals chain makes use of cultural moments to create trending content material.
One in every of its most notable trendjacking examples is its “pope sure” put up on X, printed after the number of Pope Leo XIV. Easy however extremely intelligent, the wordplay married model id with cultural relevance, a lot to the delight of customers and types alike.
Grubhub declared it “Tweet of the 12 months” whereas one other consumer replied that, “This one that posted this wants an absolute increase. That is genius.”
However the model didn’t cease there. Popeyes has additionally commented on a variety of different cultural moments, together with Taylor Swift’s engagement and the return of McDonald’s Rooster Snack Wrap.
Jack the tendencies, reap the rewards
Whereas trendjacking has a spot in each model’s social technique, steadiness is essential.
Mix trendjacking with unique content material so your content material feels topical and true to your model id. You will need to even be discerning within the tendencies you embrace and the way you leverage them. Keep in mind to prioritize high quality over amount. Somewhat than leaping on each single pattern, decide those most related to your viewers. Then, ensure you inject your model values in a approach that straight hyperlinks to your business, services or products.
For extra insights on what social media customers need from manufacturers, so you possibly can construct your finest social technique, obtain The 2026 Content material Technique Report.
Ceaselessly requested questions
How is trendjacking completely different from newsjacking?
Newsjacking includes offering editorial protection of present affairs in addition to your ideas and opinions on these breaking information tales. Whereas trendjacking includes iterating on the most recent tendencies in on-line tradition, particularly on social media.
Though the 2 can overlap, their goals are completely different. Newsjacking is primarily supposed to coach, whereas trendjacking goals to entertain.
Does unique content material carry out higher than trendjacking?
Unique and trendjacking content material serve distinct functions. So, it’s not a matter of 1 sort outperforming the opposite; it’s about understanding how every can bolster your total social technique.
Trendjacking may also help spike consciousness and model recognition. However unique content material is what helps your model stand out and foster a novel id for long-term engagement.
