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The cultural landscape of the modern world is constantly changing. Internet celebrities are created in as little as six seconds. Viral videos can be viewed in every continent across the world in a matter of hours. There’s a lot going on.

As a result, there are also a lot of opportunities for brands to join the conversation — that is, if they can keep up. With things moving at such a fast pace, trends can disappear before we even have time to craft a meaningful message in response to them.

But what technology takes away in terms of time to prepare, it makes up for in ways to monitor and follow these (sometimes global) conversations. In fact, there are a ton of awesome tools and tricks of the trade out there that are designed to help brands make the most out of popular content and trends.

That’s why we put together the following guide on trending content: to help all of you figure out a plan for not only discovering and planning for trends and events, but also finding ways to connect your brand’s story to them in an interesting and relevant way.

A Simple Guide to Navigating Trending Content

Discovering Trending Content

1) BuzzSumo

Price: Free version available. Paid packages are broken down into three categories: Pro ($99/month), Agency ($299/month), and Enterprise ($999/month).

With the help of BuzzSumo’s “Most Shared” function, users can easily identify what content has worked well in the past. What’s more, the “Trending Now” function can display the most popular content being read across the internet within the last two hours.

The “Most Shared” function is perfect for mining ideas for your next content campaign, while the “Trending Now” function is ideal for tapping into articles and conversations that people have responded to in real time.

2) Content Explorer by Ahrefs

Price: Free trial available. Paid packages are broken down into three categories: Lite ($99/month), Standard ($179/month), and Advanced ($399/month).

This is another great tool for finding the best performing content in a desired niche. Simply input your keyword — for example, let’s use “content marketing” — and filter down the timeframe you’d like to see results from. That’s it.

The tool simply lists the top pieces of content from the past month based on social shares. (Zazzle Media’s very own Simon Penson is actually featured in the number three spot … so it’s obviously a smart tool.)

3) Google Trends

Price: Free.

Google Trends is a great resource for surfacing some of the biggest daily headlines, as well as stories on the rise.

It’s easy to use and, as a Google tool, is informed by more data than you can shake a stick at.

Analysing a portion of Google searches, it examines the number of searches carried out for certain terms, against the total searches done on Google over the same time.

It then ranks the most popular stories trending in order of popularity. From there, simply click on the story to find more information on why it’s trending and where.

4) EpicBeat

Price: Free version available. Paid packages are broken down into two categories: EpicBeat Plus ($39/month // $268/year) and EpicSuite ($249/month).

EpicBeat is a helpful tool designed to simplify trending content research. You can search for content by topic or website, or explore curated topics.

With each search, you’ll gain access to social sharing counts, as well as some insights behind these shares — for example, EpicBeat provides a list of people that have shared a specific piece of content in the last seven days. This information can be used to inform the audience you should be focusing on, while also providing a selection of influencers for you to seed your finished content out to.

5) Reddit

Price: Free.

Commonly referred to as “the front page of the internet,” Reddit should be one of the first destinations you visit to find out exactly what people are buzzing out during the day.

From news and videos, to funny stories and conspiracy theories, the content on Reddit often reflects the things that people across the world are finding interesting … in real time.

To uncover some potentially undiscovered viral content, check out the “rising” tab. This will help you jump on trends early, so you can beat all your competitors to the chase.

Creating a Calendar of Upcoming Events

Some events are always going to be massive. From the Oscars to the Olympics, the calendar is filled with world-famous events that will be latched onto by brands.

That’s why it’s so important to create a definitive calendar of upcoming events. With a calendar in place, you’ll be more prepared to create marketing campaigns in response to the events that align with your brand and your audience’s interests.

Twitters U.K.’s #OwnTheMoment Planner is a great starting point for this. The planner provides a calendar that comes fully equipped with cultural events to keep an eye on. (Think: Father’s Day, Summer Solstice, and Wimbledon.) The goal is to give you a sneak peak into the moments that Twitter believes will get people talking over social media.

(Note: Because this tool was created by folks from Twitter’s U.K. and Ireland team, many of the events are specific to that region.)

Of course, this really is just a starting point, putting together an events calendar personalised with key events relevant to your industry and audience is the best way to get the most out of this exercise.

Working Popular Trends and Events Into Your PR Strategy

Now that we have our tools and a well-stocked calendar of events, it’s time to find out how these can help us with our PR campaigns.

Let’s walk through some of the most important things to consider when executing a trend-driven PR campaign.

General Opportunity

You’ve identified a trend that you may be able to leverage. That’s great. But before you shoot off to pitch the idea to your team or client, there are two questions to ask to ensure that you’re making the right move:

Is this trend worthwhile?

Have people just started talking about this? Or is the trend coming to the end of its shelf life? Using Google Trends, we can see exactly when the trend started, as well as the peak period of popularity for the story. Ideally we’re looking for a recurring trend that people are going to be actively searching for over and over.

Is there demand for content surrounding this trend?

Is there room for a new piece of content to add something to the story? Or has the market become saturated about the trend? Using Content Explorer, we can find the best performing pieces of content for this trend, as well as the sheer amount of content concerning the topic.

If there is opportunity to build on content for this trend, it’s time to see how we can create something better than everything else out there.

Inspiration and Direction

Researching successful campaigns from past years is always a great place to start when brainstorming new content ideas. There is no point in recreating something done in the past, however, building on an idea to make it stronger is definitely a way forward.

This is where BuzzSumo comes into its own. Simply find the best performing pieces of content created for the same (or similar) trend in the past, and use this as a platform to develop bigger and better ideas.

So now that we have our idea for a perfect piece of trending content, it’s time to find out who will be interested in sharing it.

Placement and Distribution Ideas

Another three questions for you to think about when planning to distribute your content:

• Which outlets have written about this before?
• Are there any specific journalists that typically cover events like this?
• Is there anything we can give these outlets and journalists to ensure they get involved with our campaign?

To start answering these questions, look at the authorship of previous articles relating to the trend you’re working on and reach out to see if they’re still interested in this topic. Epicbeat’s influencer finder is also a great tool for identifying the key players interested in a particular trend or topic.

If the pitch is concerning a forthcoming event, remember to give them plenty of time before the date. This will make it easier for them to think about what they might need, and give you enough time to get this information to them.

As with any discussion of this type, referencing and taking an interest in an article a journalist has written before is the best way to show how invested you are in working with them. This could be the difference between a feature article online and being left on the cutting room floor.

Need Inspiration? Check Out These Examples

AO Christmas Dinner Project

The holiday season provides marketers with a great opportunity to hop on a popular trend and ride the wave. This guide to Christmas dinner from AO is a great example of how a brand can tap into a trending conversation, while providing people with unique value.

• The Idea: To create a definitive interactive guide for preparing Christmas dinner.
• The Goal: To increase brand awareness for AO.com and drive traffic to the guide.
• The Result: Multiple pieces of coverage gained on both DailyMail.com and The Huffington Post, as well as an additional 20+ links to the portal and its contents.

American Greeting’s #WorldsToughestJob

This Mother’s Day-themed campaign from American Greetings is another great example of how to leverage a trending holiday to create a really compelling piece of content.

• The Idea: To create an emotional piece of content that reminds viewers just how hard it is to be a mom.
• The Goal: To encourage viewers to show their moms some appreciation by creating a Mother’s Day card with American Greeting’s Cardstore.
• The Result: Coverage on top sites such as Forbes, Adweek, and more.

Have I missed anything? Do you have any other tips for tracking down trending content? Let me know in the comments below.

Everyone gets stressed at work at one time or another.

And hey, sometimes, that can be a good thing. When you’re under some pressure and your brain’s working hard, it can make you more efficient and productive in the end — and you may even find more satisfaction with your work when it is done.

But whether the stress you’re feeling is in healthy doses or not, there are ways to make it more manageable. It turns out that 42% of Americans say they aren’t doing enough to manage their stress.

One great way to relieve stress without having to take much time out of your day? Meditation.

Don’t worry: Successful meditation does not mean you have to sit cross-legged in silence for hours on end. Incorporating just 15 minutes of concentrated meditation a day into your workday can do wonders to reduce your stress levels.

Check out the infographic below from CashNetUSA to learn the benefits of meditation, along with how to do it — from calming your mind, mind exercises, what to do with your body, and other tips for being mindful throughout the rest of your day. No matter how busy you are, making time for meditation can have a positive impact on productivity and happiness. 

A common mistake companies make in marketing efforts is positioning their company or product as the hero of the story. You may want to don the cape, drive the Batmobile, and kick the villain’s butt (and who could blame you?), but most brands overlook the interests of customers when they focus on themselves.

The harsh reality is that your customers don’t care about your company or products – they only care about how you’ll meet their needs. If you want your customers to buy your products or services, your marketing should revolve around your customer and their challenges.

According to Kapost, only 23% of B2B marketers claim to have a customer-centric marketing strategy versus a channel- or product-centric strategy. Rather than stepping outside the expertise comfort zone of their offerings, these B2B companies would rather stick to what they know and focus all marketing efforts on what they have to offer versus the more important issue of how they can meet the demands and needs of their audience. What they neglect to realize however is that this self-serving strategy minimizes golden opportunities to connect with their target market and buyer personas.

When your customer plays the starring role in your marketing efforts, they feel appreciated and are more likely to download your content, follow you on social media, fill out a contact form, and (you guessed it!) make a purchase. Research has shown that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on the customer. On the same note, McKinsey found that 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they have been treated.

But building a customer-centric mindset won’t happen overnight. Before you execute a successful customer-centric marketing strategy, you need to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly customer-focused.

What is a customer-centric company?

First things first, what does it even mean to be a customer-centric company? It’s not just about offering exceptional customer service; it also means assisting the customer through every stage of the buyer’s journey, from the awareness and researching stage to the final stages of decision-making and even after their purchase is complete. A customer-centric company educates their customers and helps them make an educated buying decision.

When you commit to customer-centricity, you’re placing the customer at the center of all your decisions and strategic planning. You’re creating a positive customer experience by focusing on their needs more than your profit margins. Your top priority should be making their lives easier by answering their burning questions, providing educational content or suggesting a specific solution once they’ve indicated they’re ready and open for recommendations.

A great example of a customer-centric company is Amazon. Amazon consistently delights their customer base by developing products and making decisions according to their customers’ needs and wants. While customer reviews are on nearly every site nowadays, Amazon was the first to display these reviews. Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, wanted to do more than just sell products; he wanted to “help customers make purchase decisions.”

Another company that demonstrates a customer-centric strategy is Apple. Apple actually models their customer service features after the hospitality industry; think, Genius Bar as the concierge. Apple is constantly on top of meeting their customers’ needs. In fact, they directly answer their customers’ emails; CEO Tim Cook has even claimed to personally answer emails daily. They let their customers know that they are appreciated by going above and beyond standard expectations for customer service.

Companies devoted to customer-centricity are there when customers need them, not only when it’s convenient for them. They provide their customers with information and access to products or accounts 24/7. USAA, for instance, was the first to create an app that would allow their customers to make deposits via their iPhone and also to send updates on account balances via text message. They empower customers to receive timely updates on their finances, and, therefore, improve customer satisfaction. 

How do you become a customer-centric company?

1) Identify Your Target Customer

Before you can make the customer the hero of your story, you need to place yourself in their shoes. To do that, you must know whose shoes you’re stepping into. Take a closer look at your existing customer base by sending out surveys or monitoring popular social media platforms.

If your current audience doesn’t precisely represent the market segment who could benefit from your offering, make a note of that and include these opportunistic personas in your target. List out their defining characteristics, such as their location, industry, age, needs, goals, pain points, and motivations.

Once you’ve compiled this information, you can develop buyer personas – or semi-fictional representations of your target customers based on marketing research and real data about your existing customers. These buyer personas will help you create relevant, share-worthy content that speaks to your ideal customers’ needs. When your ideal customers find content covering topics they’re actually interested in, they’re more likely to share it with coworkers and friends, spread the word about your company, and come back for more.

2) Get Everyone Involved

If you want to create a customer-centric culture, you need to have the entire team on board. All of your employees should understand your customers’ exact needs, not just your customer service department. You should provide training, education, and mentoring when employees are initially hired, and then continue to offer guidance and coaching throughout their employment. This helps all team members consider how their work and decisions directly impact the customer and the continuing success of your company.

3) Empower Your Employees

Customer satisfaction and employee morale tend to go hand in hand. According to The Harvard Business Review, contented employees are 31% more productive and generate 37% more sales than their disengaged counterparts.

Before you focus on improving your customer experience, you need to take a long, hard look at your company culture. Your employees need recognition, opportunities for advancement, job security, and thorough training before they can provide excellent customer service. Your employees will become much more engaged and productive when they know their employer cares about their welfare.

4) Allow Participation from Customers

There’s no better way to create a customer-centric culture than allowing your customers to actively participate in your brand’s story or campaign. For example, when the blockbuster movie “The Fault in Our Stars” came out in theaters, the producer Atlantic Records collected more than 3,800 pieces of fan photos over 3 days via #TFIOSencouragements on Instagram. They then compiled these photos in an online gallery where fans could view, share, and vote for their favorites.

In this case, the production team placed their potential customers in the spotlight while also sharing their relevant content. They made their fans and movie ticket buyers feel special, even if only for a moment, and created a positive customer experience.

If you want to get your audience involved in your marketing efforts, your best bet for fast outcomes is to head to the social media channels they frequent. Take the time to monitor their social media posts and pay attention to any mention of your company, your product or dialogue pertaining to the needs addressed by your solutions.

When you find the right content, engage with your audience and ask if you can republish. Also, make your user-generated content programs as easy as possible to participate in – think about using a brand hashtag rather than having customers go to the trouble of submitting a video. 

And the Customer Saves the Day…

Setting all of the above practices in motion will allow you to create and execute a successful customer-centric marketing strategy. By taking these proactive steps toward becoming a customer-centric company, you’re showing the customer you’re worth their time. When you realize all the needs, wants, and preferences of your customer and use them to shape your marketing efforts, you are ensuring that all your business decisions revolve around the customer.

When the customer knows you not only take their opinions and concerns into consideration but also that you use them to drive your strategic planning, they are more likely to return to your company for more information and to make a purchase. They will feel appreciated and understood when a product is designed to solve their specific problem, a piece of content answers their questions, and when social media posts speak to their interests.

If you want potential customers to care about you, you have to show you care about them first. Making your customers the center of your brand’s universe will help you develop a loyal following and discover new business opportunities. They’ll be the hero of your marketing strategy, but you’ll know that your company or product made it possible for them to save the day.