What is a Micro Trend?
In today's fast-paced digital world, something or someone goes viral every day — a product, a video, a person. In this age of overexposure and overconsumption, we’re getting ‘over’ things quicker than ever. Trends come and go faster than Lisa Rinna’s wigs.
A new word has emerged to describe this phenomenon: micro trend. Something that gains rapid popularity, often through social media and word-of-mouth, but fades just as quickly.
Staying relevant in such a market, where things are cool one minute but cringe the next, is a constant struggle. In this article, we’ll unpack the difference between micro and macro trends — and what it means for marketing strategies.
What Is A Trend?
A trend is a shift in what’s popular. It can be an object, a behaviour, a new way of thinking, or a manner of interacting with the world and others.
We’ve seen everything from the Harlem Shake to mullets. We went from low-rise pants to high-rise and back again, saw bleached brows take over the runway, and haven’t stopped eating tunacado sandwiches for months.
The point is: anything can become a trend. But, not all trends are equal. It’s important for brands and marketers to know the difference between macro and micro trends — trends that last, and those that don’t.
Macro trends
Macro trends refer to long-term patterns in consumer behaviour. In the fashion industry, it’s something like skinny jeans (2000-2015ish) or more broadly, wearing jeans in general. In marketing, it’s things like using social media and swapping from TV commercials to paid Meta ads. The cycle for a macro trend can be a couple years, decades, or even lifetimes.
Here’s how we define a macro trend:
Able to retain relevance and value amid external societal and technological changes.
Appeals to people from various demographics and a wide range of tastes.
Achieves ‘classic’ status, becoming a benchmark or pinnacle example in its field.
Inspires sub-trends or major shifts and movements within an industry.
Macro trends can also be seasonal, or phase back into popularity depending on things like the weather or time of year — think Ugg Boots in winter and Birkenstocks in summer.
Essentially, all good marketing strategies should be built on macro trends as these are what will direct your industry landscape in the longer term.
Micro trends
Simply put, micro trends are short-lived fads. They’re characterised by an accelerated lifespan; quick to rise but even quicker to fall. They usually only last a few months, max.
Micro trends reflect the dynamic nature of contemporary culture, often serving as a niche counterpart to larger, more enduring macro trends.
While micro trends garner mass obsession, heavy media exposure, and overnight popularity, the consumer’s interest isn’t sustained.
Here’s how we define a micro trend:
Becomes irrelevant/replaced after new societal and technological changes.
Niche by nature, or appeals to a very singular and specific taste
Has filtered down from a macro trend with ‘classic’ status.
Not likely to really impact an industry in the long term.
Examples include fidget spinners and Barbiecore collaborations.
To trend or not to trend?
While macro trends are a key driving force for your marketing strategies (and your business in general), the value of micro trends is hotly debated.
In our opinion, micro trends can be a powerful tool in creating brand awareness as long as your target consumer buys into them. The desire to belong and participate in shared cultural moments is so fundamental to the human experience, and drives the mass hype behind micro trends.
Our top tip on using micro trends to your advantage? Trend forecasting. It’s all about capitalising on a trend before or as it becomes popular. Your aim is to be a pioneer or early adopter, so that your brand is perceived as ahead of the curve and is top of mind as the trend’s popularity rises. This is why it’s so important to constantly research and immerse yourself in the platforms you’re using, staying on top of the next big thing — whether it’s a viral audio or pop culture reference.
So, you’re trending online. Now what?
You should always be thinking about how you can keep people interested outside of the trend cycle to achieve sustainable success. Within the short window of a micro trend’s relevance, you need a strategy in place to turn any extra attention into conversions.
The most common strategy we see here is collaborations. Who can you bring into the fold to prolong and renew interest? For example, Adidas built on the sudden resurgence of the Samba in 2022 with the a slew of highly limited Wales Bonner collaborations.
Diversification is also important. How can you create new versions of the original winning formula? Revisit your viral goldmine and look for fresh ways it can be applied. Since that game-changing collaboration with Balenciaga, Crocs has released plenty of new styles with equal ‘WTF’ factor — from heels to cowboy boots.
What could have easily stopped at a micro level became a fixture in high-fashion circles because of strategic product diversification. And although some people are still laughing at Crocs, more are laughing with them. Revenue ballooned to record levels of almost $4 billion last year.