It seems like every blog and brand is jumping at the opportunity to capitalize on hot trends these days, but very few are doing it the right way. The challenge is keeping up and staying involved with events and trends that are relevant to your industry in a way that doesn’t come across as blatantly opportunistic or tasteless. The trending topic or event doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your business model, but there has to be a way to tie it in reasonably with your brand image without making it obvious that you’re piggybacking on a traffic wave. If that sounds like a tough task, consider the following five ways you can start absorbing some of the massive traffic surges that trends and major events tend to generate:

1. Join the Discussion on Social Media

Everyday millions of people read the comments on social media posts, and may of the more popular posts have literally hundreds of thousands or even millions of views in each instance. By putting your company name/Facebook profile out there and offering some useful or entertaining input on the matter with a simple comment you’re generating a great deal of brand exposure that will lead to more visitors to your Facebook page and website. Make it a daily routine to comment on a few popular memes, infographics, or videos related to trending topics.

2. Use Google Trends and Google News to Find Out What’s Trending in Each Niche

Aside from scrolling through your social media account, another great way to catch the latest trending news ahead of the vulturous crowd is to simply browse through Google News. Better yet, you can subscribe to RSS feeds to ensure that you have a continuous flow of news stories that you’ll be notified of via your smartphone.

3. Write a Related Blog Post or News Story with a Unique Slant

Once you’re active on social media and keeping up-to-date on the latest news, you might want to consider writing blog posts or opinionated status updates about certain events or news stories. The goal here is to boost the amount of visitors your site is getting on a daily basis. Even if many of those visitors don’t immediately buy your products or commit a desired action, the extra traffic is going to be good for your SEO rankings, site authority, and for spreading overall brand awareness indiscriminately.

4. Support an Initiative or Charity That is Popular with Your Target Audience

Publicly supporting a charity or initiative is an excellent way to do a good deed and appeal to a broad range of consumers at the same time. You could pledge a percentage of your revenue to a charity that is backing a popular cause. Many companies do this after natural disasters or to support a specific group of people in crisis. This approach is dually advantageous because it not only puts your brand in the spotlight it also shows consumers that you’re conscious about issues that are important to them.

5. Give Away Tickets to Popular Events or Free Trending Products

Another great way to tie your brand into upcoming events or popular products is to hold giveaways, sweepstakes, and raffles. Giving away free tickets to a concert or a free gaming console are some basic examples of how you can ride the wave of just about any product or event to your brand’s benefit.

Be an Innovator and Adapt

In conclusion, capitalizing on trends and events involves being creative, innovative, in-tune with popular news, and flexible in adapting to current world affairs. Overall, you should be looking to ride any trend that provides an opportunity to make your brand noticeable on social media or via its blog while still providing a unique perspective that won’t be viewed as generic re-hashed spam.