No matter what industry you’re in, business trends are constantly changing and it can be hard to stay on trend. Here’s our guide to help you keep up to date with the latest developments and trends in your industry…
Make the most of blogs
With so much content available on the internet, it’s never been easier to find out about new developments and trends in your industry. Blogs are great for researching current information, and if you’re seeing the same information or story on a few different blogs, this can be a really good way of picking up on new trends and adding credibility to the information you find. In the creative world, there are loads of great blogs to check out, including Creative Bloq, Mashable and, if you’re looking for the latest photography trends, Alamy’s great selection of Tools & Trends blogs.
Interact on social media
What better way to keep up to date with what’s happening in your industry than by making the most of social media channels? Sites like LinkedIn let you connect with other professionals and experts in your field, whilst Facebook is great for group discussions, asking questions and sharing ideas with other members of your community. Twitter is really useful for seeing what other people in your industry are talking about, and there’s usually loads of fresh content being shared in real time, so make a list of influential people in your sector and give them a follow! Google+ is another community-based channel where you can find out what’s trending, and image-based sites like Instagram and Pinterest are great for seeing what people are taking photos of and what’s getting people’s attention.
Get out and about
Face-to-face interaction can work wonders. Attending trade events can be a fantastic way to get chatting to experts in your industry, and getting involved in local networking events is a handy way to find out about upcoming trends and speak to people about how they’re approaching changes. Conferences, training courses and talking to colleagues can all be enlightening and give different perspectives on trends.
If you’re looking to get involved in creative events, check out our great guide to 2016’s must-visit places for every creative
Subscribe to newsletters & journals
There are people out there who dedicate their time to gathering and distributing information about your industry, and what better way to find out about specific trends that relate to you than subscribing to a journal or newsletter? Of course, subscribing alone won’t be enough and you’ll have to set aside some time to read through what they have to say, but whether you block out one day a month to read around or read a small piece every day, this is a really valuable way of gaining insight into current trends. Sites like Marketing Week and EConsultancy are two great examples of companies that offer a variety of newsletters that summarise the marketing and business world, with real life case studies of companies and their reactions to change. You can choose the frequency of the emails you receive, so you only have to read as much as you want to!
Keep your content fresh
It’s all very well learning about emerging trends and how they might impact you, but you need to make sure that your own content looks up to date. Whether this means you update existing pages on your website or revisit old blog posts and revamp them, people don’t want to find old and outdated information when they find your company. A great tip is to use fresh imagery, and on Alamy you can filter your image search by the ‘Date Taken’ filter or use the ‘New’ category for your search term. This means you’ll only see images that have been taken in your specified time period, giving you a selection of the most recent, on-trend images to choose from.
Want to know more? Check out these awesome blogs:
2016 Stock Photography Trends
Finding the newest images on Alamy
How to get the most from your image purchase
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