5 Key Factors For Spotting Consumer Trends With Social Listening
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Loading... - austin holly
- 14 Sep 2022
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Fellow trendspotter! You live your life in data and you need to keep track of the next breakout consumer trends for your brand or business. You may have already turned to social analytics tools to watch a trend about to go viral online ahead of time. But sometimes social media research carries with it some barriers to finding consumer trends quickly and accurately.
Many of our clients use Infegy Atlas to catch and identify trends in the early stages for their organization or their clients, and we know this to be true: using social listening to understand consumer behavior is the best way to understand or even predict consumer behavior online. Whether you’re new to using social listening for consumer trends research or looking for a refresh, there are some key considerations to know to optimize your social listening research.
Why Social Listening is Good at Finding Consumer Trends
The next big trend is about to take off at any given moment. Where do trends start in the post-digital world? Online. Who starts those trends? People – talking online.
A breakout trend will usually develop on social channels and forums. Sometimes it’s a slow build. Other times it will skyrocket overnight. Using a social listening platform for your consumer research can help you discover those trends in the early stages, before it’s too late. With the right social listening strategy, you can get instant results for your research queries, and with the right listening tools you can dig into specific audiences, channels, demographics, and more.
The nature of online conversation makes this consumer trends research possible. People sound off on new products, trends, viral videos. And since these conversations are unsolicited, you’re finding truly organic trends! But before you start, remember these 5 key things:
Different Channels Have Different Uses (And Trends Happen On Some Channels Before Others)
People interact differently based on who they are or which platform they are using. Think about moms and DIYers on Pinterest or gaming reviewers on Reddit. These audiences have different use cases and experiences. They might be the ones to start a new trend based on their respective natural habitats.
For example, amongst groups like millennial moms or on topics for CPG and grocery categories, grassroots trends often take flight on Pinterest. As we present in our consumer trends guide, Pinterest may offer the best channel to analyze if you want to find trends involving these groups early.
However, it’s not the only channel worth looking at. Infegy’s TikTok data increasingly shows emerging trends in a fashion similar to Pinterest given its DIY/approachable nature. Can you think of a trend that started on TikTok? Consider analyzing TikTok data, in addition to Pinterest, to identify trends early in the product life cycle.
Don’t Dismiss Reddit
TikTok is a natural place to look for trends because of its viral nature. But consumers talk all the time about their plans to buy products on Reddit. A trend on Reddit won’t be the same as that on TikTok or Pinterest. Instead, it’s a little more subtle. People, especially young people, express high amounts of purchase intent on Reddit making it a perfect place to spot a hiding trend in the early stages. Read More…
