“How can we monitor, real-time , what’s trending on internet , communication, or changes to Internet practices?” It is the question that many agencies and advertisers ask themselves when it comes to innovation or social intelligence and they have to consider the best way to measure the impact on the communication of a campaign, explore new markets for the launch of a product or simply prepare their pitch. .
In an ideal world, consumer, communication, cultural, technological trends, waves of opinion on the internet and social networks should be constantly monitored.
Beyond the great macro and microeconomic trends, published regularly by the main audit and consulting firms, it is essential to capture the pulses of Internet users and consumers, opinion studies and the day of the specialized media. Many insights that will feed your content strategy, the SEO / SEM that you follow, the monitoring and analysis of social networks and your knowledge of the client. But where do you start? Various tools and approaches can help, we propose 5 of them.
1.Discover what users are interested in with Google data
Beyond the messages what’s trending on internet , the analysis of such a large volume of data, processed from the millions of daily user requests on Google is infinitely valuable.
Why? Because Google is responsible for almost 95% of the market share in Spain . L os users use their search engine as an information portal for research, both general and for before a purchase.
What’s more, 15% of daily searches are new searches (according to Google). That is why Google’s query analysis is hyperdynamic and directly connected to the concerns of Internet users.
Even better, Google’s suggestion analysis is based on keywords frequently associated by users themselves in their searches for brands or personalities, from which we obtain two valuable insights :
– What they care to know about brands, products or personalities.
– What influences their search when they use this engine.
Suggestions come automatically when you type it in the search bar, encouraging them to click. We observe two trends: background trends, through keywords that index for months or permanently (Spain associated with Map), or trends related to recent events, for example, Spain linked to Eurocopa.
Following these phrases Google also provides detailed information on potential markets and shopping trends.
- Conduct trend tracking via hashtags
The hashtags are a trademark of Twitter messages. However, they are widely used on Instagram, Facebook (to a lesser extent) or Google Plus. By tracking hashtag posts and their volume, we can monitor trends or know the impact of a communication campaign, regardless of whether it is digital or launched in real life.
Extracting the most used hashtags around a concept, discover two universes: official hashtags , designed by brands and hashtags of “spontaneous generation” , created and disseminated by the Internet.
In this way you can see the messages based on what’s trending and themes surrounding an event; often associated with sponsors such as: the marketing event called The Social Media Strategies . We can segment the analysis of the event using the official hashtag #what’strendingoninternet used to report what happened during the event, the spontaneous ones that are related to specific topics discussed during this day or those related to influencers.
- Follow the experts and trend specialists
Let us not forget that “Social Network” is just that, a “network” made up of VIPs who are “experts” who should be listened to! LinkedIn and Twitter are full of specialists and media that, if you follow them, can feed your content strategy with trends in technology, organization, human resources, consumer habits and behavior of individuals …
On LinkedIn, following groups can be a first step towards starting monitoring; Channels like PULSE are also a good starting point as they show a selection of professional and expert posts supervised by an editor.
It is always better than before defining specific topics or searches, look at the general “trend”, to avoid drowning in a sea of messages from specialists in technology, marketing, organization or communication.
To explore and discover the potential of PULSE, do not hesitate to enter Discover , a module where you will find experts, influencers and channels grouped by Topics and media.
- Perform an event trace
Trends can also be given by conferences and brand exposure at various events. There are specialized event sites for almost every business sector from digital (of course) to cosmetics and more.
Our advice is to be alert following 3 rules: Cross three types of expressions covering Event x Sector x Calendar, for example ” Event “, ” Fairs “, ” Conferences “, and then add ” Agenda ” or “Calendar” to further refine the results.
- Monitor big trends
Let’s go back to the basics: A trend monitoring on your social networks coupled with your favorite topic or your activity sector is an excellent way to discover new topics and sources.
A tip: as in any normal monitoring of the web or social networks, you should start with general concepts that will later be refined with keywords over the days or weeks, allowing you to collect topics that correspond more precisely with your points of interest .
The ideal: filter message flows afterwards (tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram, articles) instead of restricting your search from the beginning.
Example: A broad search for what’s trending on internet can provide insights into the internet, social media or the customer experience . Do not limit your search to one or the other of these three topics, trend monitoring must remain open: especially filter your messages afterwards once collected.
Trend monitoring (or innovation intelligence) is one of the largest in terms of scope. If you had to stay with only one thing, it would be: after having collected several weeks of messages, you need to define your priority monitoring specifications. It starts with 3 or 4, no more, the themes of this type of monitoring develop exponentially as the messages increase. Keep in mind to always answer the question Why am I doing this monitoring? Otherwise you run the risk of failing in your search due to lack of definition of your needs.
