There are certain sites that we always have open in the background when we’re managing our social media accounts. One of them is Google Trends, which monitors web trends in real time and delivers what’s trending across the country, and across the globe.
It’s often necessary in order to understand what is popular currently by looking at how topics have trended in the recent past. Trends can be measured using various methods, including web search volume over time, YouTube video uploads and views over time, Wikipedia page view counts over time, and Google search interest via trends.
What does “trending” even mean?
A trending topic is simply one that has peaked a statistically significant amount of interest for an extended period of time (typically days or months). Popularity on the internet can be fleeting; there are always new people wanting you to know about what they find interesting for that week. With Google Trends it’s possible to see which topics are consistently gaining momentum as opposed to those with just a flash in the pan.
What if I am only interested in marketing to a specific geographic area?
The first and by far most important thing that you should do when using Google Trends to analyze a topic is to define the geographical region in which your search will be carried out before you start. Just add “United States” or “worldwide,” at the end of your term, and set the language to whichever one suits you best.
My product isn’t “trendy”, so why should I monitor trends?
Being able to speak to what’s relevant increases your chances of being shared, and therefore reaching a larger community. We work hand-in-hand with our customers on their social media management, and it’s important to us that they know how to stay on top of things.
For example, seeing that “#Youtube” was trending might lead us to share one of our own videos, or blog about our top 10 favorite Youtube videos at the moment (then post that blog to Twitter with the hashtag #youtube).
Is a local sports team having a great night? Offer a promotion that shares your own enthusiasm, offering a discount for anybody who calls and says “Go Team!”
Have you run a successful trending promotion? Let us know in the comments section, we’d love to hear about it.
