How to Monitor A Trend

Stay on top of emerging trends! Learn how to track conversations, analyze platforms, and identify key voices shaping the latest movements in your industry

Staying on top of emerging trends is helps you make informed decisions, identify opportunities, and stay ahead of competitors. This step-by-step guide will help you use our monitoring tool to effectively track and analyze trends, so you can better understand their evolution, key players, and audience sentiment.

Step 1: Define Your Objectives

Before starting, clearly outline the purpose of monitoring a trend.

Common Objectives

  • General Sentiment: Understand how the public perceives a specific trend.
  • Emerging Opportunities: Track mentions to identify new developments and potential growth areas.
  • Find Influencers: Identify key voices driving the trend and monitor their impact.

Example Objective

"I want to monitor conversations around electric vehicles (ElectricVehicles, EV, EVTechExpo) in the USA, excluding robotics-related mentions. I’ll focus on English-speaking individuals over 25 on Twitter, Reddit, and blogs during the EVTechExpo and the two weeks following."

Step 2: Select Dates

Define a time range for your search to ensure relevant results.

  • Use the Published Date rule to set a date range:
    • Is equal to: Collects mentions from a single date.
    • Is between: Collects mentions within a specific date range.
  • For trend monitoring, set dates relevant to an event or launch.

Pro Tip: Keep your time range focused (e.g., two weeks) to avoid irrelevant mentions.

Step 3: Choose Keywords and Exclusions

Identify terms related to the trend.

How to Refine Keywords:

  • Use the Body rule to add:
    • Relevant keywords (e.g., "ElectricVehicles," "EV").
    • Hashtags (e.g., #EVTechExpo).
  • To exclude irrelevant mentions, use the doesn’t contain exactly option (e.g., exclude "Robotics," "Robots").

Pro Tip: Add variations or common misspellings of your keywords to ensure comprehensive coverage.

Step 4: Select Sources and Platforms

Choose where you want to monitor the trend.

Platforms to Consider

  • Social networks: Twitter, Reddit, Instagram.
  • Additional sources: News sites, blogs, forums.

How to Configure:

  • Use the Social Networks rule:
    • OR: Include multiple platforms (e.g., Twitter OR Reddit).
    • Is none of: Exclude specific networks if irrelevant.

 

Pro Tip: Focus on platforms where the trend is actively discussed.

Step 5: Define Demographics and Author Criteria

Refine your results by narrowing down the audience contributing to the trend.

Criteria

  • Country: Focus on mentions from specific locations (e.g., the USA).
  • Age: Define an age range (e.g., 25+).
  • Gender: Filter by gender if relevant to your objective.

Pro Tip: Use logical operators (AND, OR) to combine demographic rules effectively.

Step 6: Analyze Content and Insights

Dive deeper into the data to uncover meaningful patterns.

Rules to Apply

  • Sentiment: Collect mentions classified as positive, neutral, or negative.
  • Language: Filter mentions based on language preferences.

 

Pro Tip: Focus on negative sentiment for crisis management or positive mentions to gauge enthusiasm for a trend.

Quick Reference Steps

  1. Select Dates: Use the Published Date rule to set your time frame.
  2. Define Keywords: Add relevant terms and exclude irrelevant ones.
  3. Choose Sources: Select social networks and online platforms.
  4. Filter by Demographics: Use rules to refine audience details (age, country, gender).
  5. Analyze Content: Apply sentiment and language filters for actionable insights.