Why Discovery of Content Even Matters
Let us first consider the broad picture. Imagine a million individuals out there just waiting to completely like your material. Seeing your postings, they would say, “Wow, where has this been all my life?” But the issue is? They hardly know you exist at all. This is where the complete content discovery process finds application. Your task—our task—is to close that difference. We are gathering those one million possible viewers to really *see* your work.
Consider it as akin to an affinity ladder. From “Who the heck is this?” to “Oh my gosh, I’m obsessed with their content!” you’re guiding individuals from First of all, though, we need them to locate you in the first place before we can even have them up that ladder. And magic occurs there as well.
The Viral Post Unicorn (yes, it exists).
This is a small truth bomb. Of your postings, most of them They are not going to go viral. Like 99% of them, they will simply do okay and that is good. But every now and then you may strike the jackpot—a post that goes totally crazy. That one rectangle on a graph rises above all the others as it reached many more individuals. That one piece? You might get tens of thousands of followers overnight from it. Not for jokes.
Let us consider this: With almost 15 million likes, a post from an account known as Tentree became viral. It was basic—”Double tap to plant a tree.” Boom is Virals. For what reason? For it made it shockingly simple to interact with and appealed to something people cared about. One post like that can turn things around for your account.
The Secret Sauce: Variations
How then can you raise your odds of producing that viral unicorn post? You play on trends. Furthermore, I am not advocating starting your own trend. That’s like attempting to reimagine the wheel; it’s difficult and typically fails. Rather, you surf the already occurring wave of trends. Consider it like jumping onboard a moving train rather than working from nothing to create one.
Not all trends are produced equal these days. Three primary forms exist: long-term trends, seasonal trends, and short-term trends. Allow me to dissect them.
1. Long-Term Trends
These belong to the slow burners. Like Instagram itself, tourism, or even The Rock (yep, Dwayne Johnson is a trend all on her own), these subjects remain pertinent over time. These are excellent for laying a strong basis but not necessarily the best for immediate gains.
2. Temporal Patterns
These show up year at the same times. During the rainy season, Christmas in December, or the Olympics every four years, consider umbrellas. Their consistency makes planning for them simple.
3. Trends in Short Term
Oh, the hot ones. These are the flash-in–the-pan events that blow up and then disappear equally rapidly. Not too far from the Ice Bucket Challenge? Alternatively, the bottle flip frenzy? These developments are like fireworks—bright, loud, and over before you know it. Still, if you find them early, they might attract a lot of interest.
How to See Trends Before Their Peak
Now you understand you have to follow trends. But how can one really locate them before old news? These are a few tried-and-true strategies:
1. Instagram as Itself
Finding trends is like gold mining on Instagram. View what’s popular in your niche or what’s showing on the Explore page. Though we will explore this more in another piece, just know that this is a good basis. Check out Instagram marketing for more insights.
2. Google Patterns
This instrument is revolutionary. It displays real-time search results for what others are looking for. For instance, if you type “Grammys,” you will find that interest rises annually at about the same time. That’s your cue to begin producing material on the Grammys *before* the spike reaches its height. Learn more about using tools like Google Trends on Search Engine Journal.
3. Social Media Cross-Pollination
Ever observed how often trends on TikHub find their way on Instagram? Watch what’s going viral on other platforms and modify it for your readers. For example, the small donut cereal trend began on TikHub but could readily be converted into Instagram material.
4. Reddit
The homepage of Reddit feels like a trend crystal ball. If anything is exploding there, most likely it will soon be popular. Think back on the entire “Storm Area 51” frenzy. That evolved into a huge social media event beginning on Reddit. For more on trends, visit Reddit on Wikipedia.
Customizing Trends for Your Niche
The thing is this: A trend’s popularity does not always indicate that it will fit your brand instantly. The secret is to modify it anyway makes sense for your readers. If you run a fitness brand and Bitcoin is hot, for instance, you may say, “Invest in your health like you would invest in Bitcoin.” Bloom. relevant and hip.
Assume you belong in the food niche and the Grammys are hot. One post you might make is “Award-winning recipes for your Grammy party.” See how that goes? You are following the trend and still keeping it consistent with your brand.
Time Is Everything
Your trend-based material may be broken or enhanced by timing. You want to capture the wave as it is developing rather than once it has crashed. Google Trends among other tools might enable you to find when a trend is beginning to gather steam. You strike then.
The Great Learning
The whole aim of this is not only to follow trends for fun. It’s about serving your audience where they currently live. If you can produce material around subjects they already find interesting, you are connecting rather than merely publishing. From strangers to superfans, you then advance individuals up your affinity ladder.
Therefore, the next time you are generating ideas for material, consider not only what *you* wish to publish. Consider what your readers are now interacting with, searching for, and talking about. There is magic there as well. And then who knows? Your next piece might be the one that clicks.