Who wouldn't want to know future trends in advance so that they can anticipate the desires of their audience?
What if I told you that all this is possible?
I am not talking about divinatory arts, what is being read is not coffee grounds but search data from the world's most relevant visual platform: Pinterest.
What is Pinterest Predicts? We are all probably familiar with Pinterest, the social networking site that allows for the sharing of photos and images that tell about interests and ideas, collected in inspirational pinboards.
Few people know, however, that this platform is a real search engine, and it is precisely by exploiting this feature that Pinterest Predicts is compiled.
"Pinterest Predicts is not just a report on the trends of the moment. It's a report on trends that aren't trends yet."
This is how Andréa Mallard, Chief Marketing Officer, introduces the annual report on search trends made on the kind social, which allows you to anticipate trends and fashions of the coming year.
How are trends selected? By comparing the volumes of searches in the previous 2 years and selecting the topics that show steady growth, then dividing them into macro categories. This data analysis makes it possible to identify trends strong in real growth over time, which will then have a high chance of coming true.
Eight out of ten trends in 2020, not bad I'd say! In December 2019 the social of pins published Pinterest 100 i.e., the 100 trends identified for 2020: as many as 80 percent of these turned out to be correct*, in a year that had very little that was predictable! A result that has the unbelievable but that we can easily explain if we think that as many as 442 million people worldwide* resort to pinboards to find ideas for their more or less near future.
Here are some examples of a category expected to grow in 2020 and specific related research:
- Overcoming gender stereotypes (Gender-neutral names, unisex baby clothes, androgynous wedding dress...);
- Conscious consumption (living by reducing waste, second-hand furniture, zero waste weddings...);
- Recall of nature (lake fishing, camping, nature trips, environmentally sustainable travel...);
- Return of the '90s (grunge fashion, '90s music, hair clips...) -I think I was a major contributor to the growth of this trend-ndr;
- Discovering space (STEM activities, space-themed parties, NASA logos...);
- Pet pampering (dog grooming, dog and cat cakes, pet furniture...)
and others. Do you find yourself in these interests?
Click here to read more about the 2020 report
*source: Pinterest
June: time to take stock!
We're halfway through this 2021, how about taking a look at a few categories from this year's Pinterest Predicts and assessing how correct they are?
There are over 150 trends identified, you can find the full report here, and I recommend you take a look at it: in addition to the categories, you have the ability to filter interests by audience, thus being able to answer questions specific to Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X and even Baby Boomers (a far cry from the infamous "Good Morning Coffee?!!?" memes).
2021: a year of inner rebirth!
Overcoming the concept of normality is the underlying theme of all trends, and research regarding fashion proves it: "athleisure," i.e., casual and sporty, garments will become chic and refined, giving birth to the athflow style; in the beauty world, skinimalism will be all the rage; curiosities about zodiac signs and methods of self-improvement are on the rise, as are mindfullness exercises for children. Then again, this year should also be the year of doing and learning, a time to get involved and experiment, study, try things out... in fact, among the most popular searches are podcast covers, gourmet layouts, small business ideas and motivations for entrepreneurs. Categorizing by audience, Generation Z is particularly interested in aesthetics and fashion (searches: Indie Beauty, over-the-top eyebrows...); Millennials in multitasking rooms and optimizing home space; Generation X in search of recipes, chefs and flavors while surprisingly, lastly, Boomers manifest a strong desire to escape with searches like Nomads Today and Escape by Car.
The year is still long, but I believe that the Pinterest trend prediction report will be very reliable this time as well!
How to exploit this information?
Here we come to the crux of the matter: how can we benefit from this information? By playing ahead, simple! Knowing what your audience will be interested in in the future allows you to know the trends and prepare properly.
And mind you: I mentioned future interests, not tomorrow's interests. Knowing today what will be in trend tomorrow is useful, but knowing more in advance really allows you to structure an ad hoc strategy, one that panders to and anticipates requests, that responds to needs and satisfies real and true issues and curiosities.
It's all about getting there before others through the right content using the right mediums.Not to mention the field of advertising...room for ideas, the data-driven kind!
It's never too late! Have I intrigued you? Did you feel like finding out more about the trends of 2021?
You may not have known about Pinterest Predicts and its uses, but now you have no more excuses: keep (or start) finding out what your audience is interested in and create relevant content and solutions, which this year is certainly not over yet!
Francesca Vanolo
Web Marketing and Social Media Ambassadors - Digital Innovation Days