{"id":44470,"date":"2024-02-08T10:52:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T10:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newonclusivstg.wpengine.com\/?p=44470"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:21:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:21:53","slug":"5-ways-trend-tracking-helps-pr-marketing-pros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/blog\/5-ways-trend-tracking-helps-pr-marketing-pros\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways Trend Tracking Helps PR & Marketing Pros"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n \n\t\t\t
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 <\/p>\n

In the dynamic landscape of PR and marketing, the ability to shape and capitalise on trends is
\nvital for successful campaigns. In fact, shaping and capitalising on both industry trends and
\nconsumer trends (rather than just responding), has numerous benefits. Stronger campaign
\nperformance, a competitive edge, and increased brand health to name a few. The ability to
\naccomplish this comes from trend tracking. To track trends effectively, you need to leverage tech
\nthat\u2019s designed for the task. This is where social listening tools play a pivotal role.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In this blog, we\u2019ll dive into how a social listening tool tracks industry and consumer trends.
\nAfter that, we\u2019ll break down the five ways trend tracking helps PR and marketing pros, as
\nthe title suggests. Through this list, we\u2019ll help you distinguish what must-have features you need
\nin a social listening platform.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How does a social listening tool track trends?<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Social listening tools track trends by systematically monitoring and analysing mainstream and
\nsocial media conversations across platforms in real-time. These tools use advanced algorithms
\nto sift through vast amounts of data. And they collect invaluable insights by utilising AI tech such
\nas smart tagging, sentiment analysis, and visual listening. This tech identifies and categorises
\nkeywords, hashtags, and mentions related to particular subjects. These insights help brands
\nunderstand what\u2019s being said about them. Additionally, these insights reveal emerging industry
\nand consumer trends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trend tracking with a social listening tool will ultimately inform your brand strategies and benefit
\nyou in numerous ways. Let\u2019s delve more into this below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What happens when you shape and capitalise on trends: The 5
\nbenefits<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you utilise this proactive approach and begin to shape and capitalise on trends, you gain
\nfive key capabilities. These capabilities work in harmony to make your PR and marketing
\ncampaigns even more successful. Trend tracking with a social listening tool allows you to:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Anticipate where to develop your thought leadership content,
\n2. Identify influencers and track their impact on your consumers,
\n3. Discover where there\u2019s space for message development,
\n4. Find out where can you lead the conversation and build brand trust and authority,
\n5. Understand how you benchmark against competitors regarding share of voice on
\nemerging issues and industry developments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break each of these points down and highlight the essential social listening tool features
\nthat enable them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anticipate where to develop your thought leadership content<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Identifying emerging topics: Social listening tools monitor conversations across social media
\nplatforms. By cataloguing this activity, the tool helps brands identify emerging topics and
\ndiscussions within their industry. By analysing these conversations, you can spot industry trends
\nand identify areas where your expertise can contribute valuable insights. This proactive
\napproach allows for the timely development of thought leadership content on relevant and
\ntrending subjects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Understanding Audience Interests:<\/strong> Social listening tools enable brands to understand the
\ninterests and preferences of their target audience. By analysing the concepts that resonate most
\nwith audiences, you can tailor your brand\u2019s thought leadership content to align. This ensures
\nyour content not only addresses current consumer trends but also resonates with your
\naudience, making it more impactful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you know 73 percent of respondents expect companies to understand their unique needs
\nand expectations? This is according to a May 2022 Salesforce report. On top of that, 62 percent
\nof respondents think companies should anticipate their needs.
\nThis is a strong indicator to integrate these social listening tactics into your PR and marketing
\ncomms strategy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monitoring competitor strategies:<\/strong> Social listening tools can be used beyond tracking your
\nbrand mentions and activities. It can also monitor the activities and strategies of competitors. By
\nunderstanding what industry trends competitors are engaging with, you can identify areas where
\nyour brand can add perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It will also allow you to gain a generally clearer picture of your competitive landscape. From
\nhere, you can better craft thought leadership content that stands out in a crowded digital space.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monitoring keywords and hashtags:<\/strong> Trend tracking includes monitoring keywords and
\nhashtags that are relevant to your industry or brand. By analysing the frequency and sentiment
\nof these keywords, you can gain insights into what concepts are gaining traction. This helps
\nidentify developing industry trends and consumer trends to inform your comms strategy. You
\ncan leverage this info to create thought leadership content that\u2019s timely and optimised for social
\nmedia visibility.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Identify influencers and track their impact on your consumers<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Influencer discovery:<\/strong> By monitoring conversations across various platforms, social listening
\ntools also help identify influencers with a voice in your industry. By tracking mentions,
\nengagement levels, and the reach of certain individuals, you can pinpoint influencers whose
\nopinions and content is most relevant to your brand and target audience.<\/p>\n

The social listening platform you utilise for this will ideally have filter and sort features. For
\nexample, with Onclusive\u2019s social listening platform, you can filter and sort brand mentions by
\ngeography, reach, engagement, and tone. This helps you greatly in identifying the most relevant
\ninfluencers.<\/p>\n

An important action here is to also monitor detractors (individuals speaking negatively about
\nyour brand, industry, or topic). You need to understand who they are and their concerns so you
\ndevelop strategies to turn them into advocates.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Audience engagement analysis:<\/strong> Social listening also enables you to analyse how influencers
\nengage with your audience. This includes the type of content they share, the sentiment of
\naudience responses, and the overall impact of their messages. Additionally, you can analyse
\nmetrics such as followers, likes, and shares to gauge the extent of an influencer’s impact,
\nwhether positive or negative.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With this info, you can also identify opportunities to develop and nurture online communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Discover where there\u2019s space for message development<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Identifying conversational gaps: Similarly to identifying gaps in competitor content, monitoring
\nand analysing online conversations helps you identify gaps in industry info. This presents an
\nopportunity for your brand to fill empty space with relevant and valuable messages.
\nSpotting emerging topics and themes:
\nLikewise, trend tracking enables brands to stay updated on emerging topics and themes within
\ntheir industry or niche. By identifying these developing industry trends early on, brands can get
\nin on the ground floor, so to speak.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Analysing audience sentiment: <\/strong>Audience sentiment analysis is a brilliant way to uncover opportunities for message
\ndevelopment. By analysing audience sentiment, you can better understand how people
\ngenerally feel about specific topics. This insight will be invaluable in guiding message
\ndevelopment that addresses concerns or contributes to online discussions.
\nFind out where can you lead the conversation and build brand trust and
\nauthority.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spotting gaps in information:<\/strong> Trend tracking can help your brand be the first voice in a space.
\nIt does this by identifying gaps in information or areas where there is confusion within industries.
\nYou can and should capitalise on this by providing clarity, reliable information, solutions, and
\ninnovative insights. This is a golden opportunity to establish brand authority.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Understanding audience needs:<\/strong> Similarly to analysing audience sentiment, social listening
\ntools provide insights into audience preferences and needs. It does this by pinpointing and
\ncategorising consumer trends. By understanding what your target audience is looking for, your
\nbrand can lead conversations by addressing these needs proactively. This approach fosters
\ntrust and can position your brand as a reliable source for customers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget 73 percent of respondents from the Salesforce report expect companies to
\nunderstand their unique needs and expectations. So you\u2019ll want to pay attention to consumer
\ntrends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Understand how you benchmark against competitors regarding share of
\nvoice on emerging issues and industry developments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Competitor analysis:<\/strong>
\nSocial listening tools enable brands to monitor and analyse the online presence and
\nconversations of their competitors. By tracking competitors’ mentions, engagement, and
\nsentiment, brands can gain insights into how they compare in terms of share of voice on
\nemerging issues. This competitive analysis forms the basis for benchmarking against industry
\nrivals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tracking media mentions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a social listening tool, you can easily track media mentions related to your industry and
\ncompetitors. Monitoring media coverage provides a quantitative measure of share of voice
\nacross social networks. In addition to reach and frequency, you can measure the tone of media
\nmentions to benchmark your performance against competitors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sentiment Analysis Across Competitors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sentiment analysis feature of social listening also plays a pivotal role here. Using sentiment
\nanalysis, you can evaluate how sentiments surrounding your brand compare to those of
\ncompetitors. By analysing positive, negative, and neutral sentiments of competitors, you can
\ngauge how they\u2019re shaping audience perceptions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trend Tracking with Social Listening<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The proactive approach to trend tracking, facilitated by robust social listening tools, equips PR
\nand marketing professionals with invaluable insights. By anticipating emerging topics, identifying
\ninfluencers, discovering messaging opportunities, leading conversations, and benchmarking
\nagainst competitors, you can elevate your PR and marketing campaigns and establish stronger
\nbrand authority. Experience the above five impact points for yourself! Integrate social listening
\ninto your comms strategy today and begin shaping and capitalising on consumer and industry
\ntrends<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":42588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog-post-new-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"audience":[],"topic":[1227,518],"region":[],"class_list":["post-44470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-marketing-en-gb","topic-social-listening-en-gb"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90649,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44470\/revisions\/90649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=44470"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=44470"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=44470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}