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Social media moves fast—like, really fast. In 2025, 5.42 billion people are scrolling, posting, and engaging online, and that number is only growing. To reach these people, you need to stay on top of the latest social media trends. But that’s hard sometimes, and you know it!
Algorithms flip the script overnight, new platforms pop up, and yesterday’s viral content is today’s old news.
If you’re wondering how to keep up with social media trends without losing your mind, you’re in the right place. This guide breaks down no-BS ways to spot trends early, stay relevant, and create content that actually lands. Let’s go!
First of All, What Exactly Are Social Media Trends?
Social media trends can be defined as waves of content that rise and fall in popularity across a variety of social media platforms. This can be anything from a widely shared pop culture moment, a new meme format, or the latest TikTok dance routine.
You need to know how to keep up with social media trends as they usually rise to prominence quickly and then fall out of fashion when the next big thing comes along.
What Influences and Shapes Social Media Trends?
Understanding what inspires social media users can help you learn how to keep up with social media trends, including what users post and how. Social trends can be shaped by a variety of outside influences—sometimes from surprising sources.
Below are just a few examples of highly influential events:
- Global news events can have a significant impact on social media trends. The most notable one of late is the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to a huge uptick in social media use, particularly short-form video content, where users could share how they were spending their lockdowns. Banana bread anyone?
- Pop culture events generate lots of artist and fan content. Taylor Swift has made over $300 Million from her Eras tour so far with an average of 54,000 fans in attendance at each show. This has led to an increase in fan videos, concert fashion content, and her tracks being used in TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube videos. Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour has led to a boom in sales of silver clothing on Etsy.
- Political events cannot be underestimated when trend forecasting for social media. Social media content for LGBTQ+ events like Pride Parades and protest movements like Black Lives Matter receive enormous engagement. Aligning yourself politically can be a risky move for a brand, but nowadays people are expecting more and more authenticity from the brands they support.
Why Should Social Media Strategists Keep Up With Trends?
Knowing how to keep up with social media trends is so important to social media marketing because the turnover of social trends is so rapid. It is crucial to strike while the iron is hot to avoid seeming passé.
If you are up to date with the latest high-engagement content, learning how to incorporate those trends into your social media marketing strategy can help drive some traffic your way and use the algorithms to your advantage.
12 Best Ways to Stay on Top of Social Media Trends
1. Spend Time on Social Media Every Day
While this may seem like an obvious piece of advice, having expert-level knowledge of social media is the key to your success. Engage with other social media users, download the latest app, and see how it works. Also, watch what is happening on Threads and Bluesky as both platforms are gaining a lot of traction!
2. Look at Google Trends
Google Trends is an excellent tool to incorporate into your social media marketing strategy. You can use it to track what people are searching for at any given moment. Taking advantage of already available data will save you lots of time and make your trend forecasting more accurate.
3. Follow Trendsetting Accounts on Threads
Social media influencers have had a meteoric rise to prominence in social media marketing. A good place to find industry influencers is Threads.
Build a tight feed by following the voices that matter in your niche—whether it’s top creators, social media strategists, or fast-moving brands. A lot of fresh faces are gaining traction on Threads, starting new trends before they hit mainstream. So, it’s certainly a great place to spot emerging ideas and adapt them to your own social media campaigns.
Just don’t forget to engage with relevant accounts and stay active in discussions so that your feed gets curated even more!
4. Set Up Google Alerts on Terms and Influencers
Google Alerts is another handy tool as you get personalized alerts straight to your email inbox. You can create an alert using search terms and each time new content containing your keywords hits the internet, you get a notification. You can also choose the frequency of alerts. We recommend setting it to once a day so you don’t get bombarded!
5. Join Groups on LinkedIn
LinkedIn Groups help you connect with other industry professionals to share best practices on how to keep up with social media trends. This Social Media Marketing group has 2.8 million members!
6. Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts can be a great source of inspiration and information for your social media marketing strategy. There are tons of industry professionals putting out regular episodes with the latest tips, tricks, and advice for how to keep up with social media trends and more.
Some top-rated podcasts for social media professionals include Creator Club by Katie Steckly, Social Media Marketing School by Ethan Bridge, and Social Minds – Social Media Marketing by Social Chain.
7. Keep an Eye on the Competition
While it is important to create your own unique brand and voice, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the competition. You may be able to glean some knowledge about a platform or program you should be using or make note of some of their most effective hashtags.
You can also read their comments and reviews to see what customers are asking for, what other brands could be doing better, and see if you can reach that niche with your own business.
8. See What’s Trending on YouTube
Despite the current popularity of short-form video content, YouTube remains a titan of social media with 122 Million users visiting the site every day. While your homepage is usually curated using data from your past searches, the YouTube Trending tab is an excellent place to tap into what’s popular right now.
9. Subscribe to Newsletters
Another great way to stay on top of social media trends is through industry newsletters.
They bring the latest platform updates, trend reports, and algorithm changes straight to your inbox—no digging required. Some top picks? Marketing Brew and Social Media Today. Need more options? Check out our roundup of the 7 best social media newsletters to subscribe to in 2025.
Choose ones that offer real insights, not just clickbait. To keep your inbox organized, set up a dedicated folder and skim through them while enjoying your morning coffee.
10. Follow Social Media Strategists
Want to spot trends before they take off? Follow experts who live and breathe social media.
Brock Johnson, Monique Forcella, and Grace Andrews are always breaking down the latest updates on X, LinkedIn, and Threads. These pros analyze algorithm shifts, platform updates, and new features—so you can stay ahead without spending hours decoding it all yourself.
👉 Looking for more names? Our guide to the most influential media strategists to follow in 2025 has plenty of recommendations.
11. Join Reddit & Slack Communities
If you want real, unfiltered insights from marketers who are in the trenches daily, Reddit threads and Slack groups are where the best conversations about trends and effective strategies happen.
On Reddit, check out r/socialmedia, r/marketing, and r/Instagram for discussions on trends, algorithm changes, and content strategies. People share what’s working, what’s flopping, and insights you won’t find in blog posts.
For Slack communities, join groups like Marketers Chat (run by Leon Hitchens), Online Geniuses, and Superpath. These spaces give you direct access to industry pros, case studies, and even job opportunities. Plus, they’re great for networking—you never know who you’ll meet in a casual chat.
12. Read Industry Blogs
Lastly, don’t forget to check out industry blogs. They get written off sometimes, but trust us—blogs aren’t dead! You just need to read the right ones!
We cover plenty of insights here on our blog, from the latest social media shifts to LinkedIn trends, so it’s worth a read. Want even more expert takes? Add these to your list:
Tools for Tracking Social Media Trends
If you’re more of an automation fan, you might want to explore social media trend-tracking tools.
Social media trend-tracking tools monitor and analyze online conversations and activities to identify emerging topics, trends, and sentiments, helping businesses stay informed and adapt their strategies accordingly.
Here’s a bunch of tools that could be useful for you:
- Top-Hashtags (monitors hashtags that are trending on Instagram and TikTok)
- TubeBuddy (trend monitoring for YouTube)
- Feedly (aggregates news and curates content and trending topics from across the web
- Trendspottr (predicts viral content before it peaks)
- Exploding Topics (covers social media, tech, and industry-specific trends before they go mainstream).
FAQs About Social Media Trend Tracking
Jumping on everything without a strategy. Just because something is trending doesn’t mean it’s a fit. The best brands don’t just follow trends—they shape them. Focus on trends that actually make sense for your audience, your voice, and your goals.
The best thing you can do is make trend tracking a habit. Social media moves fast, so spending 10-15 minutes a day checking Google Trends, YouTube Trending, and your go-to industry sources will keep you in the loop. Also, set up alerts for key topics and keep an eye on what top brands and creators are experimenting with.
Not every trend is a good fit. Ask yourself: Does this align with my brand? Will my audience care? Can I add value to the conversation? If the answer is yes, test it out. If not, let it go—no need to chase every fleeting moment.
Let’s Wrap Up
When it comes to social media marketing, you don’t need to gaze into a crystal ball to find out how to keep up with the social media trends. You only need to utilize the tools at your disposal. Stay up-to-date using multiple approaches and be ready to adapt quickly—time is the most valuable asset when it comes to following a trend.
At Gain, we know how valuable your time is, which is why it’s our business to streamline your content approval process and allow your social media content to get out there before the latest trend blows over.
Get started with a free trial today.
