Snapchat Introduces 'Snapchat Trends' to Showcase Popular Topics in the App

Snapchat has announced a new market research tool similar to Google Trends but tailored to Snapchat, which could be extremely useful for marketers seeking to expand into the platform.

The new Snapchat Trends tool, as seen here, allows marketers to gather data around specific keywords and terms based on mention frequency inside the app, to ascertain their overall popularity and how conversation around them evolves over time.

According to Snapchat:

"Snapchat Trends highlights the most popular keywords shared with the Snapchat community via public Stories and My Stories that have been viewed by a large group, in addition to a searchable database of terms. With these insights, Snap is able to provide a new level of visibility into organic chatter on Snapchat, looking at what our community is talking about and showcasing popular Snaps that exemplify each trending topic."

Similar to Google Trends, but for Snap. This also resembles Pinterest Trends, which employs the same user interface to accommodate keyword research within Pins.

Snapchat Trends combines a number of elements. The first is the main keyword search option that automatically shows search terms based on the text you fill in the main field.

You can then choose some few terms to compare their mention quantity over time, with the graph presenting a year's worth of data.

You can also narrow your search to particular areas:

Snapchat also offers a set of example Snaps that is related to your search terms to provide more information under the main graph display, and hence can further assist in your research process.

Along with case studies and insight to further help with your strategy and planning:

There are many ways these insights can be employed in your marketing process and can prove beneficial. You can take a look at your brand or competitors' mentions and see how Snapchatters react to your products or campaigns, which can give more data for your strategy, as well as whether you should invest more in Snap marketing.

Snap also states that the tool can act as a means to investigate linguistic trends (i.e. new terms and how Snapchatters use them), to comprehend behaviors based on quantity of mentions about specific dates of certain activities (mentions of 'streaming' increases on Fridays) and to know how the volume of discussion increases around season events and holidays.

Having more information will always be more preferable, and this might be a significant support platform to complement your strategy as many brands look for a way to connect to the enclosed and more private Snap audience.

The only constraint is that not all data are of Snap. As Snap points out, the information is founded on "public Stories and My Stories viewed by a broad group." Snap does not offer specific information on where the mentions take place, and neither does it give complete information of shared Snaps between friends.

However, similar to Pinterest Trends, the broader trend notes are probably suggestive enough and a good indicator for your planning and this could be a significant aid to your research efforts - even if you do not plan to use Snapchat specifically for marketing.

You can learn more about the new Snapchat Trends platform here.