A Few Trendspotting Tools Fuelling Our PR Thinking Lately

Trendspotting Tools for PR and Marketing

In a world where social trends shift by the second, clients often ask:“What tools do you use to stay ahead - and how do you know when to jump on a moment?”

While we’re constantly tracking trending hashtags, viral content, and the cultural conversations shaping TikTok, Instagram, and beyond, we also rely on smart tech and AI to do the heavy lifting.

But with over 34,000 new mobile apps* launched on the Google Play Store in April 2025 alone, the real challenge isn’t access - it’s knowing which platforms are actually worth your time.

So, we’re cutting through the noise. Here are some go-to tools to stay ahead of the curve - so you can scroll smarter, not harder.

AnswerThePublic - Turn Search Data into SEO Content that Connects with Your Audiences (Free limited searches)

AnswerThePublic is a free tool that helps you discover what people are searching for online. By inputting a keyword or

phrase, it generates a visual map of related questions based on real-time search data. This is valuable for identifying trending topics, content ideas, and understanding what your audience is curious about.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: AnswerThePublic helps us suggest content for advice articles, listicles and pitches that helps to drive digital PR and SEO. 

TikTok Creative Centre - Uncover Trends, Spark Ideas, and Power Campaigns with TikTok’s Creative Toolkit (Free)

TikTok Creative Centre is the free, official tool from TikTok that helps marketers, creators, and brands track what's trending on the platform in real-time. It offers insight into:

• 🔥 Trending hashtags

• 🎵 Popular songs and sounds

• 👥 Top creators by industry or region

• 📈 High-performing ads and creative formats

You can filter trends by country, industry, and timeframe, making it a go-to resource for spotting early momentum and creating culturally relevant content.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: Whether working on social content, influencer marketing or PR campaigns, we can track what is trending in real-time, while predicting how this trend can evolve. 

Glimpse - An AI-Powered Trend Discovery Tool (Offers a free trial)

An AI-powered trend discovery tool that shares fast-rising topics by analysing search data like Reddit conversations and other social activity. It’s especially useful for spotting early signals in consumer behaviour, product trends, and startup opportunities before they go mainstream.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: By analysing search data, Reddit threads, and social chatter, it helps identify what people are starting to care about before the media catches on.

YouTube Trending Tab - Real-Time Trends in Music, News, Pop Culture & More (Free)

The Tab showcases the most popular and talked-about videos, based on factors like view count, growth rate, and engagement. Updated regularly, it reflects what's gaining traction in your region across categories like music, news, pop culture, and creators - making it a useful tool for spotting viral content and cultural moments as they happen.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: For brands who have gen z and millennial audiences, we can find out what content is working to suggest campaigns, or pitch for product and interview opportunities. 

TrendSpottr - Predictive Trend Intelligence Platform (Paid / free trial available)

TrendSpottr is a predictive trend intelligence platform designed for brands, marketers, and PR professionals. It identifies emerging trends, viral content, and key influencers across the social web. By analysing social media signals, TrendSpottr helps users anticipate threats, discover opportunities, and optimise content strategies before trends go mainstream.

How this Works for PR + Marketing:

Unlike platforms that just track keyword spikes, Trendspotter surfaces why something is resonating, filters by relevance, and tailors alerts to your industry. This gives us scroll-stopping insights we can act on.

Google Trends - Uncover What the World Is Searching For (Free)

Google Trends is a free tool that shows the popularity of specific search terms over time. It helps you understand how frequently a particular term is being searched for in different regions and languages, providing insights into trends and patterns.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: Uncover audience intent and spot emerging demand to inform your campaigns, pitches, and marketing strategies.  

Trendsmap - Visualise Twitter Trends by Location to Stay ahead of the Conversation (Paid)

Trendsmap is a platform that visualises Twitter trends, allowing users to see what’s trending in specific regions or globally. While it offers a free version, this is limited to basic features like viewing current trending topics on a map. To access more advanced functionalities, such as historical data analysis, visualisations, and analytics reports, a paid subscription is required. 

How this Works for PR + Marketing:

With its advanced features, it enables more targeted campaigns, timely content creation, and deeper trend analysis for better audience engagement and brand positioning.

SparkToro - Uncover Where Your Audience Hangs out Online (Offers free trial) 

SparkToro is an audience research tool that helps you understand where your target audience spends time online. Instead of relying on guesswork or expensive surveys, it shows you which websites they visit, social accounts they follow, podcasts they listen to, and more. This makes it especially valuable for marketers, PR professionals, and founders who want to identify the right platforms, influencers, and content to reach their niche audiences effectively.

How this Works for PR + Marketing: It doesn’t just track what’s trending in a generic sense; it pinpoints where your target audience is already engaging and identifies emerging trends with predictive insights for more precise, high-impact campaigns that are aligned with audience behaviour.

When to News jack a Trend with PR:

Jumping on a trend in PR is as much about strategic judgment as it is about speed. Not every viral moment is worth the chase - what really counts is whether it aligns with your brand’s voice, audience, and values. The best PRs pause to ask: Can we add something meaningful? Are we acting quickly enough? Could this do more harm than good? When done well, trend-led PR can generate standout media coverage and social impact. But timing and tone are everything. Sometimes, the smartest move is knowing when to stay silent. In a saturated landscape, relevance and authenticity always cut through the noise.

For further information about PR, marketing and trendspotting, please contact lisa@thisisbanjo.com 

Source:

• Number of monthly Android app releases worldwide 2025| Statista