The Old-School Way of Finding Trending Topics
If you’re a content creator, staying ahead of trends is essential. But traditionally, finding those hot topics meant hours of manual research. It’s not just exhausting—it’s inefficient. Let’s break down the typical process.
1. Digging Through Reddit
Reddit is a goldmine for content inspiration, but finding what’s trending takes work:
- Searching for subreddits – Googling “Reddit + [your topic]” to locate active discussions.
- Sorting posts manually – Checking “Hot” or “Top” posts to gauge engagement.
- Reading through endless comments – Looking for recurring themes or questions.
- Tracking upvotes – Manually estimating a topic’s popularity based on engagement.
2. Hunting Down YouTube Trends
On YouTube, the struggle is similar:
- Browsing the Trending page – Which often highlights viral topics outside your niche.
- Sorting videos by views and engagement – Searching for keywords and analyzing top-performing videos.
- Using autocomplete suggestions – Typing phrases into YouTube’s search bar for content ideas.
- Checking YouTube Analytics – If you’re a creator, analyzing watch time, traffic sources, and keyword data.
While these methods work, they eat up valuable time. There’s a smarter way to discover trending topics—without all the manual effort.
A Smarter Approach: Automated Trend Discovery
Instead of spending hours sifting through content, you can automate the process. A tool can analyze trends based on engagement, keywords, and recency, delivering the best topic ideas in minutes. Here’s how it works:
Steps to Find Trending Topics Faster Using Our Trending Content Tool
- Choose a Platform – Select Reddit or YouTube as your data source.
- Enter Keywords or Subreddits – Focus your search by targeting specific topics or communities.
- Set a Date Range – Filter trends from the last 7, 30, or 90 days.
- Customize Engagement Filters – Adjust settings for upvotes, comments, and likes to highlight high-interest discussions.
- Run the Search – The tool scans platform data and presents the most relevant trending topics.
- Refine Results – Filter threads further by keywords for precision.
- Save and Use the Insights – Store trending topics for content planning.
Example: Using Trending Content for Research
If you want to understand what’s trending in personal finance, follow these steps:
- Platform: Choose Reddit as your source.
- Keywords/Subreddits: Enter “budgeting” or select r/personalfinance.
- Date Range: Filter for the last 30 days to find recent discussions.
- Engagement Filters: Set a minimum of 500 upvotes to highlight popular topics.
- Run the Search: The tool will analyze Reddit discussions and surface relevant threads.
- Refine & Save: Extract insights like “Top concerns people have about budgeting.”
This process quickly identifies high-interest topics, saving hours of research time.
How Brands Use Reddit for Trend Research
Successful brands don’t just browse Reddit casually—they systematically extract insights. Here’s how you can do it using our Trending Content tool:
1. Pronounce AI: Mirroring Customer Language
- Challenge: Understanding language learners’ struggles with pronunciation.
- Solution: Using the Trending Content tool, they monitored subreddits like r/LanguageLearning and r/JudgeMyAccent, where users shared their fears and frustrations.If we use Trending Content, for example, we can select Reddit as our platform and search for terms like “pronunciation struggles” or “language learning difficulties.” By setting engagement filters to highlight high-upvote discussions, we can quickly surface common pain points. Once we save and analyze the most insightful threads, we can incorporate real audience phrases into marketing messaging.
- Outcome: By integrating real audience expressions like “Don’t freeze up in your next meeting,” their marketing became instantly relatable. This led to higher engagement rates, increased sign-ups, and stronger user trust in their AI-driven pronunciation tool.
2. Cafely: Prioritizing Genuine Conversations
- Challenge: Understanding consumer concerns about artificial flavors in coffee.
- Solution: Using the Trending Content tool, they engaged in discussions without promoting products and noted common frustrations.If we use Trending Content, we can start by selecting Reddit and searching for keywords like “coffee additives” and “natural coffee.” Setting a 30-day date range ensures we track only recent discussions. By filtering based on comment activity and user engagement, we can focus on the most relevant threads. After saving and reviewing these discussions, we can refine our product messaging based on real consumer concerns.
- Outcome: Insights gathered helped them refine their messaging to emphasize zero artificial ingredients. This not only improved customer perception but also influenced their decision to reposition their nootropic energy drinks, leading to increased demand and brand loyalty.
3. Fetch & Funnel: Boosting Engagement With Beta Testing
Outcome: This participatory approach built trust and deepened customer engagement. Their beta testers became vocal brand advocates, leading to higher adoption rates and word-of-mouth marketing that significantly boosted conversions.
Challenge: Encouraging sustainable e-commerce packaging.
Solution: Using the Trending Content tool, they didn’t just gather feedback—they identified active Reddit discussions and invited users to beta test and contribute to product development.If we use Trending Content, we can begin by selecting Reddit and searching for discussions related to “sustainable packaging.” Applying engagement filters ensures that we highlight discussions with the most activity. By monitoring subreddit conversations in r/sustainability and r/zero_waste, we can pinpoint key concerns. Once we identify top contributors in these discussions, we can reach out and invite them to test prototypes, gathering invaluable feedback in the process.
Why Trend-Based Content Gives You an Edge
1. Smarter Keyword Optimization
By analyzing Reddit discussions and YouTube trends, you can extract:
- Real audience language – Reddit comments reveal natural keyword variations.
- Long-tail search terms – YouTube autocomplete suggests phrases people are actively searching.
- Trending topic clusters – Cross-referencing trends across platforms helps boost relevance.
2. More Unique Content Angles
Instead of chasing overused topics, filtering by engagement data helps you:
- Avoid oversaturated ideas.
- Find niche trends before they go mainstream.
- Stand out from creators relying on generic keyword tools.
3. Faster Research, Better Engagement
Trending topics naturally attract attention. With automation, you can:
- Discover high-potential content ideas within minutes.
- Focus on insights backed by actual engagement data.
- Stay ahead of trends before they peak in popularity.
Take Action: Streamline Your Content Research
- Ditch the Manual Research – Automate trend discovery and save hours of work.
- Target High-Engagement Topics – Filter by upvotes, comments, and recency.
- Leverage YouTube Trends Without Guesswork – Find popular video ideas instantly.
- Extract SEO-Optimized Keywords – Use real audience data for better rankings.
- Engage With Communities Smarter – Focus on high-value discussions instead of endless scrolling.
- Publish Before Trends Peak – Identify viral topics before they reach saturation.
By shifting to automated trend discovery, you can generate content ideas faster, create more relevant content, and stay ahead in your industry.
