Being able to spot the next big thing is a skill that not many people possess. If you were able to cultivate this skill in yourself, then you could easily make money from consumer trends before everybody else decides to get in on the idea. Here we have some pointers that could help you to do this effectively.

Subscribe to Magazines and News Outlets in Your Industry

Magazines in your industry are going to be really useful resources to learn from, and if you subscribe to and/or read enough of them, you should be able to better spot emerging trends in your industry. Keeping note of the things you see can help you to avoid falling behind and missing out on something that could have been big. Sometimes you need to take chances and risks, and this could mean getting something wrong. However, you can simply learn from this and move on. Many successful people have a string of failures behind them, but we only see the successes!

Treat Social Media as a School

Social media can be a place to catch up with those we love (or just feel envious of people you don’t like), but if you want to make money, it’s also a great place to spot trends. Treat social media as a school, and everytime you scroll or browse, figure out what you can learn. What can you learn from posts from your favorite influencers or businesses? What do people seem to be talking about or doing the most? You can even use tools like the YouTube trends dashboard to see what’s popular, and you should get a good idea of the next big thing this way.

Speak to Other People in Your Industry and Network

Network as much as possible and speak to other people in your industry. They may be able to provide some insight on the next big thing, or you may just be able to pick it up from the things they say to you in passing. Networking is great for both your personal brand and your business. Of course, you shouldn’t just network with the intention of finding out the next big thing, but this is something you should always keep in mind so you can achieve your objectives and learn from everybody you meet.

Look at Buzzfeed to See What’s Popular

Check out Buzzfeed! You don’t need to do a Buzzfeed quiz, but you can use the site to see what the most shared topics on social media are at the moment. You might check Buzzfeed and decide that it’s the right time to purchase an asmr microphone – although this is one trend that has pretty much taken off already. That being said, just because a trend has taken off doesn’t mean you can’t get in on it!

Check Out Mashable to See What’s Being Shared

Mashable is another great site to check out the content being shared on social media. You can’t scour every corner of every social media platform, so using sites like Mashable can help you to save a lot of time and effort.

Look at the Expert Predictions for Your Industry

There are likely many posts that people have already created with their own predictions for what will be big in 2021. Check out these predictions, see what adds up and see what could be the next big thing.

Use Topsy Analytics to Figure Out What’s Popular on Twitter

Topsy is a social search engine that features an analytics tool for Twitter that allows you to compare up to three subjects. Using this tool allows you to check up to a month’s worth of trending links. You’ll be able to see significant tweet mentions amongst other things to help you work out what you should jump on. The data itself comes from Twitter, and spammy links have been excluded from the results so you get an accurate picture of what is trending.

Spotting the next big thing isn’t easy. If it was, everybody would be jumping on every trend and trying to make their money! Wanting your own piece of the pie is great, but you need to be committed to using the steps here. If you’re consistent and keep a keen eye out, you should soon have a good idea of what the next big thing is in your industry. Do you have any advice for people looking to spot the next big thing? Leave it in the comments below. Thanks for reading!