The social media trends lifecycle

Trends, love ‘em or hate ‘em.

They’re part of the social media echo-system. Keeping professionals on their toes - effectively the pulse of what’s going on culturally.

After examining a few, this is how I visualise the life cycle of a trend.

Pick-up, Peak and Plateau - let’s call it the 3 P’s of social media trends.

Pick up: the start, triggered by a cultural moment or creator who published a unique and/or engaging post (think tube girl, finance guy - I’m not going to say the other one, IYKYK).
It picks up traction as the algorithm continues to test the piece of content, making its way through various creators and brands who see and recreate it (in its simplest form).

Peak: when a trend spreads like wildfire. Frequency and speed pick up here, increasing in popularity. Some hang out here longer while others have an overnight moment of fame. It depends on a variety of reasons.

Plateau: the popularity of the trend starts to wane. Creators tend to step away from recreating it. Unfortunately, this is where we often see brands publish their take, which can feel off when a trend has reached this stage.
Hot tip: If approval processes are slow focus on slow-burning trends to allow for lead times.

And there you have it - my take on the life cycle of trends.