Last week, I ran some social listening in the run-up to Winter Solstice to understand if it was still something that people were talking about. Here are some super topline learnings from my analysis.
The key findings are presented as a video for ease of consumption.
Generative trend platform NextAtlas is predicting that social media interest in the Winter Solstice will grow by another 8% over the coming year. The majority of interest around Winter Solstice is being driven by Instagram, a platform that we can’t track historic data for.
This indicates that the Winter Solstice conversation is actually even bigger than we thought.
Is this a social only trend or is it translating to search and shopping?
I’ve analysed the data across various platforms including Google, Bing, Amazon, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok, and Winter Solstice is growing on all of them.
It’s useful to be able to contextualise what else people are searching for. One of the biggest associated upward trending topics was a novel set at Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher, indicating that this date has significance outside of the pagan/wellness communities.
Great, how is this useful to me?
Well, alongside understanding the bigger cultural shift back to a more seasonal way of living that ties into climate change anxiety and a desire for slower living, there are also some clear and tangible benefits to using this data.
- There’s definitely consumer appetite for Solstice and the return of the light, but there are very few products associated with this day, this represents a big gap in the market for wellness brands whose audiences this would resonate with.
- Expect to see more people organising events around Solstice/Equinoxes over the coming years. Again, this goes hand in hand with the current resurgence of interest in Folklore in the UK.
- There are multiple opportunities for farmers/food producers/small batch brands to create special seasonal solstice recipes/dishes/types of produce.
Social listening doesn’t have to just inform what Gen Z are doing on TikTok, the data can have far-reaching uses that can help brands, businesses and communities of any size.