Understanding the Related Metrics
The Related Metrics help you understand what is driving a trend beneath the surface.
While the Trend Lifecycle and metrics tell you what is happening, this dashboard explains:
What is driving consumer interest within a category?
It is built from Spate’s categorization of consumer signals and organized into four tabs:
- Related Categories/Searches/Hashtags
- Brands
- Industries
- Global
Related Categories Tab
The Related Categories tab shows which themes and sub-categories that are driving consumer interest within a trend.
These are derived from underlying consumer signals and grouped into structured categories such as:
- Ingredients
- Benefits
- Concerns
- Formats
- Retailers
This helps you quickly identify what is fueling demand, not just that demand exists.
Important:
These categories include both:
- Brand-driven signals (products, brand-led momentum)
- Organic consumer interest (needs, benefits, behaviors)
This allows you to distinguish between:
- Trends driven by consumer demand
- Trends driven by brand activity
Related Searches, Hashtags & Creators
In addition to structured categories, Spate also surfaces the underlying signals driving a trend across platforms.
Related Searches (Google)
Shows the top search queries associated with a trend.
This reveals:
- How consumers describe their needs
- What problems they are trying to solve
- How demand is evolving over time
Use this to align messaging with real consumer language.
Related Hashtags (TikTok & Instagram)
Shows the hashtags most frequently associated with the trend.
This helps you understand:
- How trends are spreading across social platforms
- What adjacent themes or communities are connected
- How content is being categorized and discovered
Use this to identify content angles and cultural context.
Creators (TikTok & Instagram)
Highlights the creators driving visibility and engagement for a trend.
This helps you:
- Identify key voices and early adopters
- Understand how trends are being communicated
- Spot potential partners or influencers
Use this to inform creator strategy and partnerships.
Brands Tab
The Brands tab shows which brands are most strongly associated with the trend.
This helps answer:
Who is owning this category?
Brands are segmented into:
- Low (Mass)
- Medium
- High (Luxury)
You can also:
- Customize which metrics you view using the Columns button
- Export data as a table or time series CSV
This is especially useful for competitive analysis and positioning.
Industries Tab
The Industries tab shows how a trend performs across different verticals.
This helps answer:
Where is this trend growing the most?
A single trend/ingredient can behave very differently depending on the category:
- A Seasonal Riser in Beauty
- A Sustained Riser in Personal Care
- A Flat trend in Food & Beverage
You can compare:
- Volume (Popularity Index)
- Growth
- Trend behavior (cluster)
This helps identify cross-category opportunities and where demand is strongest.
Global Tab
The Global tab shows how a trend performs across geographies, find this under the Google data specifically.
This helps answer:
Where is this trend strongest globally?
You can compare:
- Volume by country
- Growth patterns across regions
For example:
A trend may be:
- Dominant in one market
- Emerging in others
- Flat or declining elsewhere
This supports:
- Market expansion decisions
- Localization strategies
- Regional prioritization
How to Use the Dashboard
The Related Searches Dashboard helps you move from:
- Trend identification → Trend understanding
Use it to:
- Identify what is driving growth (categories + signals)
- Understand competitive dynamics (brands)
- Spot cross-category opportunities
- Determine where to activate geographically
Lifecycle Context
The insights you see will evolve depending on the trend stage:
- Early → Emerging categories and niche signals
- Growth → Expanding themes and increasing brand presence
- Mainstream → Broad category coverage and strong brand competition
- Fade → Slowing diversification or shifting demand