---
title: "Understanding the Related Metrics"
url: "https://help.spate.nyc/en/article/understanding-related-metrics"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-22T20:29:54.247Z"
---

# 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 or brand.

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 Categories (TikTok & Instagram)

Shows the **hashtags and keywords** most frequently associated with the trend or brand.

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