FACEBOOK IQ is the insights and marketing division of the phenomenally popular social-media platform. It recently released its first Topics and Trends Report, covering topics of conversation that started in 2017 and will go mainstream next year.
The report covered the areas of beauty and fashion, commerce, culture, entertainment, food and drink, mind and body and technology.
Basically, Facebook IQ looks at what people have been talking about online and analyzes whether these topics will be major trends in the coming year.
“Due to the size of the Facebook platform, we have a unique vantage point to see which conversations are growing at scale and taking hold, and which are simply a flash in the pan. Our findings are grounded in real data and real findings from Facebook’s 2 billion users,” Facebook IQ said in its report.
For Beauty, the report noted that talking about procedures one has had done is no longer as taboo as it was. In fact, people now talk about these procedures step by step online. The report cites cryolipolysis, a cooling treatment for the reduction of body fat. People have also been talking a lot about hair removal and tattooed or permanent makeup.
For Fashion, the report noted that the conversation has grown around the topics of “androgyny, boyfriend fashion and unisex.” This is reflective of today’s gender fluidity and neutrality.
The topic of Commerce noted the rise of cryptocurrency, a digital monetary system designed to make transactions more secure.
“Formerly in the domain of the dark Web, digital currency made headlines in 2017—and now appears poised for the mainstream,” Facebook IQsaid in the report.
Here are other interesting points raised in the Facebook IQ report:
• Millennials will make up one-half of the global work force by 2020.
• According to a study conducted by Facebook IQ, 75 percent of female respondents said brands should stop portraying women as sex symbols. Meanwhile, 45 percent of the male respondents said they preferred to shop from brands that promote gender equality. Since January 2016 online conversation has grown across the terms “gender role” (2.34 times), “women’s empowerment” (1.05 times) and Wonder Woman (2.18 times).
• New specialty holidays, such as National Doughnut Day and World Naked Gardening Day gained popularity in 2017. “People are coming together to celebrate life’s simple pleasures,” Facebook IQ said.
• Mobile technology has improved with better graphics and larger memory capacity, and more sophisticated games are being designed for mobile. “This is opening a space for a new kind of gamer: the midcore gamer,” it added.
• People will pay up to 11 percent more for each layer of convenience added to the food purchase journey, according to a recent study.
• When it comes to dining out, “the most important sense in the dining experience is the eyes, not the mouth.” Yes, people still took a lot of food pictures.
• Since 2016 online conversation has grown around acupuncture; myotherapy, which includes trigger-point therapy; soft-tissue massage and body manipulation; and reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction, administered through palm or hands-on healing.
• People’s fascination with artificial intelligence (AI) is growing. “Since 2016 conversation has grown around artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer programming. Attitudes toward AI are also evolving: While some may be wary of it, there is growing anticipation for what a future with artificial intelligence could look like,” the report said. n