Facebook Stories 2012: Top Trends and Year in Review

Leave it up to Facebook to create a cool year end summary not only for the whole world, but for each individual user of Facebook as well. If you logged into Facebook recently, you will have noticed they launched a “Year in Review” feature that will combine all of your content, status updates and pictures from 2012 and pull out the most important ones and give you a nice little year in review.

In addition to the personal collections, Facebook also has breakdowns for the top trends for the US and world wide. As marketers we are all about seeing the top trends and what people are searching for.

Let’s take a look at how Facebook breaks down some of the top trends from 2012.

Top Public Figures of 2012

During an election year you are always going to see the candidates as the top trends for the year… then the real competition begins. After Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the celebrities take over. How many times did you mention these names on Facebook during 2012?

Top Technology of 2012

Everyone loves technology, especially with how much it continues to change our lives on a daily basis. Even with iPhones being as important as they are in our lives, there were still only the 5th most talked about tech trend on Facebook. The photo sharing site and app Instagram took first place, the addition of Facebook Timelines was a big discussion while photo sharing and social site Pinterest rounded off the top three. What new technology trends will pop up in 2013 that completely change the way we run business, our lives and waste time online that we have no idea about right now?

Where to Find More Top Trends

Trends are a great way to look back on the year and see what the hot topics were, but they are even better when you can see them in real time. With Facebook advertising you can target in on any of the latest trends and create ad campaigns that only interested people see. Outside of Facebook’s Year End Trends, you can also use many other sources online for tracking monthly, weekly and daily trends. You can view some of these recommended sources in the posts below.

• How to Find Niche Markets and Hot Searches – Everyone is using a search engine, so there is no better place to find what people are looking for. Google Trends, Yahoo, Aol, Amazon… they are all offering up killer stats on what people are looking for.
• Holiday Sales Trends & Where to Find Them – Holidays are the perfect time to be looking at search and buying trends, as everyone is spending a ton of money on gifts and advertisers to get in front of the right audience. Amazon is your friend as they offer top products and wishlists. National sales reports and predictions will also give you ideas on what people will be searching for before the holiday season hits.

Trends are always changing and that’s why they are so important. Create a list of the best places to find the latest trends for your target audience or niche and you will always be ahead of the curve.