Skill: leooooooow/trend-mapper (version 1.1.0)

--- name — Trend Mapper description — Identify trending audio, viral formats, and meme templates relevant to your product category and help adapt them for ecommerce content quickly. --- # Trend Mapper Identify trending audio, viral formats, and meme templates relevant to your product category and help adapt them for ecommerce content quickly. Trends have a 3–7 day window of peak performance on TikTok before they saturate — this skill compresses the time from trend identification to usable ecommerce content brief. ## Quick Reference | Decision | Strong | Acceptable | Weak | |---|---|---|---| | Trend adoption timing | 1–3 days after first major wave | 4–6 days (still viable with strong execution) | 7+ days (trend is saturating) | | Product-trend fit threshold | Trend angle maps naturally to product use case or benefit | Stretch connection with a creative angle | No genuine connection — forced | | Trend source breadth | TikTok Creative Center + For You Page observation + competitor monitoring | TikTok Creative Center only | Waiting for trends to appear in your feed | | Adaptation method | Original script written for your product using the trend format | Template copied with minimal changes | Verbatim trend recreation with product placement | | Content volume on trend | Under 100k uses | 100k–500k uses | 500k+ uses (likely saturating) | | Trend type prioritized | Audio trend + format trend (two signals) | Audio trend only | Meme/text format only | | Post-trend learning | Learning documented (what worked, what didn't) | Basic performance note | No documentation | ## Solves 1. **Trend timing blindness** — Finding a trend after it's saturated means competing with millions of uses at the exact moment the algorithm deprioritizes the format. 2. **Irrelevant trend chasing** — Participating in trends with no genuine connection to your product looks forced, undermines brand credibility, and converts poorly. 3. **Slow creative production** — Without a rapid adaptation workflow, trend-to-post time stretches to 5–10 days, missing the window entirely. 4. **Trend without a hook** — Recreating a trending format without understanding what made it engaging produces content that looks like a trend but performs like brand content. 5. **Single-platform trend myopia** — Many ecommerce brands only track TikTok native trends, missing cross-platform formats that originated on Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. 6. **Not building a trend adaptation playbook** — Treating every trend as a one-off event means rebuilding the adaptation process each time rather than developing a repeatable workflow. 7. **Ignoring product-specific trend niches** — Every product category has micro-trends (within beauty, fitness, home decor, food) that don't surface in broad trend reports but drive disproportionate engagement within the niche. ## Workflow ### Step 1 — Build Your Trend Monitoring Sources Set up a consistent daily check across three sources: **TikTok Creative Center** (ads.tiktok.com/creative-center) - Check "Trending Songs" daily — these are audio files gaining velocity - Check "Trending Hashtags" for your category - Note — Creative Center lags 24–48 hours behind organic feed; use as confirmation, not primary discovery **Your For You Page (FYP) observation** - Dedicate 15 minutes daily to scrolling the FYP as a member of your target audience (not as yourself — build a secondary account if needed) - When you see a format or audio appearing 3+ times in a 15-minute session, that's an early trend signal - Screenshot or save examples immediately **Competitor and creator monitoring** - Follow 10–15 top creators in your product category - When multiple creators adopt the same audio or format on the same day, that's a trend entering your niche - Use TikTok's "Following" tab focused on this creator list ### Step 2 — Evaluate Trend Relevance for Your Product Before adapting any trend, run a quick relevance check: **Natural fit signals (proceed with adaptation):** - The trend format involves demonstrating a product, result, or transformation — maps to your product naturally - The trend is about a feeling, problem, or aspiration that your product directly addresses - The audio tone (energetic, emotional, relaxed) matches your brand's intended tone - The trend is actively being used by creators in your product category or adjacent categories **Poor fit signals (skip or adapt creatively only):** - The trend is tied to a social issue, political topic, or sensitive subject — even a clever product tie-in can create brand risk - The trend requires humor that doesn't align with your brand or product - The connection between the trend and your product would require explicit explanation — good trends for ecommerce should be intuitively obvious **Saturation check:** - Under 50k uses — early adopter window (highest reward, requires fastest execution) - 50k–200k uses — early majority window (optimal for most brands) - 200k–500k uses — late majority (still viable with excellent execution) - 500k+ uses — saturation (only proceed if you have a uniquely excellent adaptation) ### Step 3 — Analyze What Makes the Trend Work Before writing your adaptation, understand the trend's mechanics: **For audio trends:** - What is the audio's emotional tone? (energetic, nostalgic, funny, dramatic) - What is the standard visual format paired with it? (dance, transition, POV, text-over-video) - What is the "punchline" or peak moment? (the beat drop, the lyric change, the visual reveal) - Why does it stop the scroll? (unexpected, relatable, aspirational, funny) **For format/meme trends:** - What is the setup? (the first half that creates the expectation) - What is the subversion? (the second half that delivers the unexpected payoff) - What makes the format transferable? (the template that creators can fill with their own context) ### Step 4 — Write the Product Adaptation Brief Document the adaptation before creating content. The brief should contain: **Trend description — [What the trend is, what audio/format is used, what makes it work] **Product connection — [Specifically how your product fits into the trend format — the authentic connection point] **Setup — [The first 2–3 seconds — what the viewer sees and hears] **Punchline/reveal — [What the payoff moment is — this should be your product's benefit or result] **CTA:** [What you want the viewer to do — visit, shop, follow] **Production notes:** [What assets you need — creator filming notes, product placement, text overlay] **Deadline:** [The date by which this content needs to be filmed and posted to catch the trend window] ### Step 5 — Produce and Post Quickly Trend content prioritizes speed over polish. Key production principles: - **Native quality preferred** — Creator-quality, slightly unpolished content outperforms studio-produced content on TikTok. Do not delay by over-producing. - **Film multiple hooks** — Shoot 2–3 different opening variations during the same filming session; the hook makes or breaks trend content - **Text overlays are essential** — Many TikTok users watch without sound; text overlays that reinforce the message increase accessibility and engagement - **First posting wins the discovery window** — When two creators post the same trend adaptation, the first one gets the algorithmic boost; the second gets ignored ### Step 6 — Monitor and Document Performance After posting: - Check performance at 4 hours, 24 hours, and 72 hours - Note — hook rate (% of viewers who watch past 3 seconds), completion rate, and comment themes - Compare to your average non-trend content performance on the same day of week - Document whether the trend timing was right (were you early/mid/late?) ### Step 7 — Build the Trend Learning Library After each trend participation: - Record trend name, audio, format type, date of your post, and performance - Note whether the product connection felt natural or forced (and what the comments confirmed) - Record timing — how many days after first seeing the trend did you post? - Add to a running log — over 10–20 trends, patterns emerge about which trend types work for your specific product ## Examples ### Example 1 — Beauty Brand — Skincare Routine Reveal Trend **Input:** - Brand — Vitamin C face serum - Trending format observed — "Get ready with me" morning routine format with voiceover explaining daily routine, products shown in use with text overlays - Audio — Calm morning/lo-fi audio trending with 120k uses - Platform — TikTok - Discovery timing — Day 2 of trend in your niche **Output:** ``` TREND RELEVANCE ASSESSMENT Format fit — HIGH — "Get ready with me" is a natural product showcase format for skincare Audio tone fit — HIGH — Calm, aspirational audio matches premium skincare brand tone Saturation level — 120k uses — Early majority window; proceed Timeline — Post within 2 days to stay in optimal window ADAPTATION BRIEF Trend description — Creators show their morning routine in 30–45 seconds with voiceover narrating each step; text overlays name each product. Calm lo-fi audio underneath. The "story" is the ritual — the products support the narrative. Product connection — Position the serum as the hero product in the skincare ritual — introduce it as the step "everyone asks about." The ritual format earns the product placement naturally. SCRIPT: [0–3s — Hook] Visual — Creator in bathroom, holding serum, looking at camera Text overlay — "The one step my skin actually changed because of" Audio — [Trending calm lo-fi audio starts] [3–12s — Setup] Visual — Show first 2–3 steps of morning routine quickly (cleanser, toner) Text overlay — "[Product name] Vitamin C Serum" appears at 8 seconds Voiceover — "I've tried a lot of serums. Nothing changed until I switched to [product]." [12–25s — Demonstration] Visual — Apply serum to face; close-up on texture and absorption Voiceover — "The difference? It actually stays on skin instead of pilling under makeup. And my skin tone has genuinely evened out in 3 weeks." Text overlay — "Visible difference in 3 weeks" [25–30s — CTA] Visual — Finished, glowing skin look Text overlay — "Link in bio — try it risk free" Voiceover — "Grab the link — trying it risk-free was the best skin decision I made." PRODUCTION NOTES - Film in natural morning light (bathroom window preferred) - Shoot product close-up with serum visible in bottle — no studio lighting - Shoot 3 different hooks and choose the best one - Tone — calm and authentic, not promotional DEADLINE — Post within 48 hours of trend identification ``` ### Example 2 — Electronics Accessory — "POV you bought X and now..." Format **Input:** - Brand — Phone grip/stand accessory - Trending format — "POV you bought [product] and now..." text format over video showing lifestyle upgrade - Audio — Trending upbeat audio with 85k uses - Discovery timing — Day 1 **Output:** ``` TREND RELEVANCE ASSESSMENT Format fit — HIGH — The "life upgrade" POV format directly maps to functional accessories Saturation — 85k uses — Early adopter window. Post TODAY. Timeline — Extremely urgent — post within 24 hours ADAPTATION BRIEF Hook text — "POV you bought a [brand] phone grip and now..." Video sequence — Quick cuts showing 4–5 different use scenarios - Shot 1: Working at desk, phone propped at eye level (no neck strain) - Shot 2: FaceTime call hands-free while cooking - Shot 3: Watching videos in bed without holding phone - Shot 4: Taking photos with steady one-hand grip - Shot 5: Travel with phone propped on airplane tray table Text overlays per shot: 1. "...you can actually work without your neck dying" 2. "...you FaceTime while cooking like a functional adult" 3. "...bedtime scrolling is 100% hands-free" 4. "...you take photos that aren't blurry because no one's holding steady" 5. "...your carry-on setup is actually cute" Final frame — Product held to camera, link in bio CTA PRODUCTION NOTES - Each shot should be 1.5–2 seconds max — this is a fast-cut format - Use real scenarios in real locations (home, not studio) - The audio beat drops at approximately 7 seconds — time a visual cut to the drop DEADLINE — Post today. This is a Day 1 trend. ``` ## Common Mistakes 1. **Posting a trend 7+ days after discovery** — The trend window on TikTok is typically 5–7 days from niche adoption to saturation. If your production process takes a week, you'll always post into a saturated trend. 2. **Forcing a product into an irrelevant trend** — Brands that try to connect their product to every trending format look desperate and create content that confuses rather than converts. Skip trends without a genuine connection. 3. **Over-producing trend content** — Spending two days polishing a trend video destroys the timing advantage. Trend content should be filmed and edited in hours, not days. 4. **Not adding a CTA** — Trend participation without a call to action drives views and follows but not purchases. Every trend adaptation should include a "link in bio" CTA and a reason to click. 5. **Ignoring the audio's emotional tone** — Pairing an energetic upbeat audio with a slow, serious product message creates cognitive dissonance that kills watch time. The audio and the visual/verbal message must match in energy. 6. **Reusing a trend too many times** — Posting the same trend format multiple times in a row trains your audience to expect templated content rather than original value. One strong trend adaptation per trend is the rule. 7. **Not checking if the trend is already saturating in your niche** — A trend can still be early on the global FYP but already saturated within your specific product niche. Check how many similar brands in your category have already posted the trend. ## Resources - [output-template.md](references/output-template.md) — Structured output format for trend adaptation briefs - [trend-evaluation-matrix.md](references/trend-evaluation-matrix.md) — Scoring framework for trend fit and timing assessment - [trend-type-glossary.md](references/trend-type-glossary.md) — Definitions for common TikTok trend formats and their mechanics - [trend-log-template.md](assets/trend-log-template.md) — Running log template for documenting trend participation and performance


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