In Q2, social media trends reveal unique interests across markets: the UK focused on #InteriorDesign and #Makeup, the USA highlighted #BlackLivesMatter and #KendallxKylie, France buzzed with #Football and #Concours, Italy engaged with #Food and #Insanitypage, and Japan saw growth in #PR and #OOTD, indicating diverse regional preferences brands should leverage for impactful engagements.
Published On: September 16, 2020
Now more than ever, social media is looked at as an essential means of communication so brands must understand the topics that are driving conversations in their key markets. Wearisma’s Insights team has pulled the most trended hashtags from Q2 and, unsurprisingly, #StayHome has emerged as a top contender across the board. However, as you’ll discover below, online audiences based in the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Italy have unique interests that brands should be aware of if they hope to drive engagements.
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Wearisma’s analytics tool revealed that homeware content saw a whopping 120% increase in Engagements between January and April this year and our latest insights reveal that this interest has held steady. #InteriorDesign emerged as the 7th most mentioned hashtag in Q2 among UK online audiences. Fashion, Skincare, Hair, and Parenting influencer Howéy’s (@howeydon) YouTube video in partnership with picture frames and poster brand Desenio Prints generated the highest Engagement Rate (ER) (81%) with this hashtag – double the Average ER for UK lifestyle YouTube content. These findings suggest that art and design brands should invest in Influencer partnerships and capitalize on the growing interest in interior design.
Compared to the USA, Japan, France, and Italy, Wearisma’s analysis revealed that UK audiences were the most interested in beauty-related content in Q2. #Makeup was the 5th most engaged hashtag among UK audiences. A YouTube video by 50+ Style & Beauty blogger Laurie (@vanity_and_me) featuring the Trinny London makeup brand generated the second-highest ER (97.6%) for #makeup among UK audiences. While Gen-Z and Millennials dominate the influencer space, beauty brands, in particular, should attempt to diversify their influencer selection as inclusivity and representation fairs well among UK audiences.
#Blacklivesmatter drove the highest engagement among US-based social media audiences and was the 4th most mentioned hashtag in Q2. With just 2 posts, singer Billie Eilish (@billieeilish) drove the highest Engagements (11M Engagements) for her impassioned commentary on the movement, followed by fashion watchdog group Diet Prada (@diet_prada) (5M Engagements). Social media has become an important vessel for online audiences to show solidarity and provoke change in the face of injustice and online audiences are looking to brands to follow suit. Socially conscious content drives engagements. As highlighted by Vogue Business’ Social Media and Communities Manager Jessica Lawrence in episode 1 of Wearisma’s ‘Disrupting the Timeline’ video podcast, “no one’s expecting [brands] to be perfect from the get-go now, it’s really showing that the steps that you take from here on out are the most important.”
The end of June saw reality star-turned-beauty mogul Kylie Jenner launch the #KendallxKylie collection from her Kylie Cosmetics makeup line with her sister, model Kendall Jenner. The collection was the most engaged branded hashtag in Q2 among US audiences. Macro influencer Valerie Loren (@valeloren) drove the highest ER (4%) for the collection, more than double the average ER for her follower group. Interestingly, when investigating the interests of Loren’s audience, Wearisma’s insights reveal that her ER for ‘art and design’ content was 2 times higher than the average. These findings suggest that beauty brands shouldn’t limit themselves to working with influencers whose audiences are solely interested in beauty content, as influencers whose audiences are interested in creative content more generally can be equally effective.
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August was a pivotal month for football fans in France as team Paris Saint-Germain secured their first-ever Champions League final and prepared for the start of the Ligue 1 tournament. The team was the chief driver of #football related content, contributing 95% of the total Media Value generated by the hashtag. Out of the team’s 200+ posts this quarter, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (@neymarjr) emerged as the team’s most hyped player, with a picture featuring the Brazillian forward driving the highest ER (4%) for the team. Neymar’s collaboration with Diesel was well-received among French audiences with the football star’s posts featuring #DieselFragrances accounting for 95% of the brand’s total Media Value in the region in Q2.
With people indoors looking for new sources of entertainment, French online audiences turned to contests. Peaking in May, #concours achieved an above-average Engagement Rate (4.8%) for French audiences in Q2. One of the most popular contests came from Mega-influencer Marie Lopez (@enjoyphoenix) who gave away high ticket items including a MacBook and an iPad Pro. Her #concours content generated an above-average ER (6%) for her follower group suggesting that brands should consider ‘sharing the love’ when looking to promote their products via influencers.
Despite major setbacks in travel and tourism, Italy lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s most iconic food capitals. Italian food blogger Benedetta Rossi grew her Instagram follower base by over 1 million in just six months, keeping her now 3.3m-strong audience entertained with recipes and #foodporn galore. Unsurprisingly, after Italy opened its borders to European countries in June, #food posts also saw a staggering 292% increase in Engagement by the end of the month.
With the world still adapting to an unprecedented sense of uncertainty, accounts offering instant comic relief have naturally been thriving. Italian meme account @insanitypage now boasts nearly 3 million followers, generating over 26 million Engagements throughout May-August. Now more than ever, brands are also seeing the value in their appeal, with Warner Music Group recently announcing its acquisition of IMGN Media for a reported $85m. While meme accounts have grown at the hands of audiences staying home, it’s evident that the value of their content isn’t limited to merely being short-lived, viral sensations.
Despite concerns around pushing PR and gifting campaigns during a pandemic, #PR saw over 21 million in Engagement throughout June-August, jumping from 948k to 2.1million in weekly Engagements throughout June. Spearheading this increase was accounts like @shabon_official, whose skillfully crafted content draws in an audience of over 500k beauty lovers in Japan. Regularly featuring the likes of @canmaketokyo and @diormakeup, Shabon’s content was responsible for over 1 million in #PR Engagements throughout June-August alone.
As the world took to Instagram to share their #StayHome quarantine looks, Japanese influencers’ #ootd (outfits of the day) didn’t disappoint. From white tee basics to cinched streetwear ensembles, #ootd opened the doors for thousands of micro-influencers to share their fashion inspo. While #ootd’s average Engagement Rate rose 1.9% in April to over 2.3% in June, the top 5 influencers in terms of ER achieved a staggering 20% average, more than 6x the market average. With #fashion and #ootd continuously topping Japan’s leaderboard, it’s clear that these daily doses of inspiration are here to stay.
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Both influencer marketing and traditional advertising can achieve broad reach and foster trust—yet they do so with different strengths and challenges. Influencer marketing builds trust through personal, authentic endorsements that resonate with targeted audiences, often leading to higher engagement and a sense of community. Traditional advertising, on the other hand, leverages the credibility of established platforms and can quickly raise brand awareness across a wide audience.
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