How to keep up with trends: 8 tips to better understand your industry
Staying on top of emerging trends is an essential component of being an industry leader.
Take executive coaching, for example. Clients’ needs, coaching techniques, and industry regulations are just a few elements that will continue to evolve, so to excel in your career, you need to stay on top of them.
Keeping up with trends in your industry can be time-consuming, but these eight tips can help.
1. Network regularly
Interacting with your peers is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and events in your industry. Set up regular in-person appointments with your co-workers and industry friends, like a monthly lunch or happy hour, to get useful information from people you trust.
Host networking events (which can be as small as intimate dinners or as large as 100+ person events) to expand your network and learn from your contemporaries. As the host, you’ll gain more visibility in the industry, which can lead to helpful connections and information in the future.
Reach out to people you haven’t met yet and request a meeting. For example, if you want to learn about utilizing the metaverse to coach large groups in a fun and current way, reach out to someone in that space on LinkedIn and ask if you can pick their brain. Don’t be afraid to ask for information—chances are they’ll need something in the future that you can help with, and you can return the favor.
2. Follow relevant accounts and hashtags on Twitter
Keep up with industry trends by following thought leaders and accounts that align with your interests. Start by following the top influencer accounts in your industry, and then do a deep dive and find smaller up-and-coming accounts to gain knowledge from. You can find these smaller accounts by looking at who the influencers follow, searching for keywords, and checking hashtags.
Find timely and relevant hashtags by looking up topics and seeing what those accounts are talking about. For example, say you search “executive coaching” and find that someone has used the tag #EmployeeMentalHealth—you're likely to find more info/people to follow by searching that hashtag.
You can also search keywords to find out what people are saying in your field. If you look up “executive coach,” you might uncover tweets complaining about a specific coaching exercise or practice. For example, you could find someone who feels misrepresented after a Myers-Briggs or DiSC exercise. Use these search terms to discover current trends and opinions in your field.
Want to get even more out of Twitter? Check out our guide on the best Twitter hacks to learn more.
3. Read articles and blogs in your industry
Every industry has its tastemaker blogs and publications. Following the right bloggers, blog post aggregators, and magazines can help you keep up with the latest news and current trends. Make reading these publications part of your daily routine.
You can make the process easier by following your favorite blogs and publications on social media platforms, downloading their apps, and setting up email or Google alerts for certain keywords (like “executive coaching hiring”). Check Google Trends for help finding relevant search engine content.
4. Follow industry leaders on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a hub for useful career information. Take advantage of LinkedIn by following industry leaders, commenting for visibility, and reposting for credibility. LinkedIn’s algorithm shares your activity (even just liking posts) with the rest of your network, and people are more likely to interact with your page if you share useful information.
Not only can LinkedIn be a key resource for keeping up with industry trends, but it can also help you build your business and following organically.
5. Sign up for industry newsletters
Industry newsletters were created to provide you with current trends and happenings in your field. Use them for inspiration and ideas to fuel your own social media and presence in online groups to establish yourself as a leader in your industry. Newsletters are also a great way to search for job opportunities if you’re currently looking.
6. Listen to industry podcasts
If you’re wondering how to keep up with trends today, you might just find the most valuable information about your industry in a podcast. Podcasts often include interviews with industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs, deep dives into current issues, and explorations of new trends.
Podcasts are great for multitasking—you can listen to them during a commute, in the shower, or while cooking dinner, making it easy to stay up-to-date with the latest trends.
7. Use helpful tools like Heyday
Becoming an expert in your field requires tons of research. This can lead to rereading a lot of articles, especially if you’re researching the same topic over a long period of time.
A research assistant like Heyday can help you recall the most useful articles you’ve already read. This way, you can build on your knowledge base instead of reinventing it every time you go online.
8. Join an online community (Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc.)
Online forums do more than provide information—they provide a community. Learn about trends from these online groups, but don’t just stand on the sidelines—take the extra step to establish yourself as a member of the community. Someday, when you need to message a random member about a topic you posted about, it will help your case that you’re an established member of the online community.
On some forums, like Reddit, your participation is rewarded with a metric called “karma” that lets others know how much you’ve contributed. Having higher credibility on forums like Reddit can allow you to join exclusive sub-communities and start your own subreddits.
Recalling information isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity
Whether you’re looking for trending topics to share across social media or discuss with your friends, or improve your own practices, efficiency is key. It’s frustrating (and time-wasting) to pull up articles you’ve already read every time you research trends in your industry.
Heyday makes sure this doesn’t happen by tagging content you’ve already seen, so you never have to needlessly reread a page again.
