Using Instagram can offer several benefits to businesses, making it a valuable platform for marketing and promoting products or services. Here are some of the key advantages of a business using Instagram:

Wide Reach:

Instagram has over a billion monthly active users, making it a massive platform to reach a diverse audience. Businesses can connect with potential customers from around the world.

Visual Appeal:

Instagram is a highly visual platform, making it ideal for businesses that rely on images and videos to showcase their products or services. Visually appealing content can help capture the attention of users more effectively.

Engagement:

Instagram users tend to engage with content more actively than on many other social media platforms. Features like likes, comments, shares, and direct messages can help businesses build a community and foster customer interaction.

Storytelling:

Instagram’s Stories feature allows businesses to tell short, engaging narratives. This can be used to share behind-the-scenes content, promotions, and highlight company culture, helping to create a more personal connection with customers.

Hashtags:

Businesses can use hashtags strategically to increase the discoverability of their posts. Relevant and trending hashtags can help reach a broader audience interested in specific topics or industries.

Advertising:

Instagram offers various advertising options, including sponsored posts, stories, and carousel ads. These tools enable businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, increasing the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

E-commerce Integration:

Instagram provides features like shopping tags and the ability to link products directly to an online store. This seamless integration allows businesses to drive sales directly through the platform.

Analytics:

Instagram provides insights and analytics tools that allow businesses to track the performance of their posts and campaigns. This data can help refine marketing strategies and better understand audience behavior.

User-Generated Content:

Encouraging customers to create and share content related to your products or services can help build brand trust and authenticity. User-generated content can be a powerful marketing tool.

Networking:

Instagram allows businesses to connect with influencers and other businesses in their niche. Collaborations and partnerships can help expand your reach and credibility.

Brand Awareness:

Consistent posting and effective branding can help boost brand recognition and awareness. Instagram provides a platform for showcasing your brand’s unique identity.

Customer Insights:

Through engagement and interactions, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer preferences, opinions, and feedback. This information can inform product development and marketing strategies.

Cost-Effective:

Compared to traditional advertising methods, Instagram marketing can be cost-effective, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.

In summary, Instagram offers a wide range of benefits for businesses, from reaching a large and engaged audience to building brand awareness and driving sales. By leveraging its visual nature and various features, businesses can create a compelling presence on Instagram and achieve their marketing goals.

Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) is a free service provided by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up Google Search Console for UK users:

Create a Google Account or Log In

If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll need to create one. If you already have one (for example, if you use Gmail), then just log in.

Navigate to Google Search Console

Go to the Google Search Console homepage: https://search.google.com/search-console/

Click ‘Start Now’ or ‘Add a Property’

If you’re a new user, click ‘Start Now’. If you’ve used Google Search Console before, click ‘Add a Property’.

Enter Your Website URL

You can add your website using either a domain method (for example, ‘yourwebsite.co.uk’) or a URL prefix method (for example, ‘https://www.yourwebsite.co.uk‘). The domain method verifies your entire domain while the URL prefix method is specific to the URL you provide.

Verify Ownership

Depending on the method you chose:

• Domain method: You’ll need to add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS configuration.
• URL prefix method: You’ll have multiple verification methods to choose from such as adding a meta tag to your site’s homepage, uploading an HTML file to your server, or using your Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager account.

Follow the on-screen instructions for your chosen verification method.

Set Your Preferred Geographic Target

This is especially relevant for UK users who want to target users within the UK.

• Go to ‘Search Traffic’ or ‘Legacy tools and reports’ (depending on the console’s current layout).
• Select ‘International Targeting’.
• Under the ‘Country’ tab, choose ‘United Kingdom’ as your targeted country.

Submit a Sitemap (Optional, but Recommended)

If you have a sitemap for your website, it’s a good idea to submit it to Google Search Console to assist Google in crawling your site:

• In the left sidebar, navigate to ‘Sitemaps’.
• Enter the URL of your sitemap (usually it’s something like ‘https://www.yourwebsite.co.uk/sitemap.xml‘ but check with your web developer first) and click ‘Submit’.

Review Initial Data

After you’ve set everything up, Google will begin to gather data about your site. It might take a few days to see comprehensive data. Check for any crawl errors, indexed pages, and other vital information.

Set Up Email Notifications

This ensures you’re alerted to any issues or critical notifications regarding your website.

Regularly Review & Monitor

Make a habit of checking your Google Search Console account regularly to monitor your site’s performance in Google Search, address any issues, and make improvements based on the data provided.

Remember, Google Search Console is a powerful tool not just for monitoring how your site appears in search, but also for finding opportunities to improve your site’s performance and discoverability. Make the most of it!

Instagram e-commerce integration refers to the process of connecting an online store or e-commerce platform with Instagram, allowing businesses to sell their products or services directly through the social media platform. This integration offers several benefits for businesses looking to leverage Instagram’s large user base and visual appeal for driving sales.

Here are some of the key benefits of Instagram e-commerce integration:

Expanded Reach:

Instagram has over a billion monthly active users, making it an ideal platform for reaching a wide and diverse audience. Integrating e-commerce functionality allows businesses to tap into this vast user base and potentially increase their customer reach.

Visual Commerce:

Instagram is a highly visual platform, and e-commerce integration leverages this by allowing businesses to showcase their products through images and videos. This visual approach can make products more appealing and help customers make purchase decisions.

Direct Shopping:

Instagram Shopping features enable businesses to tag products in their posts and stories. Users can click on these tags to view product details and make purchases without leaving the app, streamlining the shopping experience and increasing conversion rates.

Enhanced Engagement:

Interactive features like shoppable posts, stories, and reels encourage engagement with products. Users can explore, save, and share their favourite products, creating a sense of community and virality around the brand.

Analytics and Insights:

Instagram provides businesses with valuable insights into user behaviour, including which products are popular, how users engage with posts, and more. These analytics help businesses refine their marketing strategies and product offerings.

User-Generated Content:

Instagram users often create user-generated content (UGC) featuring products they love. Businesses can encourage UGC by reposting customer content, which builds trust and authenticity around their brand.

Increased Sales:

With seamless shopping experiences and targeted advertising options, businesses can expect to increase their sales through Instagram e-commerce integration.

Cross-Promotion:

Instagram allows businesses to cross-promote their products on Facebook, which owns Instagram. This integration can extend the reach of your products even further.

Mobile-First:

As a mobile-centric platform, Instagram aligns well with the increasing trend of mobile shopping. Many users prefer to shop on their mobile devices, making Instagram a prime platform for e-commerce.

Competitive Advantage:

Not all businesses have fully embraced Instagram e-commerce integration, so adopting it can give your brand a competitive advantage by providing a modern and convenient shopping experience.

Cost-Effective Advertising:

Instagram offers highly targeted advertising options, allowing businesses to reach their ideal audience without wasting resources on irrelevant clicks or impressions.

Customer Interaction:

Businesses can interact directly with customers through comments, direct messages, and chat features, offering personalised assistance and building stronger customer relationships.

In summary, Instagram e-commerce integration offers numerous benefits, including expanded reach, enhanced engagement, direct shopping capabilities, and valuable insights. By harnessing the visual appeal and social nature of Instagram, businesses can create a more seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for their customers, ultimately driving increased sales and brand growth.

In an era that revels in an unparalleled influx of digital information, navigating through the boundless ocean of data becomes not only pertinent but pivotal for the attainment of coherent user experiences. Information Architecture (IA), broadly connoting the meticulous organisation and structuring of information, stands as an imperative pillar that supports the scaffold of coherent, user-friendly digital environments. The orchestration of information, precisely, methodically, and intuitively, propels businesses, educational entities, and various other organisations into a realm where data becomes a tangible, navigable entity.

Enhancing User Experience:

The preeminence of good IA can be predominantly felt in enhancing user experience (UX). When information is organised in a logical, intuitive manner, users can navigate through digital platforms with ease, achieving their objectives efficiently. For instance, an e-commerce website, bolstered with a well-thought-out IA, guides users seamlessly from product selection to checkout, thereby reducing cart abandonment and enhancing user satisfaction. A fruitful UX is not merely a path from point A to B, but a journey that is intuitive, enjoyable, and efficient, aspects that are meticulously crafted and honed through robust IA.

Accelerating User Decision Making:

Well-structured information directly influences user decision-making by making relevant data readily accessible. A structured IA does not simply lead a user to their destination but ensures that the pathway is clear of obfuscating debris, enabling users to make informed decisions promptly. For e.g., a student navigating through an online learning platform can swiftly decide which course to enrol in when the course information, ratings, and related content are articulated and organised effectively.

Optimising Search Engine Performance:

IA profoundly impacts SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) by streamlining the crawlability of web content for search engine bots. An optimally structured website, with clear navigation and a coherent sitemap, facilitates search engines in comprehending the thematic and semantic relevance of content. This, in turn, assists in enhancing the visibility of the website on search engine result pages (SERPs), thereby drawing a more organic, targeted audience to the platform.

Scalability and Future-Proofing:

With the ceaseless evolution of digital platforms and content, scalability becomes an inevitable necessity. A sound IA ensures that the digital structure is not only robust but also elastic, allowing businesses to expand, integrate, or modify their platforms without jeopardising existing user experiences. As the data universe continuously expands, having an IA that accommodates growth ensures that organisations are future-proofed against obsolescence and mismanagement.

Facilitating Content Management and Governance:

Efficient IA is intrinsic in facilitating streamlined content management and governance. As organisations burgeon, the content they generate and manage multiplies exponentially. A well-devised IA ensures that the content is not only systematically categorised but is also effortlessly retrievable and manageable. Moreover, clear IA plays a pivotal role in content governance by aiding in maintaining accuracy, consistency, and relevancy of information, ensuring its longevity and reliability.

Ensuring Accessibility and Inclusivity:

In a world that is progressively inclining towards inclusivity, IA ensures that digital platforms are accessible to all, including individuals with disabilities. A logically structured information ecosystem ensures that content and navigation are accessible, enabling organisations to cater to a diverse, global audience. Here, IA becomes a tool of empowerment, ensuring that information is not barricaded behind digital walls, but is available and comprehensible to all.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, IA materialises as an indomitable force that not only structures and categorises the digital world but also ensures that it is comprehensible, accessible, and navigable for all users. The symmetry between information, usability, and accessibility orchestrated by robust IA transcends digital platforms from being mere repositories of data to becoming coherent, navigable worlds that foster informed decision-making, inclusivity, and optimal user experiences. In an age where information is both, a tool and a challenge, adept IA emerges as the architect that constructs, organises, and democratises the digital universe.

In the era where digital presence holds an imperishable impact, Instagram has meticulously sculpted its platform, metamorphosing into a powerhouse of visual commerce. In an ecosystem teeming with brands, creators, and consumers, Instagram ingeniously amalgamates visual appeal with commercial strategies, providing an unparalleled experience for all its users. But why does visual commerce, specifically through a platform like Instagram, hold such pivotal importance in the contemporary digital milieu? Let’s embark on an exploration.

The Aesthetic Appeal: Crafting a Visual Narrative

Instagram thrives on aesthetic allure. The platform empowers businesses and creators to weave visual narratives that resonate with their audience, crafting a perceptual journey that goes beyond mere product visibility. Every image, video, and story disseminates a brand’s philosophy, ethos, and uniqueness, thus creating a wholesome visual spectacle. This isn’t just content creation – it’s an art form that meticulously fuses marketing with aesthetic expression, providing a plethora of opportunities for brands to emanate their distinctiveness through creative visual storytelling.

Transforming Browsers into Buyers: The Seamless Shopping Experience

“Insta-shopping” has become an ingrained facet of consumer behaviour, courtesy of the platform’s innovative shopping features. Instagram has morphed into a virtual mall, where users not only derive visual pleasure but also indulge in a seamless shopping experience. The integrative shopping features – such as shoppable posts, product tags, and integrated e-commerce functionalities – enable consumers to transition from browsing to purchasing within a few taps, all without leaving the app. It’s a symbiotic arena where visual enticement and purchase facilitation coexist, substantially reducing the journey from product admiration to acquisition.

Building Brand Communities: An Engaging Visual Encounter

Instagram stands as a testament to the significance of building robust brand communities and ensuring an engaging visual encounter. With features like comments, likes, shares, and direct messages, brands and consumers can interact, share feedback, and form a genuine connection. By utilising Instagram’s visual commerce capabilities, brands are not merely selling a product but are orchestrating an immersive and interactive visual community. This community becomes a fertile ground where brand loyalty is cultivated, and consumers evolve into brand advocates, further amplifying the reach and credibility of the business.

Harnessing Influencer Collaborations: Catalysing Authentic Connections

The presence of influencers on Instagram has remarkably reshaped the visual commerce landscape. Influencers, with their authentic connections and followers who genuinely value their opinions, bring products and brands into the limelight by creating relatable content that resonates with their audience. It’s a form of visual commerce that’s nuanced, personalised, and candid. Influencers don’t just promote a product; they embed them into their everyday stories, making the products more relatable and desirable to their followers.

Instagram Insights: Navigating Through Consumer Behaviour

Intrinsic to Instagram’s visual commerce prowess is its ability to yield invaluable consumer insights. The platform provides brands with data pertaining to consumer behaviour, engagement metrics, and purchasing patterns, enabling them to navigate through the consumer’s journey with precision. By analysing these insights, brands can tailor their visual content and strategic initiatives to align with their audience’s preferences and needs, ensuring a more personalised and impactful consumer experience.

In Conclusion: A Future-Forward Vision

Instagram’s evolution into a dominant visual commerce platform encapsulates the essence of digital transformation in the e-commerce realm. In a world where consumers are inundated with endless choices, the visual charisma, ease of interaction, and transactional simplicity offered by Instagram stand unparalleled. The platform has deftly woven the tapestry where aesthetic appeal, consumer engagement, and seamless shopping coalesce, proving that visual commerce is not just a strategy but a multi-dimensional experience that elevates brand-consumer interactions to new horizons.

By underscoring a future-forward vision, Instagram not only inthralls its user base with a spectacular visual journey but also cements itself as a cardinal player in the digital commerce domain, establishing a precedent for others to glean inspiration from. Visual commerce via Instagram is not merely a transient trend; it’s a perennially evolving phenomenon, reflecting the future trajectory of global e-commerce dynamics.

In the digital age, where online presence is paramount, Instagram has emerged as more than just a platform for sharing photos and stories. With its innovative e-commerce features, Instagram has transformed into a potent marketplace, enabling businesses to exponentially expand their reach. But how exactly can Instagram e-commerce enhance your brand visibility and foster business growth?

Unlocking a Sea of Potential Customers

Instagram boasts over a billion active users, a fraction of which could be your next customers. By establishing an Instagram shop, businesses tap into a vast pool of potential consumers who are perpetually interacting with brands and discovering new products. The platform’s visual-centric approach propels product discovery, and its e-commerce functionalities streamline the transition from discovery to purchase, enhancing customer acquisition and retention.

Harnessing the Power of Instagram Ads

Instagram ads are a powerful tool for boosting your e-commerce reach. They allow businesses to target specific demographics, ensuring that your products are showcased directly to those most likely to purchase them. Utilising carousel ads, stories ads, and IGTV ads, businesses can present their products in a compelling manner, capturing attention, and facilitating direct purchases through the platform.

Leveraging Instagram Stories and Reels

Instagram Stories and Reels provide businesses with inventive ways to showcase their products dynamically. By utilizing features such as swipe-up links, polls, and quizzes in stories, businesses can interactively engage audiences, driving both interest and conversions. Reels, with their short, engaging format, enable brands to creatively present their products, reaching new audiences and solidifying their presence in the existing market.

Collaborations and Influencer Partnerships

The strategic alliance with influencers and collaborations with other brands can skyrocket your Instagram e-commerce reach. Influencers, with their loyal following, can introduce your products to wide, yet targeted, audiences, while collaborations can help tap into the consumer bases of partnering brands, mutually enhancing reach and sales.

SEO-Optimised Content for Enhanced Visibility

Optimising your Instagram e-commerce content using SEO strategies ensures that your products are easily discoverable. Employing relevant hashtags, crafting SEO-friendly product descriptions, and using high-quality, visually appealing images can significantly amplify your visibility, attracting more consumers to your Instagram shop.

Utilising User-Generated Content

Encouraging and sharing user-generated content (UGC) not only builds community and trust but also enhances your e-commerce reach by showcasing real-life use and satisfaction derived from your products. UGC serves as authentic, relatable content that resonates with audiences, potentially influencing their purchasing decisions and boosting organic reach through shares and tags.

Shoppable Posts and Instagram Shop

Shoppable posts streamline the shopping experience, allowing users to tap on products and purchase them without leaving the platform. Instagram Shop further enhances this, providing a dedicated space for users to explore and purchase your products, thus reducing friction in the customer journey and encouraging more sales.

Intelligent Insights and Analytics

Utilising Instagram Insights and Analytics, businesses can gauge the performance of their e-commerce strategies, understanding what works and what doesn’t. This data-driven approach enables brands to refine their strategies, targeting audiences more effectively and ensuring continuous growth in reach and conversions.

Navigating Challenges

While Instagram offers a plethora of opportunities for e-commerce growth, businesses must navigate challenges like ever-changing algorithms and intense competition. It is vital to stay abreast of platform updates, continuously innovate in product presentation and customer engagement, and maintain a consistent, authentic brand voice that resonates with audiences.

The multifaceted e-commerce capabilities of Instagram offer businesses a robust platform to not only showcase their products but also engage and convert a vast, dynamic audience. By harnessing these features judiciously and crafting a strategic, customer-centric Instagram e-commerce approach, businesses can significantly expand their reach, carving a niche in the bustling digital marketplace.

Instagram, initially celebrated as a platform for sharing visual stories and connecting with others, has dynamically evolved, erecting itself as a colossus in the realm of e-commerce. Particularly, the advent of Instagram’s Direct Shopping feature has woven a new narrative, underscoring a pivotal turn in how businesses, big and small, navigate the digital marketplace. But what makes this tool so crucial in the contemporary e-commerce sphere, and how does it sculpt the consumer shopping journey?

Transcending Traditional Boundaries: The Direct Shopping Experience

Direct Shopping on Instagram transcends the traditional boundaries of online commerce, seamlessly intertwining visual exploration and online shopping. Unlike conventional e-commerce platforms, Instagram endows users with a delightful, visually-rich browsing experience followed by the capability to purchase the admired product instantaneously. The product tags and shopping bags on posts and stories allow users to be spontaneously transported from a mere observer to an active purchaser, dismantling the walls between desire and acquisition.

Effortless Purchasing: A Seamless Conversion Pathway

One of the paramount features that underscore the importance of Instagram’s Direct Shopping is the effortless purchasing process. Once a user taps on a product tag, they are swiftly navigated to a page providing all the pertinent information – price, description, and a direct link to the website for purchase. The entire process from discovery to checkout is extraordinarily seamless and user-friendly, minimising the potential drop-offs and amplifying conversion rates. This unobtrusive yet effective sales funnel is instrumental in driving a superior customer experience and enhancing sales performance.

Enhancing Brand Discovery: A Visual Marketplace

Instagram, with its visually-driven interface, elevates brand discovery to a new pinnacle. The platform becomes a vibrant marketplace where businesses showcase their products not just as lifeless entities but embed them in relatable narratives and visually appealing contexts. For small businesses and niche brands, Direct Shopping acts as a catalyst, propelling their products into the spotlight, thereby democratising the digital marketplace and enhancing discoverability among a broad user base. This holistic approach to presenting products, embedded in lifestyle-oriented visuals, stimulates user interest and fosters organic brand discovery.

Engaging Consumer Journey: Creating Relatable Narratives

The importance of crafting a compelling consumer journey cannot be overstated. Instagram’s Direct Shopping nurtures an environment where brands can curate relatable, engaging narratives around their products. Through curated feeds, insightful stories, and interactive content, brands can weave their products into the everyday lives of their audience, creating a natural and authentic shopping environment. This strategy not only strengthens brand loyalty but also enhances the likelihood of repeat purchases and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Empowering Micro-Entrepreneurs and SMBs

For small and medium businesses (SMBs) and micro-entrepreneurs, Instagram’s Direct Shopping opens a world of opportunities, breaking down barriers to market entry and customer reach. The platform provides a cost-effective medium to showcase products to a global audience, nullifying the need for a substantial marketing budget. Moreover, by leveraging user-generated content and customer reviews, SMBs can build credibility and trust among their audience, fuelling growth and sustainability in a competitive marketplace.

The Future Trajectory: A Blend of Social and Commercial Interactions

Instagram’s Direct Shopping heralds a future where social and commercial interactions blend seamlessly. The platform transforms casual browsing into potential shopping sprees, providing brands with unparalleled opportunities to tap into impulsive purchasing behaviours. Furthermore, the integration of augmented reality (AR) and interactive features, such as polls and quizzes, offers brands innovative avenues to create immersive and engaging shopping experiences.

In Conclusion: Architecting the Next Wave of E-Commerce

In essence, Instagram’s Direct Shopping has not only redefined the paradigms of online shopping but has also sculpted a new path for brands to connect with their audience in a meaningful and lucrative manner. The blend of visual storytelling with direct purchasing capabilities ensures that Instagram will continue to be a pivotal player, architecting the next wave of e-commerce and brand-consumer interactions.

Nurturing an ecosystem where brands, influencers, and consumers coalesce, Instagram has intelligently intertwined the social and commercial strata, crafting a future where e-commerce is not just transactional but an engaging, visual, and interactive experience. Thus, Direct Shopping is not merely a feature; it’s a pivotal tool reshaping e-commerce dynamics, charting a course towards a more connected, visually rich, and immersive digital shopping era.

As social media continues to grow and evolve at a rapid pace, it’s important for businesses and marketers to stay ahead of the curve and understand the latest trends. Here are some of the social media trends that are likely to emerge in 2023.

Short-Form Video Content Will Continue to Rise

Short-form video content, such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, have taken the social media world by storm over the past few years. As attention spans continue to shorten, this trend is likely to continue in 2023. Brands and businesses will need to start thinking about how to incorporate short-form video content into their social media strategies in order to engage with their audience.

Augmented Reality Will Become More Prevalent

Augmented reality (AR) has already made an impact in social media, with filters and lenses on Snapchat and Instagram becoming increasingly popular. In 2023, we can expect to see even more brands and businesses experimenting with AR, whether it’s through interactive games or virtual try-ons for products. The potential for AR is vast and exciting, and we can expect to see more creative uses of this technology in the coming years.

Influencer Marketing Will Evolve

Influencer marketing has been around for a while now, but it’s not going anywhere in 2023. However, we can expect to see the industry evolve and become more sophisticated. Rather than relying on influencers with large followings, brands will start to focus on micro-influencers and nano-influencers who have smaller, but highly engaged audiences. Additionally, we can expect to see more transparency and authenticity in influencer partnerships, with influencers disclosing sponsored content more frequently.

Social Commerce Will Become More Mainstream

Social commerce has been on the rise over the past few years, but it’s still not widely adopted. In 2023, we can expect to see this change as more social media platforms integrate e-commerce functionality into their platforms. Instagram and Facebook have already started experimenting with shopping features, and we can expect to see more social commerce innovations from these platforms as well as others.

Chatbots Will Become More Advanced

Chatbots have already become popular in customer service, but we can expect to see them become even more advanced in 2023. As AI and natural language processing continue to improve, chatbots will become more sophisticated and able to handle more complex queries. This will make them an even more valuable tool for businesses looking to provide excellent customer service and support.

Social Media Will Become Even More Personalised

As social media platforms collect more data on their users, we can expect to see even more personalised content and advertising in 2023. Social media algorithms will become even better at understanding user preferences and interests, which means that brands will be able to deliver more targeted and relevant content to their audience.

Audio Content Will Continue to Grow

Audio content, such as podcasts and Clubhouse discussions, have seen a surge in popularity over the past few years. In 2023, we can expect to see even more growth in this area, with social media platforms developing new features to support audio content. This trend presents a great opportunity for brands and businesses to create engaging content that can be consumed on-the-go.

In conclusion, social media is constantly evolving, and it’s important for businesses and marketers to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. From short-form video content to advanced chatbots, there are many exciting developments on the horizon for social media in 2023. By understanding and embracing these trends, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and engage with their audience in new and innovative ways.

Most of us don’t go a day without Googling now, and there is no difference here when it comes to our Christmas queries and habits. In a festive-themed blog, we look at what Google Trends reveals about some of our favourite seasonal things.

Christmas in popular media

Looking at Google Trends, we can learn a lot about how excited we get for Christmas music and films – and how particular artists or films enjoy seasonal popularity.

Mariah Carey is the Queen of Christmas

While Mariah Carey has a substantial music catalogue, she is the best example of someone who becomes particularly popular in November and December. The people love those high notes and this song – particularly after watching Love Actually – so she really is the queen of Christmas!

Die Hard really is a Christmas movie!

The age-old debate always resurfaces around this time of year. Is Die Hard really a Christmas film just because it is set on Christmas Eve?

Well, Google Trends seems to have shown us the answer once and for all. Most people choose to Google this film in the run-up to Christmas, suggesting that its status as a Christmas film has been pretty firmly cemented. Justice for all those who say it’s their favourite!

However, we can also see how Die Hard compares in terms of searches for other classic Christmas films. In this instance, it may have to take the loss against Home Alone!

Christmas food

Just like Mariah, turkey shines at Christmas

There is no disputing that turkey is a once-a-year cuisine in the UK, as can be seen by the number of people looking up where to buy a turkey and how to cook one only in December. Unfortunately, this bird loses to chicken at most other times of the year but the tradition of turkey for Christmas stands strong!

Battle of the Christmas desserts

Many people have strong opinions when it comes to their favourite Christmas dessert. These, again, are foods that mainly enjoy seasonal popularity, but some seem to be Googled more than others as you can see from the Trends chart below!

Christmas cake is likely the most popular as it’s the one people tend to make rather than buy, so there will be a lot of people looking for a suitable recipe before they get started in the kitchen.

Christmas events

A few years ago we would have thought that Christmas events, such as markets and lights, would be just as popular each year. However, due to the pandemic, many Christmas events were cancelled in 2020 as people were advised to stay indoors and minimise contact, so you can see that searches for these sorts of events had a dip.

Christmas gifts

When it comes to buying presents for our parents, many of us struggle with ideas! There is a common belief that the dads out there are especially difficult to buy for but what does the Google Trends data say? Well, ‘Christmas gifts for mum’ is actually the more popular search term. We wonder whether this means people actually need more ideas for mum, or perhaps mums are just getting more presents!

Changing Christmas habits

Concern for the environment

Over the years, it seems that people have become more concerned about their impact on the environment at Christmas time. Searches around ‘Sustainable Christmas’ were not too popular back in 2012 through to 2017, but in the last five years, this has become a more searched and therefore arguably more important aspect for many people.

Letterbox Christmas gifts

Letterbox Christmas gifts got popular in the pandemic lockdowns too, and it seems they are still holding onto some of that popularity! People have realised that you can show someone you care for them with a small (and easy to deliver) gesture if you won’t see them for Christmas or another special occasion. 

Looking to the New Year

Once Christmas is over, we’ll be ready to tackle 2023. But how have people’s searches around the New year changed over time?

The trends in people Googling around ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ show that people actually seem less bothered about making resolutions than in previous years in the UK – perhaps because we’ve had quite an unusual time over these past few years!

That’s just a small insight into how we all behave around Christmas based on what we Google. Google Trends is a great tool for looking at what is popular at certain times and seeing how behaviour changes over the years.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

SB.