Picking a topic for your show orpodcast is a pivotal step for every creator. It plays a large role in defining your podcast and guiding your content. Whether or not you’ve already established your overall podcast concept, leveraging what’s trending right now in the world on your podcast episodes can help you attract listeners and viewers who are passionate about the topic and grow your show.
Learn how to uncover what podcast topics are trending at any given time so you can produce content that’s relevant and timely. Plus, draw inspiration from examples of what’s currently trending to get in on the hype of the moment.
In this digital era, there are resources everywhere you turn that can help guide your show strategy according to current tastes and preferences. Use these tools and methods to help shape your show and get it in front of more listeners and viewers. Remember that trends can always change, so keep monitoring them to stay up to date. And just because something is trending, you want to make sure that the topic still feels true to your brand, interests, and overall podcast topic.
A reliable way to find out what’s trending with audiences is to look at what shows, podcasts and genres are currently the most popular on Spotify. According to the Fan Study (2022), Comedy is the top global podcast genre, but other favorite genres vary by region. For example, the top genre in Latin America is Fiction, Kids and Family is the top ranking in North America, and Religion and Spirituality is the leading genre in the Asia Pacific.
Spotify charts are another valuable resource. You can search for the top audio and video shows and episodes on Spotify by country or genre. By getting a snapshot of the chart-topping shows or podcasts in your country and worldwide, you will be able to get a sense for the types of content that is resonating most with listeners and viewers. If it is relevant to your current podcast’s overall theme, you may want to consider incorporating an episode that touches upon a similar topic or is even a response to a trending episode (don’t forget to include a shout out to the show if you reference an episode!). And, if you’re just starting your podcast, trending podcasts and episodes can help inspire your show’s overall topic or theme if you’re feeling stuck on where to begin.
There are many ways to discover what people are searching for online. That information can be a key indicator of what kind of episodes and subjects people would be interested in.
There are several different tools you can use to locate these trending searches. Since Google is one of the top search engines, it can be a good place to start. Google Trends provides detailed info on any topics people search for. You can search according to country, time frame, and category. You can also see if the search was a Google Web, Image, Shopping, or YouTube search. The results include the number of searches by date, interest by subregion, related topics, and related queries.
For example, let’s say you want to start a show about life hacks. When conducting research on Google Trends, type in the broader keyword “life hacks.” You’ll uncover a series of related topics and queries that can spark ideas for episode and discussion topics, like home and living, life hacks for headaches, and school life hacks. You can also use the “Trending Now” tab and select a specific category to get a sense of the most talked about topics in real-time.
Your research doesn’t have to be limited to topics—it can also inform your show’s guest strategy. Track trending names of people that would make good guests for your podcast, like specific writers if you have a show about literature. Google Trends will show you interest over time, so if you start to notice an uptick in interest when searching for a name, you can reach out and invite them to be featured in an episode.
AnswerThePublic is another great research tool. You can enter any search term you want to look up, see what questions people have about it, and discover the most popular variations of that keyword. Using the previous life hacks example, AnswerThePublic shows the most popular searches with that term include “life hacks for kids,” “life hacks to save money,” “soda can life hacks,” and “life hacks nobody knows,” to name a few. There are so many possible ways for your podcast episode to take shape when you have these handy tools.
Just as you can research popular search engine terms, you can also see what people are looking for on various social media platforms. Besides the social aspect, people use social media to find new brands, influencers, creators, and interests they love, including audio and video shows.
TikTok is a great place to tap into what’s new and hot. The TikTok Creative Center has a goldmine of trending data, including what hashtags, creators, songs, and videos are currently popular in different countries. Likewise, Twitter’s Explore page will show you what topics and hashtags are trending, ranging from conversations about sports, politics, entertainment, news, and other hot topics. Instagram’s Explore page is a resource for searching any topic you’re interested in and seeing the most popular posts, accounts, and hashtags associated with it.
These are just a few of the top social media channels which can help you get your creative wheels turning. Based on what you find, you can take away ideas for a show concept, an episode topic, and guests you could interview.
If you want to find out exactly what kind of content your current audience or network wants to hear and see, ask them directly. You can do this in the early stages of planning your podcast to help come up with a main topic and as you brainstorm upcoming episodes and guests.
With Spotify For Creators’ fan engagement tools, you can give your audience a voice and turn listeners and viewers into active collaborators. Ask your audience to let you know specific topics they’d like to hear in the comments, or use polls to have them vote on a shortlist of topics.
Open-ended questions help you discover topics that you might not have considered or come across, but that your audience is craving to hear you talk about. Polls, on the other hand, allow you to get more granular with your previous research. If you found a series of potential topics via Google Trends or social media, you can then turn to your audience and have them select the top subjects they want you to tackle on your show.
Based on some of the research methods listed above, we’ve put together this list of categories that are ripe for conversation. If you’re stuck on what your show or next episodes should be about, explore these areas of interest to get you started.
Some of the most popular video and audio shows are ones devoted to current or past TV shows. TV shows already have built-in fans, so recapping and analyzing episodes of those shows gives you the opportunity to attract some of them. If you’re passionate about a certain show, that could be the basis for your podcast.
If you stay up to date on the news or have strong opinions about news topics, this could be the niche for you. You could do daily or weekly news recaps, focus on one specific area of the news, or offer your unique perspective on particular news stories.
Investigating what makes people tick and how our minds work is a popular podcast topic. If you’re a professional psychologist, a student of psychology, or just curious about it, this is a genre to consider.
Life is full of relationships, whether it’s with family, friends, colleagues, or romantic partners. This is always an interesting and relatable topic to explore with many different angles to tap into.
Many popular shows consist of solo hosts or co-hosts sharing their own experiences and thoughts on big and small aspects of their lives. Offering your own perspective and personal stories are ways to connect with listeners and viewers. Chances are, if you have questions or concerns about something you’re going through, others will relate on some level.
Gen Z makes up a significant audience on podcast listening platforms and social media. They are both consumers and creators themselves. So, whether you are a member of Gen Z or have something to offer that audience, keep up with all their current obsessions.
Podcasts are an accessible platform for people of all backgrounds to learn about science, history, and all kinds of random facts. If you’re an expert on a topic, or you want to learn more about something, talk about it on your podcast.
Once you’ve published your episode on a highly trendy topic, ensure your audience can easily find your podcast. Start with optimizing your show description with what your podcast is about. Then, optimize your episode titles and descriptions to include the topics you cover and any guests you interview. Finally, promote your episodes on social media and in your podcast newsletter using relevant hashtags (sparingly) and tagging any featured guests or important references.
As you tap into what’s popular, don’t lose sight of what makes your podcast unique. A topic might not be the hottest in the moment, but if it’s relevant to your audience and you’re passionate about it, it’s worth talking about. Find a balance between what’s trending and what you want to discuss, and you’ll have a winning combo for your show.
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