Weekly Trend Intelligence

What's trending on TikTok & Instagram — explained for DTC brands

Every Monday we scan TikTok and Instagram, surface the songs, memes, and formats that are actually taking off, and tell you exactly how to activate each one, with IP-safe what NOT to do guidance. Fresh in your inbox by 9am.

Feel confident your content is current — you'll post while the trend is rising, not after it peaks.

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We scan TikTok and Instagram so you don't have to. Get the top trending songs, memes, and formats — with clear activation strategies for your brand.

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Today's Trends — Weekly BriefAug 17 report
🔥 RisingTrend of the Week

Miles Morales Trend (Ceiling Lip-Dub)

This week's Trend of the Week in our Aug 17 report. A participatory lip-dub: creators lip-sync the Spider-Verse origin monologue while jumping onto an off-camera stool and reaching one hand to the ceiling so they look stuck — a second person enters the frame acting shocked. The two biggest originals have passed 85–91M views since early August, and KYM added it as its newest tracked entry on Aug 13.

Brand Angle

Recreate the visual gag with original talent and your own audio: one team member 'stuck to the ceiling' one-handed, legs off-camera, a shocked teammate entering frame. $0 budget, half-day shoot — or the product-as-hero variant (a sneaker or backpack stuck to the ceiling).

Rights Check

Sony/Marvel IP: do NOT use Spider-Verse film audio, footage, or Spider-Man imagery — recreate the ceiling-stuck visual only. Entry window closes fast: the report expects saturation within 10–14 days.

Trend Health Index: RisingEntry window: ~10–14 days

A sample from this week's brief — subscribers get a fresh one every Monday.

How It Works

From signal to activation in four steps

01

We Scan

We scan trending content daily across TikTok & Instagram, tracking songs, memes, formats, and cultural signals as they emerge.

02

We Curate

We filter out the noise and surface only the top opportunities — the trends with real brand-activation potential.

03

You Activate

You get an actionable brief with specific activation ideas for your brand, so you can move fast while the window is open.

04

You Stay Safe

Every trend comes with IP and rights cautions so you never publish creative that lands your brand in trouble — plus a Trend Health Index showing whether it's Rising or Peaking.

Sample Report

August 7, 2026 — Trend Snapshot

A preview of what subscribers receive every week

KYM #2 • NEW • Image Macro

Director Christof / Truman Show

The 'orchestrating events' reaction format. Self-aware mastermind energy.

Brand Angle

"Us quietly steering the campaign / the algorithm / the launch" — use original stills or recreate; verify rights.

KYM #6 • NEW • Format Lane

Polyester Edit

Intentionally cheap fancam edits. Zero production cost, maximum culture.

Brand Angle

"Low-effort" fancam of your brand mascot or product — avoid actual Marvel/Backrooms IP.

KYM MOTM #3 • Trending Audio

Kwebbelkop Laughing

Summer 2026's most-used TikTok sound. Accuracy Reenactments everywhere.

Brand Angle

Comedic audio cue in a genuinely funny spot — not for serious categories. Verify the sound is clearable before publishing.

KYM July MOTM Winner 🏆

Jimothy the Raccoon

July MOTM winner. The internet's favorite stubby creature.

Brand Angle

"Small stubby creature doing its best" — one post/week max, credit the original.

Full reports include 15+ trends, activation playbooks, and what NOT to do — delivered weekly.

Built for brands that move at the speed of culture

Today's Trends is built for DTC brands and marketing teams targeting Gen Z & younger Millennials. If your audience lives on TikTok and Instagram, you need to be there — not with reactive, last-week content, but with timely, culturally-resonant creative that lands.

Stop scrolling endlessly

Your team spends hours doom-scrolling for trends. We do it for you, so you can focus on creating content that actually lands.

Move faster than your competitors

The trend window is 3–7 days. Our briefs give you the head start you need to publish before the moment passes.

Be the brand your competitors copy

Your content lands in the cultural moment while competitors are still planning their calendar. Leadership sees the difference.

Shawn Schmidt, founder of Today's Trends

Shawn Schmidt

Founder & creator of Today's Trends

“I built Today's Trends because my DTC clients were spending hours doom-scrolling for trends that closed before content got approved.”

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Weekly trend reports + activation playbooks

Less than one hour of your social manager's time. One trend report saves 5+ hours of doom-scrolling every week.

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Latest from the blog

Fresh trend intelligence

Deep dives on the formats, memes, and moments worth your attention.

Trend Analysis

Salt Stomping Is the Epsom Salt Sleep Trend With Nothing to Buy: What Three Body-Read Sources Verify About TikTok's Sleep Ritual, Why "Does Salt Stomping Work?" Has Become Part of the Trend's Distribution — and the Wind-Down Moment Brands Should Be Selling

People spread Epsom salt or sea salt across a shallow tray, stand on it barefoot for about ten minutes before bed, and report sleeping better. That is salt stomping — the ritual search engines file...

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Trend Analysis

"The Great Iced Coffee Debate" Is an Argument About Workplace Norms, Not a Drink: What Four Body-Read Sources Verify — and Why the Comment Section Is the Product

A recruiter with 16 years of recruitment experience, mostly with Fortune 500 corporations, posted a short TikTok about a small thing she had noticed: candidates arriving at interviews holding an ic...

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Trend Analysis

"Wellness Darties" Are Gen Z's Sober Daytime Party Format: What the September Coverage Verifies — and Why the Event Itself Is the Brand Surface

A "darty" — daytime party — used to carry one obvious premise: drinking before dark. In September 2026 a name for the inverse version spread across college-culture coverage in ten days: the wellnes...

Read article
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about how the weekly brief works

Scrolling gives you a feed of whatever's popular for you personally — not a curated, prioritized view of what's worth your brand's time or how to act on it. Every week we package the top trending songs, memes, formats, and cultural moments from primary sources into a single readable brief, with brand-ready activation ideas for each trend. Instead of maintaining your own listening team or doom-scrolling to piece it together, you get a curated, time-dated brief you can skim in minutes.

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  • Trend Health Index - Rising vs Peaking with activation windows
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