Chapter 04
Build a Trend Research Portfolio: Three Project Briefs
By Influish Editorial Team · Published · Last updated
Short answer
Hiring managers for research roles have a problem: everyone says they are good at spotting trends, and there is no degree that proves it. A portfolio solves that problem, but only if it shows your judgement over time. A folder of viral Reels shows that you watch Instagram. A dated log with your calls, and an honest note on which ones were wrong, shows that you can do the job. These briefs are original to this handbook; you are welcome to use them.
What should a trend research portfolio include?
- Two or three finished projects, each with dates and a short method note
- At least one project that spans several weeks, so your judgement over time is visible
- Writing an employer can read in five minutes: a one-page summary at the front of every project
- Evidence of honesty: limitations, wrong calls, what you would do differently
- A simple home: a single web page, a shared folder or a PDF that opens well on a phone
Which project should I do first?
| Project | Best for | Time | Rubric skills shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project A | Trend researcher | About 4 weeks, 30–40 minutes a day | Pattern recognition, documentation discipline, platform literacy, commercial judgement |
| Project B | Social listening analyst | About 2–3 weeks | Search and query design, data handling, brief writing, brand safety and ethics |
| Project C | Either role (and content strategy) | About 1–2 weeks | Commercial judgement, brief writing, brand safety, cultural context, presenting |
If you are aiming at trend research, do A then C. For listening roles, do B then C. Check the skills rubric first and choose the project that covers your weakest scores.
Project A · Trend researcher
The four-week trend log and lifecycle review
- Time
- About 4 weeks, 30–40 minutes a day
- Rubric skills demonstrated
- Pattern recognition, documentation discipline, platform literacy, commercial judgement
- The brief
- Choose one beat (an audience or category). Using a dedicated research account, log every pattern you see at least three times across unrelated accounts for 28 days. At the end, review every entry: what happened to it, and was your status call right?
Method
- Set up the log columns from Chapter 1: date first seen, label, type, three links, origin, status, why it is spreading
- Scan twice a day; update the status of older entries every Saturday
- Cross-check three of your biggest trends in Google Trends to see whether search interest moved too
- At day 28, mark each call as right, wrong or unclear
Deliverable outline
- Cover page: your beat, dates, method in five lines
- The full log (link to the spreadsheet) with at least 25 entries
- A two-page lifecycle review: your three best early calls with dates, your two worst calls and what you learned
- One chart: number of entries by type or by status over the four weeks
What good looks like: Shows dated evidence of noticing something before it peaked, and an honest account of misses.
Project B · Social listening analyst
A social listening report on a public topic
- Time
- About 2–3 weeks
- Rubric skills demonstrated
- Search and query design, data handling, brief writing, brand safety and ethics
- The brief
- Pick a public brand, service or issue and one question about it (for example: what are the most common complaints about a city's metro service this month?). Collect and analyse 150–200 public mentions by hand.
Method
- Write your question, then a query; record every version and why you changed it
- Collect mentions from at least two platforms into a sheet: date, platform, link, short summary in your own words
- Remove noise; tag each mention with a theme and sentiment; double-check sarcasm and mixed-language posts
- Count themes and look at how they change over the period
Deliverable outline
- One-page summary: the question, three findings, one recommendation
- Method page: final query, versions, sources, date range, what you excluded
- Findings pages: a table of theme counts, a simple chart, two or three paraphrased examples per theme (no usernames)
- Limitations: what your sample could not tell you
What good looks like: The query is precise, the limitations are honest and the recommendation follows from the evidence.
Project C · Either role (and content strategy)
A trend-to-brand pitch
- Time
- About 1–2 weeks
- Rubric skills demonstrated
- Commercial judgement, brief writing, brand safety, cultural context, presenting
- The brief
- Pick one current trend from your log and two real brands in different categories. For each brand, recommend whether and how it should use the trend, or explain why it should not. Present it as you would to a client.
Method
- Summarise the trend: origin, examples, lifecycle stage, audience
- For each brand, look at its last month of Instagram content to understand its tone
- Sketch one concrete idea per brand (a written outline, not a produced video)
- Run a brand-safety check: hidden meanings, sensitivities, and disclosure needs if creators are involved
Deliverable outline
- A five to seven slide deck or a two-page document
- Slide 1: the trend in one sentence, with three dated examples
- Slides 2–3: brand A recommendation, idea, risks, how success would be measured
- Slides 4–5: brand B (including a reasoned “do not use” if that is your view)
- Final slide: timing: how long the window lasts and what would make you change your advice
What good looks like: Gives a clear yes, no or wait for each brand, with reasons, and does not treat every trend as a fit.
How should I present the portfolio?
Put a short introduction at the top: who you are, your beat, the role you want, and links to each project with a one-line summary. Keep file names clear (“Project-B-metro-complaints-report.pdf”, not “final2.pdf”). Make sure links open without a login and work on a phone, because many first reviews happen on one. In your CV, list each project with its dates as you would list a job.
What are the common portfolio mistakes?
- Undated work. Without dates, a trend log proves nothing about timing.
- Screenshots without analysis. Collecting is the easy part; the employer wants your reasoning.
- Reposting other people’s content as your own. Link to posts and paraphrase. Do not include private accounts, usernames of ordinary people or anything from closed groups.
- Only successes. A record with no wrong calls looks edited.
- Inventing numbers. If you did not count it, do not state it. Hand counts from a small sample are fine if you say so.
Once a project is finished, practise presenting it using the interview chapter, which includes a take-home exercise built on Project C.
Sources
- Google, Google Trends. Free tool for exploring search interest over time and by region. Checked 6 November 2026.
- Google Search Help, Refine Google searches. Google's own list of search operators: quotes for exact phrases, minus to exclude, site:, before:/after: and filetype:. Checked 6 November 2026.
- Advertising Standards Council of India, ASCI Influencer Resource. ASCI's page on its influencer advertising guidelines (introduced May 2021) and the need to disclose material connections with brands. Checked 6 November 2026.
- Instagram, Instagram for Creators. Instagram's official creator hub: guidance on Reels, Insights, professional accounts and monetisation tools. Checked 6 November 2026.