Conversation spotlight: Anticipation

For the last few months, social distancing has made people long for the things they once took for granted. But now, people are looking forward: In fact, conversations related to what people anticipate have increased by 23% in March and April.¹

A growing to-do list

People in the US are eagerly Tweeting about what they’re going to do when quarantine is over. From March through April 20, hashtags like #WhenCoronavirusIsOver (30K), #WhenThisIsAllOver (28K), and #WhenWeTravelAgain (2K) surged in usage.²

We’ve also seen spikes in celebratory emoji use when people express what they are looking forward to when this is all over. From popcorn (+215%) to basketball (+61%) to party poppers (+61%) and beer (+48%), it would seem emoji and hashtags are worth a thousand longing words.

So, what will you do when this is all over?

With all the longing conversations happening, it certainly begs the question. For people on Twitter, going out to eat (+480%) and grabbing a beer with friends (+77%) are the two conversation topics with the largest increase year over year. People are also talking about returning to their beauty routines, with tattoos (+253%) and makeup (+105%) generating the largest surge.³

People on Twitter are looking ahead and focusing on the future with optimism and excitement. Brands should be prepared to shift how they connect to the conversations on Twitter, too.