I treat trend research as part of my weekly content workflow, not a passive activity:

1. TikTok Creative Center — I check trending sounds, hashtags, and creative formats every Monday before planning the week's content. This catches viral audio early, while it still has algorithmic lift.

2. Instagram and TikTok creator-only views — I follow a curated list of language-learning, education, and AI-tool creators (both English and Portuguese) to spot which formats are working in adjacent niches before they become saturated.

3. Newsletters — I subscribe to Marketing Brew, The Future Party, and a few creator-economy specific newsletters that surface trends before they hit mainstream.

4. AI as a research layer — I use Claude to analyze patterns in top-performing Reels (hooks, structure, pacing) and to extract reusable templates from them.

5. Direct testing — my own Instagram accounts are constant labs. I post, watch what hits, and feed the learnings back into the system.

For Airlearn specifically, I'd add a 6th layer: monitoring what other language-learning apps (Duolingo, Babbel, Busuu) are posting, and looking for white space they're missing — especially in bilingual content.

I produce short-form Reels weekly for my own brand, Deep Fresh Clean (@deepfreshclean) — a premium cleaning service I own and operate in Connecticut. The account documents real before/after transformations, with content built around tight 7-second hooks, dense on-screen text, and high contrast visuals. The result: 5.0 stars on Google, 50+ homes restored, and an audience that converts into actual paying customers, not just views.

I also run a personal Instagram (@tiagocarvalho.1m) where I document my journey from CLT to the first $1M, using the same short-form playbook.

Production-wise, I run a full AI stack: Claude for scripting and content strategy, ElevenLabs for voiceovers, HeyGen for AI avatars, and CapCut for editing. This means I can ship more videos per week than a typical creator, while staying on-brand. For Airlearn specifically, my bilingual edge (Portuguese native, English fluent) lets me produce content that resonates with both US/global learners AND the LATAM market — which is a massive language-learning audience most US creators can't reach.