Dakota Johnson and Taylor Swift on SNL. Dakota Johnson and Taylor Swift joking about dating on SNL took over social; searches for her exes followed.
The spike
Social got to it first: views were already peaking on Sep 28, the first day we tracked; Google searches followed on Oct 4.Verified: the top posts on the social peak day were hand-checked and are about this trend.
Why it’s trending
We love watching two people who clearly enjoy each other, and we want to be in on the joke.
What’s happening
Dakota Johnson and Taylor Swift stood on the SNL stage and joked about friendship and dating musicians. People then searched who Dakota dated. Days earlier their 'Patient Zero' music video premiered at the VMAs. On social, fans share clips and say it should be a full movie.
What content is working
Trending hashtags
The tags people used most on posts about this trend, ranked by number of posts. Generic tags like #fyp and #viral are left out.
- #taylorswift 151 posts
- #patientzero 104 posts
- #vmas 45 posts
- #swiftie 43 posts
- #dakotajohnson 32 posts
- #taylornation 21 posts
- #swifties 19 posts
- #snl 19 posts
- #swifttok 16 posts
- #tloas 14 posts
Sentiment
Automatic sentiment labels across 259 posts and 400 comments.
The other side · what’s negative
Some grumblingFans enjoy Dakota’s SNL appearance and Patient Zero chatter. Criticism of this moment is minor.
Safe to go positive on the SNL and Taylor friendship moment. Keep it separate from Verity, where reviews are poor and Johnson's performance is being criticised.
What people are saying in comments
omg Dakota and I share the same therapist! Small world.
What an awesome surpriseTaylor and Dakota together are a winning combo!
How lucky is she!?!? Taylor is such a special friend! Dakota is so blessed!
They could make a movie of show about the Patient zero music video that's how good it is and would be
When will Taylor Host SNL? Loved it!
From this moment, here on out , all her videos need to be 30 minute short movies
The cinematography of this video is absolutely insane! Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell played their roles perfectly
I love how everyone is falling over themselves to bow to Dakota now that she and Taylor have made it official
Literally this is a trailer for a movie... right???
We can we expect the movie :)
Tay's new friend lol who will be next?
The content strategy we observed
Live stage moments and bold opinions win: the friendship, the hug, the movie idea.
#2: Taylor and Dakota stand side by side on the SNL stage and banter about their friendship and who supports whom. #3: Fan points out different headstones for Taylor and Dakota buried very close in the Patient Zero video, plus a second rose.#2 #3
Real friendship is the story; one creator asks for a Swift thriller.#2 #4
Crowd-view clip, armchair whiteboard, and close-cut talking head.#1 #3 #4
Warm and playful, with fan enthusiasm and affectionate friendship moments.#3 #4
The top videos went up between Sep 29 and Oct 6: 3 of 8 before Google searches peaked on Oct 4. Social views peaked on Sep 28.#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8
Pair a warm friendship moment with a bold opinion, posted at the search peak.
What can brands do?
Toast your friend: 'who is your Taylor?'
“Two friends clink cans, one looks at camera: 'Every best friend has a second best friend. Who is yours?'”
- Format
- 15-second two-friend banter, ends with a clink
- Platform
- TikTok and Instagram Reels
- Who posts
- Drinks brand with real friend pairs
- Caption
- Tag your person and clink. We will not tell who is the new best friend.
- When to post
- This week, while the SNL clips are still shared
- Watch out
- Do not use the stars' faces, voices or music clips without rights.