Trending is a term used on social media to indicate the topics, hashtags or content that are popular at a given moment. When a topic or hashtag becomes trending on a platform, such as Twitter or TikTok, it receives more impressions and interactions than usual. This can be due to the fact that it’s related to a current event, is relevant to many people, or it has gone viral and generated a lot of engagement. Typically, social platforms will display trending topics on their explore or trends pages.
Understanding how trends work can help marketers and brands amplify their content, reach new audiences and increase visibility on social platforms. The way trends are selected and displayed varies across social platforms, but most have similar elements that are critical for success.
Trends are identified by a social media platform’s algorithm based on user activity and other data points, such as location, search history, previous likes or searches. Most sites also take into account how much the trending topic is being discussed by users in a given period of time, which is important for credibility and ensuring that the trending topics are accurate.
In the past, it was common to see brands participating in trends to generate more engagement on their posts, but this practice has become less effective as social media users have grown aware of the manipulation that can be involved with a trending topic. It’s now more important for brands to be authentic and only participate in trends that are relevant to their message and brand voice.
It’s also important for marketers to understand that a trending topic is only popular for a limited amount of time, so it’s not necessarily a great indicator of a potential audience or market size. Additionally, trending topics aren’t always representative of the opinions and beliefs of the general public.
YouTube Trending
Videos that are chosen to be featured in the YouTube trending section are selected by an algorithm based on a number of factors, such as view count and engagement metrics. In addition, the algorithms takes into account the geographical locations of viewers and other data points to ensure that the videos being displayed are relevant to the viewer.
Trending is a great tool for ecommerce businesses to monitor, as it can provide an at-a-glance look at what consumers are interested in at a given point in time. Using this information can help retailers identify opportunities to capitalize on consumer interest and drive sales. Additionally, trends can be helpful in analyzing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, identifying which types of content are performing well and what isn’t. Some trends are even predictable, with recurring hashtags like #motivationmonday and #transformationtuesday becoming consistent daily trends. This makes it easy for businesses to plan out their content calendars and make sure they’re incorporating the most popular keywords.