Trending is what’s popular at a particular time, and it can be in any area from fashion or entertainment to the stock market. Trends can also reflect political unrest or the mood of a nation. A trend may last a week, a month or even a decade, but it’s always subject to change.
If a business is able to identify and capitalize on a trend, it can quickly grow its audience and establish itself as an industry leader. But it’s important for small business owners to exercise caution and avoid exploiting or capitalizing on sensitive topics, such as national tragedies or social unrest. In addition, it’s essential that trends are authentic and relevant to the business and its ideal customer base.
To use trending to its advantage, businesses can use available marketing tools to evaluate which topics are generating the most interest from search engines and social media. They can then create content around those topics that will be of interest to their target audience. It’s also a good idea to use keyword research tools to ensure that the content being generated reflects the terms and phrases being searched for by customers.
It’s not easy to identify and use the right trending topics for business, but there are a few basic rules that should be followed. First, it’s important to understand that the trending topics displayed on Twitter and Facebook are based on algorithms that attempt to filter out hashtags or keywords that don’t add value to conversations. In the past, Twitter has censored several trends that many users found offensive. Likewise, social networks have removed trending topics related to national tragedies or ongoing civil unrest that are not relevant to their users.
One of the best ways to find and leverage trending topics is by using social media monitoring tools that provide real-time alerts of trending stories and discussions occurring on a variety of social media platforms. These tools can help businesses monitor and react to real-time events as they happen. Another option is to scour conference keynote and breakout sessions for the latest topical subjects being discussed by niche subject matter experts. Publication editorial calendars are also a great resource for identifying seasonal search trends that will be popular with a publication’s audience.
Google Trends allows users to customize a trending search based on location and personal interests, and YouTube offers a personalized ‘Trending’ section that displays videos that are currently trending in their country. Other third-party tools, such as ‘Trendwatchers’, can be used to combine trend data with a blog topic generator to help marketers generate a list of possible blog topics that are both trending and relevant to the business’s industry.
By utilizing the various trending tools available, small business owners can stay ahead of the curve and create engaging content on their own terms. It’s also wise to keep in mind that not every trending topic is appropriate for business marketing purposes, and it’s essential to know when to stop chasing after a trend.