Trending is when a specific topic, hashtag, or keyword receives more visibility and engagement than usual on a social media platform like Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram. It’s a way for people to stay connected and feel included, especially when it comes to pop culture or current events. Trends can also be a great tool for marketers to find new audiences and promote their content.
The way trends are calculated on Twitter is a bit different than other platforms. While other sites use keywords or phrases to determine what is trending, Twitter uses a number of variables to identify trends. One of those is a moving average, which smooths out fluctuations over time to highlight longer-term patterns. Another is a linear regression, which helps to identify relationships between two variables by fitting a line to the data.
Other factors that determine what is trending include a combination of frequency and novelty. A high frequency means that a topic is being discussed a lot, while a novelty factor indicates how fresh or interesting a topic is. The latter can be influenced by things like viral videos, memes, or news stories that are making the rounds.
As a result, the trending topics on Twitter can be a little unpredictable. Trends can also be influenced by influencers, who may share or create a hashtag with the hope of getting it to trend. This can be a good thing, as it increases the reach of a message or campaign, but it can also lead to controversies, such as when Twitter censors certain hashtags that some users find offensive.
The popularity of a trend can also be manipulated by using bots to artificially increase the volume of a topic. This can be a problem when it comes to trends related to politics, but it can also occur in other sectors. Trends that are not genuine can be damaging, and they can lead to a false sense of security for consumers.
While the popularity of a trend can be influenced by a variety of factors, it is important to understand how trends work on Twitter in order to make the most of them for your business. With some research and careful planning, you can use trends to your advantage in ways that are authentic and engaging. You can also utilize promoted trends, which are paid opportunities for businesses to appear on the trending list on Twitter’s homepage and Explore tab. These are typically paired with other promoted tweets to maximize impact.