Using Trending Topics Effectively

When you first start using Twitter as part of your marketing plan, it can be difficult to understand what a trending topic is and why it is important to your marketing strategy. It helps you stay informed about your target audience and helps you establish relationships with the people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. If you understand the dynamics of trending topics on Twitter, you will find that it can greatly influence the results you see in your overall marketing efforts. Here’s how to understand and take advantage of trending topics on Twitter.

On Twitter, a single word, phrase, or even topic is said to be being “trended” or otherwise said to be “hot” when it receives a higher amount of attention than other words or phrases. A trending topic becomes popular either due to an event that triggers people to discuss a certain topic or due to a concerted campaign by online users to promote the topic. The first step in utilizing Twitter’s trending topic tool is to select the keyword or phrase you want to monitor. This will help you identify trending topics on Twitter. Once you have identified the topic you want to track, you can search for the specific term.

The next step in trending topics on Twitter is to join the various online communities that discuss the topic you are tracking. Some of the most popular communities to join include the #hashtagify and hashable. Popular hashtags will often times appear in trending topics on Twitter, so if you are on Twitter you should make sure to check these out to ensure your campaigns are being properly promoted.

As you begin participating in the various communities that discuss the topics you identify, you will notice that there are many tweets that reference the trending topics. If you are not using the trending hash tags in your tweet, consider switching them out. The hash tags can tell the world which keywords you are using in your campaign. The more relevant keywords you use in your campaign, the better chance you have of being noticed.

One very effective way to incorporate trending topics into your promotional efforts is to use the same hashtag for every piece of marketing you send out using it as well. One example would be the aforementioned use of the #hashtagify in all of your pieces, including press releases, adverts, and even town halls. A better Politics trending topic could be “The Presidential Commission on Identifying and Preventing Social Media Corruptions” and use a different hash tag for each of these. Not only will you spread around more information, but you will be making your point with less words and making it seem less spammy.

A good rule of thumb when using trending topics in all of your promotional efforts is to change them every 3 hours. Make sure you know what the general trending topics are at any given time. Be ready to answer any questions people may have as well. Try not to let a trending topic just pass you by. Use it as an opportunity to spread the word about your business or your website. Using trending topics effectively can help turn small things into big news.