Trending is a feature on social media that allows you to see what the world’s talking about at any given time. It can be anything from an event to a topic of conversation to even a hashtag that’s been trending for a while. It’s a great way to find out what people are thinking about and can also be used for marketing purposes. However, it can be tricky to get a hashtag or a topic into the trending section as there are many factors that go into it.

Trends can occur in any industry and don’t just reflect fashion, pop culture and entertainment but can also be seen in the stock market as a bullish or bearish trend or even political trends showing a nation’s current mood. As such, there is no one way to make a topic trend and it can be difficult to predict what will happen next. However, if you know what the factors that can make something a trend are then it’s easier to create a strategy for getting your topic into the trends list.

Getting into the trending list can be a huge boost to the popularity of your brand or topic and can lead to increased followers, views and engagement. It can also be a great way to make your brand more memorable. However, the list can be misleading and is not always accurate.

The algorithms behind trending determine what gets into the list by looking at the number of users using a particular hashtag or topic as well as the rate of growth of that use over time. Spikes are often favoured over sustained growth, so it’s important to try and have a consistent increase in the volume of a hashtag if you want it to trend.

As well as a spike in use, the algorithm looks at where the volume is coming from. The geographic location of your Twitter followers plays a big part in what trends. For example, the trending topics in New York are different to those in London.

Another factor that can affect what trends is a competitor or similar topic trying to get the same trending status. This can be done unintentionally, such as Burger King’s tweet that caused a backlash for its apparent insensitivity towards female staff, or intentionally if the goal is to cause a stir, such as PewDiePie’s fake controversy over the San Bernardino shootings.

If you want to make your topic trend, it’s best to be creative and have an original angle on the subject. This will give your content more chance of making it into the list rather than a generic article that covers the same subject. It’s also better to use a unique hashtag that doesn’t have much history, as this will help you achieve a spike more quickly.