Trending is when a specific topic, hashtag, or keyword becomes popular and receives more visibility and engagement than usual on a social media platform. Trends can relate to current events, viral content, memes, holidays, and more. Trending topics are often displayed prominently on a social media platform’s “Trending” or “Explore” page and can generate a lot of visibility, engagement, and mentions for brands or influencers.

Trends are determined by a social media platform’s algorithm and based on the collective interests of users at a given time. These trends can change fast, so it’s important to keep an eye on them. Trends are largely determined by location, so you might see different trends than your friends and followers. Additionally, certain types of content are more likely to become trends, like breaking news or viral memes.

Social media platforms also consider how influential a user is when determining trends, which can lead to a large amount of traction for a trend even if it’s not particularly relevant to the audience. Trends can be influenced by influencers with large followings, which is why it’s important for businesses to work with a community manager to ensure their content is relevant and shared by their audience.

Twitter’s trending topics are based on search volume, with the algorithm favoring sharp spikes over a sustained period of time. Trends can also be influenced by the timing of searches, which can cause a trend to quickly shift. Twitter users can change their location on the website to ensure the trends they see are catered to them.

Facebook and TikTok have similar trends areas that display videos or topics that are currently popular in a given region. These are largely influenced by the demographics of each platform’s audience, which may explain why you might see different trends than your friends and family members. YouTube’s trending topics are largely related to current events and sometimes feature videos of popular creators. The site has been criticized for showing misleading or offensive videos in its trending section, such as a video that claimed a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was a crisis actor.

Businesses that use trends to their advantage can gain visibility and engagement by leveraging popular keywords or phrases in their content. However, it’s important to be careful not to abuse trends; doing so could lead to a temporary suspension of an account. It’s best to stick to trends that are directly relevant to your business and audience. In order to stay in-the-know about what’s trending, there are several free tools you can utilize. Some of these include Buzzsumo, TikTok Creative Center, and Semrush.Trends, though you can also find them on a variety of other platforms.