Trending is a term that refers to topics, hashtags or content that are popular on social media at a particular time. These topics are highlighted by social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to encourage discussion among their users and drive engagement with their posts. Trending topics and content can be related to current events, viral videos, holiday celebrations, pop culture and other topics of interest.

Trends are generated through data collected by the social media platform’s algorithms that track user searches and interactions. They are then analyzed and ranked based on popularity. Often, trends are related to breaking news or popular memes that catch on quickly and gain momentum in popularity. Whether you are an influencer or brand, participating in trends is one of the best ways to increase your visibility and engagement on social media.

However, it’s important to approach trending with sensitivity and be sure that you are staying relevant to your audience. A post that goes viral for the wrong reasons can cause a lot of damage and backlash, so it’s vital that you are staying in line with your brands voice and principles and are targeting the right audience when participating in trending conversations.

Trending also can be used as a marketing tool to boost brand awareness and get more people to your site or social media profiles. Participating in a trending topic that’s relevant to your niche can lead to a surge of new visitors and increased engagement. However, this isn’t always the case and it’s essential to test and measure your results before relying on trending for traffic and engagement.

What are the differences between trending and viral?

Trends are focused on specific platforms and can be short-lived. For example, a video might be popular on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok but will only stay in the “Trending” section for a few days. On the other hand, viral content will spread quickly across platforms and may remain in the “Trending” section for weeks or months.

To identify trends, you can use a variety of social media tools and apps, including X, TikTok’s Explore page and Facebook’s Search & Explore page. These tools will show you what’s trending in your area based on what other people are searching for, and you can customize what you see by changing your location and interests. You can also find trending topics and hashtags on Google Trends, which analyzes a percentage of searches by people in different areas. Google also provides a map of the US that highlights trends based on gender, age, education and occupation. In addition, you can view trending terms by category (e.g., arts & entertainment, sports, politics and business).