In the context of social media, trending refers to topics, hashtags, or keywords that are receiving a surge in visibility and engagement on a particular platform at a given moment. This can be influenced by current events, viral content, popular culture, or coordinated marketing campaigns. Understanding and leveraging trends can significantly boost the visibility and engagement of your content.

Using trends effectively requires an understanding of how they are determined and how you can influence them. While the factors that determine what is trending vary from platform to platform, in general they include:

How Topics Become Trending

A hashtag or keyword becomes trending when many users use it in their posts within a short period of time. The platform will then identify this activity and display it as a trending topic in its search results, on its homepage, or in a designated section of the site (e.g., Twitter’s Trending page or TikTok’s FYP).

How Topics Become Trending

Trending topics are identified by algorithms developed by each platform to reflect the conversations taking place among its community at a given moment. These algorithms consider a variety of factors, including sudden increases in conversation volume and the velocity of discussion. They also take into account geographical and personalization factors to ensure that trending topics are relevant to the audience viewing them.

For example, Facebook’s Trending page shows people a personalized feed of topics that are relevant to their location and interests. Similarly, Instagram’s Explore and TikTok’s Discover pages show people trending videos that align with their preferences and the accounts they follow.

In addition, trending is largely influenced by the amount of visibility and interaction a topic receives on social media, which in turn influences its popularity. If an influential social media user promotes a topic or hashtag, it can quickly gain momentum and become visible to a large audience.

As a business, it’s important to only participate in trends that naturally align with your brand values, voice, and audience interests. Posting unrelated content can draw ire from the platform and hurt your credibility. In some cases, it may even lead to your account being suspended if the platform deems you’re abusing its system.

When participating in trends, it’s crucial to have a streamlined process for approving content that will help your brand capitalize on the opportunity. This will allow you to respond quickly, and in a timely manner, when something is trending. It’s also important to be aware of the limited lifespan of a trend, and to only participate when it’s still gaining traction. This will help your content stand out against other brands’ attempts to capitalize on a trend that’s already losing its popularity.