Trending is a term used to describe popular topics or hashtags that are gaining traction on social media at a given moment. The popularity of these topics is determined by the number of people discussing them on social media and can be influenced by popular culture, current events, or even weather conditions. These trends can affect a variety of sectors from fashion to pop culture to business and political issues. Being a part of a trend can give brands, influencers, or individuals a huge advantage in terms of visibility, engagement, and potential exposure.

Unlike viral content, which has the ability to spread exponentially across platforms and remain popular for an extended period, trending topics have limited reach within a specific platform and are influenced by the volume of people talking about the topic. To be considered a trend, a hashtag must appear on the Explore tab of a given social media platform and be discussed by a large number of users in a short timeframe.

The algorithms of each platform determine the trends that appear on their site and how long they last. For example, on Twitter, the trending algorithm looks for spikes in the number of tweets about a particular topic or hashtag, while it takes into account both the quantity of tweets and the rate at which they are being posted. Twitter also considers the location of the people who are tweeting about a topic in order to personalize its trending list and ensure that the most relevant conversations are being shown.

Google Trends is another tool that provides insight into what people are interested in at any given moment. This information is valuable for marketers who can use it to create organic, search engine-friendly content. The website allows you to enter a keyword or phrase and then shows the most popular searches in real-time. Trends can also be analyzed over a specific time frame to see what’s growing or declining.

TikTok is another social media platform that has a “Trending” section that features topics being talked about by its users. These trends can be anything from a popular song or video to news stories or sports events. This section can be accessed by anyone using the platform and is updated in real-time to reflect what people are discussing on the site.

The platform offers several ad formats including images, spark, and carousel ads as well as video ads that last 5 to 60 seconds. Trends can be displayed on a user’s For You page or in their Explore tab and are determined by the platform based on a combination of factors such as popularity, relevance, and engagement. The most effective TikTok ads incorporate a display image, brand or app name, and text about the promoted product or service to encourage engagement.