Twitter has many useful features for finding out what’s going on, with one of the most popular being their Trends section. This is a place to find the most popular topics currently being talked about on Twitter. Since this is where people see tweets from other profiles once they click on a trend, it’s also a useful marketing tool. Brands can benefit tremendously from utilizing the Trends feature to their advantage.
What are Trending Topics?
Before you can use Twitter Trends to promote something, you need to understand how it works. Twitter’s algorithm decides whether a topic is trending based on factors like the volume of tweets, and how fast that volume was reached. It then sorts the results to determine which topics are most relevant to a particular user like you. To the end user, this is a great place to see new accounts to follow.
Trends serve as a huge platform for you to place relevant content in front of targeted users. If you stay relevant to these trends, you also become part of that buzz since Twitter users check it frequently to know what’s going on in the world.
Participating in relevant trends is crucial for seeing any real success. Remember, Twitter uses several algorithms to weed out unrelated content. You also need to watch out for trend changes. Just because something appears to be a hot topic one day, there is no guarantee that it’ll be around the next.
Keeping up with the Trends
Luckily, there are a lot of tools that can help you track current and developing trends on Twitter. Sites like Trendsmap and Trends24 are two good examples.
These sites let you quickly view detailed information about relevant trends, including topics that are trending in your immediate location. By monitoring conversations and statistics related to each trend, you can decide which one will be worth your time. By taking advantage of local trends you can get the attention of your immediate audience.
When using trend monitoring sites, don’t just skim through the information in front of you. Put in some time to find the trends that best resonate with your target audience, and be sure you understand the trend. Don’t be like Digiorno:
DiGiorno jumped in on the #WhyIStayed hashtag Monday. They just didn't realize it was about domestic violence. pic.twitter.com/lYmn3Bsueq
— Alex Wespi (@alexwespi) September 10, 2014
Trend monitoring can become second-nature once you use these tools often enough. Combining these monitoring sites with other Twitter analytic tools will give you a clear picture of how others are jumping into the trends, and how you should join.
Huge results from Trending topics
Once you’ve done the research and found a good trend, you need to get to the top of the results. This task is easier said than done, especially with certain trends with a lot of competition. Fortunately, using Twitter retweet services will give your tweet a boost to the top of the list.
Tweets with a lot of retweets and likes appear higher on trend search results. Buying retweets and favorites are a good way to get that boost quickly. Bought RTs and likes can also be targeted by location or niche. This helps your tweet be better positioned by Twitter’s algorithms in trending topics.
Even if you get a tweet to the top of a trend search result, it’s not going to help you that much if it’s an uninteresting tweet. You need to create content that will resonate with your audience.
Study the tweets that have generated plenty of conversations about the trend to get a good idea of the kind of content that best appeals to your audience. Create that content, and push it higher in the rankings with a retweets service. Before you know it, you’ll be getting engagement from the many people viewing the trend!
Get on Twitter Trending Topics!
Now that you’ve got a rough recipe on using trends to your advantage, you can start trying some things. Experiment with different methods, try out different vendors, and research new trends. You should always improve your content as well.
Knowing your target audience is vital. Find or create trends that are relevant to your content, and use them to your advantage. By placing content that you know will be engaging in front of targeted traffic, you’ll see huge success. Trends make that easier, so be smart and get trending!