Trending is a term that describes the topics or hashtags that are popular on social media at a given time. These trends can reflect a wide variety of sources, including current events, cultural and other discussions, viral content, holidays, and more. Trends can also be localized to a specific community, location or context, or they can have an impact on a larger scale depending on the reach and influence of the particular platform.
Social media platforms often feature a list of trending topics that are most popular in the country or region in which you live. This helps users see what others are talking about and discussing, and it can serve as a great way to connect with like-minded people. Trends can also be used to increase the visibility of certain posts or conversations, which can be beneficial for brands, influencers, and individuals alike.
A post, hashtag, or topic can become a trending topic by receiving a large number of mentions, views, or interactions on a particular platform, such as Twitter or TikTok. The topic will then be displayed as a ‘trending’ topic in the Explore or Trending section of that platform. Trends can be influenced by many factors, including the popularity of an event or topic, the participation of influencers, and even censorship (although Twitter has modified its algorithm to avoid this).
While some trends are organically generated, others are the result of strategies or manipulations by groups or individuals. For example, when a celebrity announces their pregnancy publicly, it can cause that news to be a trending topic for a short period of time. Similarly, trends can be generated by influencers who use the trending tag in their posts or videos in order to get more engagement.
The most popular and engaging trends can generate a lot of traffic for your account or posts, as well as a larger following. For this reason, it is important to stay on top of the trends in your particular industry and to be aware of what your followers are interacting with most frequently.
Keeping up with trends can help you understand what your audience is interested in, as well as the type of content that is most engaging for them. This information can then be leveraged to create more relevant and effective content for your audience.
To see the latest trends on Twitter, click on the ‘change’ button next to the trending section. You can then select your city, or the United States, to see what’s trending nationally. You can also find the most popular trends on X’s Home timeline, in Notifications, and on your Profile page. The Trends feature is available on the X for iPhone app, the X for Android app, and x.com. Please note that X may filter searches for quality, so your posts might not always show up in search results or on the Trends list. Learn more about how X filters searches here.