Trending
Topics, hashtags, or content that are rapidly gaining popularity and conversation volume across a platform.
Trending refers to topics, hashtags, keywords, or events that are experiencing a sudden surge in social media activity. Platforms surface trending topics through dedicated sections (X's Trending, TikTok's Trending Sounds) to help users discover what's being talked about right now.
For marketers, trending topics represent opportunities to insert a brand into high-visibility conversations — a tactic called newsjacking or trend-jacking. When done well, it exposes content to audiences far beyond your followers. When done poorly (forcing irrelevant brand content into sensitive trending conversations), it creates reputational risk.
The key principle for trend-based content is relevance — only engage with trending topics where you have a genuine and natural connection. Forced trend participation is usually obvious and often backfires.
Related Terms
Hashtag
A word or phrase preceded by # that categorizes content and makes it discoverable to users following or searching that topic.
Reach
The total number of unique people who saw your social media content during a given time period.
Viral
Content that spreads rapidly across social media through extensive sharing, reaching a much larger audience than the creator's normal reach.
Algorithm
The set of rules a social media platform uses to decide which content to show users and in what order.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Should brands jump on trending topics?
- Only if there's a genuine, natural connection between the trend and your brand or content. Forced trend-jacking feels inauthentic and can alienate your audience. When in doubt, skip it — the risk of getting it wrong usually outweighs the potential reach.
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