• Social media is crucial for today’s savvy businesses to communicate their message to their customers, and you have to make sure your content is trendy and relevant.
• This can be achieved through trending topics on all social media platforms that are presented to you by smart algorithms.
• Stay up-to-date, post what’s relevant and engage with your customers on social media through topics that are trending at the moment.

If you’re running a business these days, then social media should already be an important part of your marketing strategy. You are, hopefully, engaging with your audience and potential customers with fresh, innovative and relevant content, right? But what if your social media feeds are feeling a little… lacklustre? Or what if you’re simply stuck for ideas of what to share and talk about?

Trending topics have revolutionised the way content is accessed, as the most discussed topics on any given platform are given prominence within the algorithms and mechanisms behind the scenes. They show you what people are already talking about ranked by popularity, and can be adapted to location on some platforms. Trending topics are a great place to look for inspiration for your next social media post.

Stay Current

It’s a good idea to look into trending topics on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for ideas on how to get the conversation going and to attract new customers. However, you shouldn’t automatically post about popular subjects if they aren’t relevant to your business.

Look for topics that fit your business and the areas of interest your audience is likely to engage with. Use them to inspire your posts, but don’t be tempted to just jump straight on the bandwagon. Craft a point of view, or present the topic with your own twist that’s relevant to you or your business. Ensure the topic is not overly controversial or potentially brand-damaging in any way – brands are largely perception based so you need to ensure your social media is perceived positively and there’s no room for misinterpretation.

Don’t Force It

This kind of real-time marketing only works if it’s natural. Don’t try to force content out just to take advantage of the hottest trend. If nothing jumps out at you or connects with your brand in a natural way, it’s best to stick with your current content strategy. Latecomers to the trend won’t be viewed positively; they’ll be seen as behind the times. Think about what works with your target audience and remember, things move fast on the internet!

Trending topics will also help you to see what is already resonating on social media; so you can combine that information with your knowledge of your audience to see if a trending hashtag is worth your jumping on or exploring.

Be Sociable

It’s easy for businesses to forget to be social on social media, and just use their channels to push their products or services. But social media is not strictly a sales channel. Overt sales content alienates the very people you joined social media to attract. Social media is a community, and communication is incredibly important to contribute to that community. It’s a two-way street, not a soapbox.

Get involved in conversations and try to not spend all your time looking for segues in the conversation to move into sales mode. Just enjoy engaging with your potential customers – they’ll be more likely to shop with you if they don’t feel like your brand and products or services are being rammed down their throat.

Get Out There

You want to get noticed for the right reasons on social media, so, be engaging and outward looking. Humanise your business with genuine opinions and thoughts on current events or even carve out a niche as an amusing “thinker” with quips of the day. With a bit of visual flair, these can be created into shareable posts or memes.

Be generous with your content. Share content that you find interesting and relevant to your business even if it didn’t come from you in the first place. Make sure you are commenting on the content of others, and putting your stamp on it as you pass it on. And try to think local! Global will get you seen by more people but the majority won’t be able to spend with you, so, narrow your focus to local users where possible.

Celebrate local events, businesses and initiatives and demonstrate that you are a part of the community.

Dive into advertising

If a post you share on a trending topic really connects with your audience, it is well worth considering dropping a few dollars on targeted advertising to promote the post beyond its current reach. Posts that are already engaging well will generally spread further into your networks, and help new audiences to discover your content.

So, instead of spending loads of money on traditional marketing techniques, why not invest in your social media strategy and look for trending topics to influence your conversations? With a little bit of fleet-footedness, you can turn trending topics to your advantage and gain access to a whole new audience, whilst continuing to build engagement with your current online community.