On Twitter, Trending Topics (aka TT for those in the know) are basically the hot topics of the day and are mostly hashtags and sentences that have been tweeted and retweeted repeatedly over a given period of time. Obviously, your business could greatly benefit from this kind of visibility, if your tweets or hashtags make it to the TT list! That is why our social media agency decided to put together this little beginner’s guide on these famous trends.
A Cutting-Edge Tool
As per Twitter, “Trends are automatically generated by an algorithm that attempts to identify topics that are being talked about more right now than they were previously”. TTs can be customized according to your geographical location, which can benefit you greatly if you wish to launch a viral marketing campaign and target those who are close to the area you are in.
Indeed, if they have set their location, they will have access to topics that are trending for a specific area, and in other words, to yours! So now you only need to develop a strategy in order to be a part of the TTs.
Predicting the Trending Topics
Although researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have succeeded at creating an algorithm able to predict the trending topics with a precision up to 95%, it is nevertheless impossible for the general public to predict which topics will be trending. There are, however, some ways to increase your chances to be part of the TTs.
How to Succeed
Twitter’s algorithm accounts for topics and hashtags that have been tweeted numerous times in different ways, and by different users. You cannot simply ask for mass retweets, you need to create a buzz that will start discussions among users, in order to increase the popularity of a specific topic in order for the algorithm to notice it.
Since trends can be sorted according to specific geographical locations, it is fair to say that time zones and the time of the day are two variables that can influence the number of tweets required for a topic to be trending. Indeed, it is a lot less “costly” in terms of quantity of tweets during off-peak than peak hours. The algorithm also tends to ignore topics that already trended in the past few days. You will therefore have more success using new hashtags and themes, rather than reusing topics that were hot a couple of days prior your campaign. Make sure that the popularity of your topic rises quickly, for the algorithm to notice this unusual trend.
A Very Profitable Social Media Management
If you manage to succeed at getting your tweets in the Trending Topics section, the visibility your business will get will be well worth it. In order to launch a successful viral marketing campaign and aim for the TTs, you must plan accordingly, so make sure you call upon our social media agency in Montreal for an efficient strategy.
