What is Trending?
Trending refers to topics, hashtags, sounds, or content formats that are currently experiencing a surge in popularity and engagement on social media platforms. Trends can be driven by current events, viral content, cultural moments, platform features, or seasonal topics. Most platforms surface trending topics through dedicated sections like Twitter's Trending Topics or TikTok's Discover page. Participating in relevant trends can significantly boost your content's visibility, but it's important to ensure that trend participation aligns with your brand voice and values.
Examples
- I
A brand creating a TikTok using a trending audio that's relevant to their product category.
- II
Posting timely content about a trending industry topic to position your brand as a thought leader.
- III
Using a trending hashtag during a cultural moment to increase the discoverability of your post.
Why it matters for social media
Jumping on relevant trends can dramatically increase your content's reach and discovery. Platforms actively promote trending content, so participating gives you a visibility boost that's hard to achieve through regular posting alone.
However, trend participation requires speed and relevance. Posting about a trend too late or forcing a connection that doesn't fit your brand can feel inauthentic. The key is to participate quickly in trends that naturally align with your brand and audience.
How Velocity helps with Trending
Velocity agents help you apply trending across real social workflows: research, platform-ready content, scheduling, publishing, analytics, and recommendations. The full workspace helps you optimize, track, and improve performance without splitting the work across separate tools.
Learn about Velocity AgentsRelated terms
Hashtag
A word or phrase preceded by # that categorizes social media content and makes it discoverable. Hashtags help expand your reach beyond existing followers.
Algorithm
A set of rules a social media platform uses to decide what content to show users. Algorithms determine the order and visibility of posts in a feed.
Viral
Content that spreads rapidly across social media through shares, reaching a massive audience far beyond the creator's followers. Going viral is rare but impactful.
Engagement Rate
The percentage of your audience that interacts with your content through likes, comments, shares, and saves. It measures how compelling your content is.
Social Listening
Monitoring social media platforms for mentions of your brand, competitors, or industry topics. Social listening helps you understand public perception and identify opportunities.