Social media news trends are the latest topics that capture attention on social networks. These ephemeral trends are often short-lived but have the potential to reach wide audiences. The goal of staying on top of these trends is to create content that resonates with your audience and encourages engagement.
While some social networks have a dedicated section for news, others rely on user-generated content to provide updates about their communities and the wider world. For example, hackers and entrepreneur-focused platforms such as Hacker News use a crowdsourcing approach that allows users to vote on articles and determine what should be featured on the site’s front page. Other sites, such as Reddit and Digg, have a similar model but focus on community discussion of current events.
The most popular news sources on social media are YouTube and Facebook, with large shares of Americans saying they regularly get news from each. However, smaller shares say they regularly get news on Instagram, TikTok, X, Nextdoor and Truth Social. The proportion of people who get news on each site differs by gender and political party. For instance, women are more likely to get news on Instagram and TikTok but less so on Nextdoor, Truth Social and X.
When it comes to leveraging social media trends, it’s important to remember that consumers are looking for brands that know their identity and can incorporate that into their content. Jumping on social media trends without understanding the motivation behind them can backfire, especially if it’s unoriginal or doesn’t align with the brand’s tone of voice. Similarly, consumers expect brands to respond promptly when they have questions or concerns.