Getting a hashtag to trend can be difficult to do. Most attempts to get a hashtag trending fail miserably. There are so many variables that go into what creates virality. Most importantly, it comes down to two major precepts: content and distribution. Aside from these most basic factors, there are a multitude of other factors that, if executed correctly, can substantially increase the chances of your hashtag trending. Here's a brief rundown of 5 factors that can do just that.
CREATE A RELATABLE OR FUNNY TOPIC THAT EVERYONE CAN JOIN IN ON
Social media is all about creating a conversation that people are compelled to share. This goes back to the "content" portion of the two major precepts. By creating a hashtag that people want to talk about, you are encouraging an engaging social conversation. For example, a hashtag like #IhateMondaysBecause gives the audience a million and one potential responses like "football season hasn't started" or "It's not Sunday." Creating this conversation is the beginning of the formula for creating a successful trend with your hashtag.
TEAM UP WITH OTHER INFLUENCERS AND START THE CONVERSATION
Distribution is essential to the success of getting a hashtag to trend. This is definitely the harder part of the two major precepts. Many people possess the creativity to create content that is relatable and entertaining, but where most fall short is having the distribution network to get the message out there. In order to start the conversation, you will need to identify relevant influencers that are capable of helping you spread the word. If you don't have existing relationships with influencers, then you need to do a bit of research and work to cultivate these relationships. By having entertaining and compelling content, it will help to give them a reason to help you spread your message.
TIMING
In order to get a hashtag to trend, there needs to be a somewhat simultaneous push from influencers for several minutes, so that the hashtag starts gaining traction. For this, you will need to send out a message to your influencers and sync up with them on an ideal time to launch the hashtag. To get the most engagement, weekdays, during normal business hours, are more ideal than nights or weekends, though in certain circumstances, especially if your hashtag is relevant to a specific cultural happening like the Super Bowl or The Oscars, there are exceptions to the rule. And if the goal is simply to trend in a specific country like the U.S., a late night campaign will actually be easier to trend because of the lack of competition.
EVANGELISTS
Aside from merely getting influencers to share your message with their audiences, it is key to have influencers ask their followers to join in to increase virality. When influencers ask their audience to get involved, it creates a groundswell effect and it prompts others to ask their friends to join in. This is possibly the most essential part of the process. Without the evangelists, your hashtag is bound to fall flat.
LONGEVITY
The length of the push dictates the level of success that you can reach with your hashtag. Once it breaks locally or top nine nationally, push it even harder. The more tweets per second, the more likely it is to trend continually. This can be the difference between a U.S. and a Worldwide trend.
LA-based social media firm, The Influential Network knows better than most about success in this field. CEO, Ryan Detert has engineered social media campaigns for top Fortune 500 companies, and in actuality, branded campaigns are even harder. "If done with the biggest influencers in the world, we can make something that wouldn't otherwise trend become #1 worldwide," said Detert.
A great example of this involves a recent campaign that The Influential Network did for Entertainment Tonight for the 25th Anniversary of the Batman movie franchise. Detert brought together 3 major influencers, Matthew Espinosa, Aaron Carpenter, and Brent Rivera for the campaign and had the influencers ask their followers to create a Batman mask out of household items, take a picture of it, and tag it #Batmask. Due to the power and reach of these influencers, ET received over 10,000 tweets and Batmask photos in an hour, from fans all over the world.
The result was a #1 Worldwide trend over the World Cup, during the actual filming of the ET piece. The 3 influencers then live tweeted the show when it aired and trended the hashtag #ETNow number 2 in the U.S. on
Disclaimer: I'm an Adviser to Influential Network
