Trending topics are powerful as they can reveal what people’s interests and intentions are and also, what is happening right now. If there is a surge in people searching online for the term ‘unemployment insurance’ for example, this could suggest unemployment levels are rising. This is a great opportunity to share any information and advice if you’re an expert, or if you’re in the business of providing unemployment insurance.

At the most basic level, real-time monitoring of trending topics online is a great place to start if you’re looking to brainstorm ideas for new marketing content such as a blog post or online video that is relevant and interesting for your audience.

Trending topics are effective for capturing the attention of a broader audience. Every Facebook status update can cover a whole range of topics, and if there’s a groundswell of interest in a topic online, you can easily monitor it.

Conversely, you may be interested in a topic you think is worth talking about, but there may not be much interest online right now. Media intelligence tools can help you research the level of interest for that topic over time and help you decide whether you should create any content. It could turn into a trending topic if you create content that resonates with the audience you’re looking to reach.

This tactic isn’t just for content creation. Trending topics can help influence other marketing efforts and business decisions. Back to the example about unemployment insurance – you may decide to implement a sales and marketing campaign to connect with an audience that is interested in unemployment insurance.

Or, if you’re about to launch a new product – you could search for topics that relate to your industry to better understand your market. You may find that certain consumers oppose certain ingredients, such as palm oil. This can help you determine the ingredient you use in your new product.

To monitor what topics are trending (and also not trending) online can make a significant impact on our business and marketing strategy.The valuable and timely insights gained can really help us make better marketing and business decisions.