Hashtags, Trends and the McLobster
by Adam @bubblejobs
So this week Twitter released a report of the most popular topics that have been discussed on the mighty platform in the last year. There’s the normal stuff like sports stars, places and tech topics….pretty much as expected really.
Image courtesy of Twitter
And then you take a look at the most popular hashtag trends and you could be forgiven that the world’s gone mad. Number 1 was #egypt which was used to help document, report and even aid the toppling of a true dicatator. And Number 2? Well it was #tigerblood which focussed on supporting an ex movie star’s, (now sitcom) rapid meltdown.
Crazy?…possibly. But look at it another way and it proves a very powerful point. Twitter really is the social media platform that has it’s ‘finger on the pulse’ of what’s happening in the world. I have to admit I was one of the ardent “That’ll never work” or “It’s just a fad” group of non-believers when the platform first launched. And to be honest, I still have some reservations about the value that tweeting about the contents of your lunch box brings to the world. But what I do find fascinating is Trends.
When you spend more time examining what’s trending on Twitter, you quickly realise that’s it’s not necessarily the subject matter that’s important but the fact that you can get a feel of the ‘mood’ of the big wide world out there. And the amazing thing is that it changes in real time. So in amongst the bizarre and weird popular topics you can build a picture of what the general population are thinking or feeling… Digital Marketing Managers and Online Marketing Experts take note!
I mean if you offered anyone in an online marketing job or digital marketing career a tool or resource that could show them what people were thinking, feeling and ‘buying into’ on a particular day or week, that would be gold dust right? Well, #amazeballs it’s right there under our noses. Of course it’s not an exact science, it’s open to interpretation and it’s not necessarily relevant to every business out there. But I’d argue that there’s a whole heap of data Twitter’s producing on a daily basis that if, interpreted correctly could help in deciding when to launch that latest digital marketing campaign or which can be used to tailor an online marketing promotion to a particular customer segment.
Food for thought me thinks…and on that note I think I’ll have a McLobster for lunch!!
Do you think Twitter trends can influence online marketing decisions? Leave us a comment below.
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