Introduction to All Things Trending
Don’t want to watch? Here is the transcript!
Macee: Hi there! I’m Macee
Alli: I’m Alli
Renae: I’m Renae
Elli: I’m Elli
Bailey: I’m Bailey and welcome to T Cubed! A 3-part video series where we give you the best tips, tricks, and trends. Our goal is to share with you proven methods for organic growth and Instagram optimization. We sat down with expert, Mya Nichol, to dive deep into how to find, identify, and use Instagram trends to your advantage.
Elli: Mya is an Instagram expert and business coach that specializes in organic growth and target audience marketing. She has over 200K followers on Instagram and has built a multi 6 figure business by offering 1:1 coaching, account audits, company trainings, and master classes. This girl really knows her stuff, and we are so lucky to learn from her!
Renae: That’s right, we’ve done the hard work of meeting with an Instagram expert, and now we’re here to break it all down and give you the insider scoop!
Elli: Throughout this series, we’ll define what trends are,
Alli: how to recognize early trends,
Macee: the black holes of trends,
Renae: and we will dive deep into the what, when, where, and why of trending hashtags and audios.
Bailey: The best part is that each video will end with a step-by-step action plan to immediately begin identifying and implementing trending audios and hashtags yourself. So, get ready to discuss ALL things trending!!
Macee: (Introduce Mya) As mentioned earlier, we met with Instagram expert Mya Nichol to find the most current information about trending audios and hashtags. Mya has been in the industry for two years. She is considered to be an Instagram expert and business coach. She also teaches master classes on improving and growing on social media.
Alli: We’ve all heard the word trending, and we generally know that in order to grow on Instagram we need to stay on top of trends. But what does that even mean? At what point is something trending? Mya defines trending as “a movement that we use to share our voices.” Trends are all about inspiring others to use what you’ve created. Whether it affects a couple hundred, a million, or a thousand people, influencing someone to use your creation is enough to start a trend.
Elli: One common myth is that trends are going away for good. It’s true that trends are coming and going all the time. In fact, every day new trends are created, and others fade. However, here’s what Mya has to say about the longevity of trends:
Mya: 0:38- 1:28 “From my perspective, I don’t think that trends are going away because Instagram is built on trends by people. I mean that how we learn as content creators is by looking at other people. And the whole reason why Tik Tok, for example, has blown up and now Instagram is copying Tik Tok, and now Pinterest is copying Tik Tok, YouTube is copying Tik Tok, is because of the power of trends. Instagram was a dying platform before reels started coming along and it was because it lacked that trend aspect. Yes, we had pictures, and it was all pretty, and our pretty little lives that were perfectly edited, and it was great, but with the trends, this is how people get inspired, and it’s how movements are created.”
Renae: It’s obvious that trends aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. That’s why it is imperative that as an influencer, business owners, and marketers, you learn how to skillfully find and use trends.
Bailey: In the next video, we will discuss trending audios. See you then!
Diving Deep into Trending Audios!
Alli: Hey welcome back to T Cubed! In this video we are going to dive deep into trending audios!
Elli: You know those snippets of songs or quotes from movies that everyone uses in videos? That’s a trending audio! A trending audio has consistent momentum and popularity within a reel. But just because audio is used a lot, doesn’t make it trending! Instagram expert Mya says this about trending audios.
Mya: 37 minutes: “Something that boosts the views of your reels and helps you to increase your reach, which also get your reels on the explore page and on suggested post, is when you create a reel, and then your followers then go create their own reel from that audio. That tells the algorithm ‘wow this person was inspired by my reel, so now I’m gonna show this to more people.’”
Renae: There are two main ways to find trending audios: First, through the reel explore page and second, by tapping on an audio and looking at other posts for inspiration.
Bailey: First, to find through the explore page, tap the video icon on the bottom. You can swipe up or down to watch a wide variety of reels. Swipe until you see this small, white arrow in the bottom left-hand corner. This arrow signifies a rapidly growing audio, aka: a trending sound!! This is what you’re looking for! Next to the arrow is the name of the audio track. Tap the name of the audio and you will be brought to a new page. At the top will appear the audio name and the arrow with how many reels have already been made using this track. To use this audio, press save. It will then be added to your audio library.
Cassie: The second-best way to find a trending sound and get inspired is by navigating to the reels explore page. Find an audio you like and tap the track name. Now you’ll be able to see hundreds of other reels that have used this same sound. Tap on a few of them to see how the audio is used. Once you find an idea you like that fits your target audience, press save. It will then be added to your audio library.
Renae: You’re now ready to create your own trending reel!! To use the saved sound, click the post button. Then navigate to the reels tab on the bottom of your screen. Next, press the music note and then save. This will show you all your saved audio files. Click on the audio you would like to use, and press done. Add your own photos and videos over the sound and that’s it! You’ve just created your very own trending reel!
Elli: Here’s another pro tip! Trending audios usually go viral on TikTok 2-3 weeks before Instagram. If you really want to stay ahead of the game, you can also search TikTok for trending sounds and then save them for use later on.
Alli: Using trending audios is something that can be super beneficial for you and your brand. These audios are what help you be found! When you use a trending sound on a video, others will then be able to save that audio for themselves. Then from your account, Instagram will show your post to more people! Let’s hear what Mya has to teach us about this.
Renae: Wow, I had no idea the Instagram algorithm worked like that! Isn’t it awesome that Instagram will share your video with more people by using trending sounds and inspiring others? By using trending audios, you will get more views, likes, comments, and shares on your posts! That’s pure gold for your account!! Before you know it, you are a part of a trend!
Cassie: The sooner you can jump on a trending sound, the better! But how do you know which sounds will take off? At what point do trends start and when do they die off? Mya offers this advice.
Mya: “Most of the time I recommend jumping on the audio when it has under 5,000 reels posted underneath it, because most audios, at least if it’s a good audio, it will grow way past 5,000.”
Bailey: Remember that step-by-step formula we promised you? Well, here it is!
1. Find your trending audio by searching the reels explore page. Remember the key here is looking for the white trending arrow
2. Save audios that are on the rise of trending. Here is the ideal range your audios should fall between
3. Create your very own very trending reel and watch your account grow!
Alli: Not every audio will take off right away. You will have to experiment and learn what sounds your audience likes. Growing on Instagram takes both time and patience!
Cassie: Join us again to learn all about the ins and outs of trending hashtags!
Everyone: Bye!
Using Trending Hashtags
Bailey: Welcome back to T cubed. Today we are going to be focusing on trending hashtags.
Elli: We all know the hidden paragraph of hashtags at the end of every influencer’s post. But let’s be realistic, are these long reports of hashtags beneficial? The short answer is yes. Listen as business coach, Mya, gives a more detailed explanation of why using hashtags is valuable.
Mya: (10:40- 11:50) “This probably one of my most asked questions, I think kind of going back to where Instagram was in years past. Hashtags were a really great way to be found on Instagram, and they still are, but in a difference sense. Now it’s more in terms of SEO. So, search engine optimization on Instagram. So really utilizing keywords and hashtags. If I use Utah somewhere in my hashtag or hashtag Utah county, if I type in the keywords in the search bar on Instagram, the magnifying glass will come up. And if you tap on that it’s going to show you a bunch of different posts and accounts that have used those keywords. And that’s where really where Instagram is moving, and I can see it becoming more of a Google type of platform in the future.”
Alli: I had no idea that Instagram also uses SEO. The major benefit of hashtags is SEO or search engine optimization. SEO keywords are the keywords and phrases in your web content that make it possible for people to find your posts via search engines. Hashtags act as these SEO keywords on your posts. Mya explains how it works:
Mya: “The reason why it helps is because of those keywords that help the algorithm to know who to show your content to, and then your content will start showing up on the explore page of what would be considered your ideal audience or ideal followers.”
Cassie: Wow, aren’t we so grateful for Mya? Using hashtags is one of the driving forces behind how the Instagram algorithm shares your posts. Hopefully, by now you are beginning to understand why using trending hashtags is a huge benefit to you! But you might be wondering, how many hashtags should we use? Here’s what Mya has to say:
Mya: (11:50 to 12:07 or to 12:44) “So to answer your question about how many hashtags, I do recommend using as many as possible. Just because you do want to be able to be searched for in many different settings and if you only use 5 hashtags that’s only going to give you 5 keywords to be found under.”
Bailey: It’s clear that the more hashtags you include in a post, the better! But the catch is: you can’t just slap down any hashtags you want. The key is to use them intentionally! Hashtags should be specific to your audience and describe what’s happening in your post.
Cassie: Since trends come and go, believe it or not, there is an ideal time to use trending hashtags. Instagram coach Mya taught that the ideal time to use a hashtag is between 20,000 to 300,000 uses. Here’s what she has to say about this:
Mya: (17:30) “What I recommend to my students is anything that’s over 500,000 I think of it like a black hole. What happens is there’s so many people using that hashtag that when your post shows up, other people are posting and then suddenly your post is pushed down. Anything under I say usually 20,000 is the Sahara Desert, there’s not a lot happening in there. So usually in like 20,000- 500,000 range is what I recommend. That being said, to get even more specific than that, I usually don’t recommend anything over 300,000 for optimal exposure.”
Alli: Wow, that is super helpful and a great guideline to follow!
Elli: Right! Let’s review everything we’ve learned about how to find and use trending hashtags.
Bailey: First, start in the search bar and type in one word. For example: #income. Then, look at what other related hashtags are automatically populated. This will spark ideas of other hashtags you could use. Remember that ideal hashtags have between 20,000 – 300K posts. Anything above or below this is considered a black hole. Repeat this process until you have a list of 8-30 hashtags.
Cassie: If you’re looking to save time writing out hashtags. Here’s a pro tip by Mya:
Cassie: Create hashtag groups according to your content pillars. These groups should include 8-30 hashtags. Then, if you have an iPhone, add these groups to your shortcuts. Now, instead of copying and pasting each hashtag, they will be automatically inserted into your post. It is best to change your hashtag groups every 2-3 months in order to stay up to date with the trends and avoid excessive repetitiveness. It’s that easy!
Bailey: That’s genius! Creating hashtag groups and saving them to your shortcuts will be a huge time saver.
Elli: Well now you know about all things trending! We hope that over the course of this video series you’ve learned how to grow organically by using trending audios and hashtags!
Cassie: Now it’s time to put all these tips, tricks, and trends into practice!
Bailey: We want to thank you for joining us. We have loved having you here!
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