New features on social media are added on an almost continuous basis. While these additions can sometimes be difficult to get used to, they can be very advantageous for business owners. Facebook is rolling out their “Trending Topics” feature soon, which is likened to the Twitter feature of the same name. This new feature, if leveraged correctly, can be very profitable for business owners. Below are some ways you can harness this new feature and use it to your benefit.

Hash Tags

Using hash tags related to topics that are trending and writing an interesting post about it can be a great way to encourage more viewers, likes, follows, and shares. You can incorporate these in a variety of ways.

• Concur or disagree with the popular opinions surrounding the topic
• Add humor to the topic
• Include media relating to the topic
• Ask questions of your followers and engage them in a discussion about the topic

Content Marketing

When most people think of content marketing, social media doesn’t always come to mind at first. But by creating compelling content around trending topics on Facebook, you can benefit in many ways.

• Content marketing using keywords about trending topics will draw search engine traffic
• If you promote this content on Facebook and use a hash tag that correlates with a trending topic, your social media fan base and readership will grow
• Writing about things that your audience cares about will grow your business and readership
• Writing about things that people care about makes you relevant, and relevancy is the number one goal of content marketing

Creating Facebook Ads

If a trending topic has to do with your industry, you have a great opportunity to create a Facebook ad for your business. Why?

• Facebook will soon allow advertisers to use hash tags in their marketing campaigns and advertisements, so you can draw those following a trending topic to your ad.
• People will be searching for trending topics online, meaning that Facebook will likely remarket to them and show your ad to them when they come online to use social media.
• Creating an ad associated with trending topics makes your ad relevant and more likely to be clicked, gaining exposure for your business.

Always remember to stay relevant when you post on social media, create content, or otherwise engage in social media and marketing. If a trending topic has little to do with your industry and you can’t find a good way to incorporate it into your social media dialogue, then by all means don’t. But if you find that there are some great trending topics with which you could integrate your business posts, taking advantage of that opportunity through the use of hash tags, content marketing, and Facebook advertisements can take your business to the next level. You can apply these tips to news articles that are trending generally online, as well, as these articles usually become big news on social media sites, as well.