How did Twitter manage to get over 238 million daily active users?
By giving users what they want: a platform to easily connect with friends and strangers, discover new things, and dive deeper into their interests.
And one of the best ways to do all of that is by following Twitter Topics. At Typefully, we're going to go over everything you need to know about how this feature can be useful to you.
Let's go.
What are Twitter Topics?
Twitter Topics are a way for you to follow specific interests on Twitter. When you follow a topic, you'll see content (news, related tweets, etc.) from a variety of sources about that topic - like from other users, media outlets, and businesses in your timeline.
For example, say you're interested in golf. When you follow the "Golf" Twitter Topic, you'll see tweets from professional golfers, media outlets that cover golf, businesses that sell golf equipment, and more - all in one place.
Why are Twitter Topics a thing?
In a nutshell, Twitter wants to make it easier for people to find more quality content on autopilot. Instead of just following some accounts and limiting your entertainment, you enjoy the Topics feature more, which curates popular, relevant tweets from all corners of the internet – from accounts you probably didn't have the time or knowledge to find on your own.
And, the Topics users follow are public. So anyone who has access to your full profile can see the stuff you're interested in – making it easier to engage with like-minded people.
All in all, Twitter Topics makes the app more fun and effective for connecting with others.
How Twitter selects topics
While Twitter doesn't reveal exactly how its algorithms work, they give us a general idea of how Twitter Topics are selected.
Essentially, the Topics you follow are based on the volume and health of conversations about them happening on the platform.
- Volume – They look at the number of tweets, retweets, replies, and likes around that Topic.
- Health – Twitter uses machine learning to find relevant conversations about events, people, and other things they discuss regarding a Topic. They look for accounts that both tweet a lot about the topic or interact a lot with tweets about the topic. With the help of algorithms, keywords, and additional signals, they then highlight and curate the most interesting Tweets.
How to follow a topic on Twitter
You should note that there are two ways you can follow topics on Twitter. One is more passive through your Home timeline – this is when you're casually scrolling through your feed and Twitter may present you with a small section that looks like this:
The other way is to find the topics tab either on your phone or desktop, which we'll go through right now.
On iOS or Android:
- Click your profile icon in the top left corner of your Home timeline.
- In the left-hand sidebar that will appear, tap "Topics."
- You'll be presented with a list of suggested topics, tap the "+" button to start following any that catch your eye.
On the web:
- Click on the "More" tab on the left-hand sidebar of your Twitter home page.
- Then click the sub-tab labeled "Topics."
- Follow any of the topics that you're interested in.
How to unfollow a topic on Twitter
You can unfollow a topic on Twitter at any time.
- Simply go back to the Topics tab
- Find the Topic you no longer want to follow
- Tap the "following" button next to it and click the "unfollow *topic name*" prompt.
Or, if you're scrolling on the Home timeline and you happened to see a tweet you don't like, or you just realized you're not interested in tweets about a certain topic anymore, here's what to do:
- Navigate to the tweet about a topic you're currently following
- Tap the down arrow from the top of the tweet and select unfollow
How marketers can use Twitter Topics to their advantage: 5 strategies
There are a number of ways marketers can use Twitter Topics to their advantage. Let’s go through five:
1. Get ideas for relevant content by monitoring Twitter conversations
When you're trying to come up with new content ideas, a great way to start is by seeing what's currently trending in your industry.
Simply go to the "Topics" tab on Twitter and see what people are talking about. You might be surprised at what you find. And, if you see something that's relevant to your brand, consider creating content around it.
For example, you can capture a lot of relevant attention by sharing free solutions on how to get out of a trending problem and shout out your own product (while not being too sales-y). You could fit all of this into a simple, organized Twitter thread, which tends to do really well for marketing on Twitter – seeing 63% more impressions and 54% more engagement.
Typefully makes writing tweets and threads really easy with a blank, Google doc-like canvas. It's better than just using Twitter because you can edit, rearrange, and visualize threads all in one place for yourself:
And of course, the character limits and media upload options are still all there. You can immediately publish or schedule the thread or tweet for later right in the app, which integrates with your Twitter account to make this quick posting possible.
2. Discover thought leaders & fellow brands in your industry
Twitter Topics is also a great way to see who the thought leaders and major players are in your industry.
Whether you want to:
- Keep up with what they're saying
- Tap into their audience
- Show your appreciation with a mention (just type in the "@" symbol followed by the person or brand's Twitter handle on the Typefully editor),
- Or scout for potential marketing partnerships
Twitter Topics is a valuable gateway for all of these interactions.
You can use Twitter's "Advanced Search" function to find relevant influencers and brands, or you can go the easier route and just check out who's being talked about under the "Topics" tab.
Once you find some people and brands you want to follow, simply click on the "Follow" button next to their name. This way, you'll not only be able to see what they're saying in your main timeline, but you'll also get notified whenever they mention or tweet about a topic you're interested in.
3. Use Twitter Topics to stay up-to-date on current events
Twitter is a great resource for staying in the loop on current events, and Twitter Topics can help you with that.
The "Topics" tab is full of trending topics, so all you have to do is scroll through and find the ones that are relevant to you. Once you find a topic you're interested in, click on it and you'll be taken to a page with all the latest tweets about that topic.
This is a great way to quickly catch up on what's going on in the world, which can influence your own content or how you interact with others. For example, if you see that a certain topic is trending, you could write a blog post about it or create a Twitter Moment around it.
4. Create a Twitter moment around a trending topic
A Twitter Moment is basically a selection of tweets around a certain topic or event, and they can be really useful for marketing purposes. It's promoted as “the very best of what’s happening on Twitter,” and it can work as a content curation tool for your audience.
Creating a Twitter Moment is simple – just go to the "Moments" tab on Twitter and hit the "Create new Moment" button. Then, add a title, description, and cover image for your Moment.
From there, you can start adding tweets by searching under a Twitter Topic, specific hashtags, or keywords. You can also add tweets from people you follow or even tweets you've liked in the past.
Once you're happy with your Moment, hit "Publish" and share it with your followers!
Make valuable content out of Twitter Topics with Typefully
Twitter Topics is a valuable tool for Twitter users, and it's especially useful for marketers. By following the tips in this blog post, you can use Twitter Topics to find relevant influencers and brands, generate more brand awareness, position yourself as an authority, stay up-to-date on current events, and create valuable content for your audience.
Typefully makes content creation on Twitter really easy with its special editor that lets you create and edit threads fast with hotkeys and integrates with your account so you can publish or schedule posts directly.
Try it out now and see how it can help you make the most out of Twitter Topics!
