4 reasons Facebook had to start trending topics

Predicting that Facebook will be coming up with trends was not something that required the services of a fortune teller. It was on the cards and almost everyone saw it coming. There are many reasons, which forced Facebook to launch trends, here are the top four:

1. Twitter IPO: Just like the Facebook IPO, Twitter’s IPO will see the world going gaga and spending crazily to buy its stocks. With all that cash inflow, Twitter may get aggressive and spend on advertising, a path which it hasn’t followed till now. This could have tilted things in Twitter’s favor and hence, it was getting imperative for Facebook to roll out changes that would place it in an advantageous situation before the Twitter IPO.

2. Facebook is the Microsoft of 1990s: Steve ballmer once said: “We don’t have to be the first but have to be the first to make money”. Facebook has always been following Microsoft’s footsteps. It was not the first player in the social media domain but soon conquered the world in a manner similar to what Microsoft did during 90s. And just like Microsoft, it hasn’t shied away from copying things, that its competitors are offering to become the best.

3. Trending topics attract brands: There is always a competition among brands to reach the top spot of Twitter trends. And why shouldn’t there be, afterall, Twitter trends generate enough eyeballs for a day. This is one of the reasons brands pay as high as $10,000 for a day to be the top trend. Facebook couldn’t ignore this opportunity of creating an additional revenue source.

4.Facebook wants to destroy twitter: Whatever anyone has to say, Trends was the only thing, which gave Twitter the strategic advantage over Facebook. Almost every other thing, whether it be the Follow button or Hashtags were already imitated by Facebook. Now, there is virtually nothing that Twitter has and Facebook doesn’t. Facebook wanted to hammer the last nail on Twitter’s coffin by asking: “Why would anyone need Twitter now? Whether you want to follow someone, start hashtags, or see what is the most talked about topic, simply come to Facebookâ€?.

Our experts spend 20 hours a day researching social media platforms & analyzing key patterns to help brands launch awesome viral campaigns. So if you are a small business owner planning to generate leads online or one of the CXOs of a MNC, who is looking for branding on social media, do get in touch for a 30 minutes no strings attached session.