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AI adoption is no longer the challenge—trusted context is. Most organizations have AI tools, but many still rely on disconnected, stale, or unverified data, limiting the quality and trustworthiness of AI-generated outputs. Meltwater MCP brings trusted, real-time intelligence into AI assistants.

Your Best Context is Already in the Room

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Media monitoring helps organizations stay informed about what’s being said across online news, print, broadcast, podcasts, and other media channels. Whether you're tracking brand mentions, measuring PR performance, monitoring competitors, or identifying emerging trends, our expert guides, best practices, and industry insights will help you build a smarter media monitoring strategy and make more informed communications decisions.

Discover expert media monitoring guides, best practices, and industry insights to track brand mentions, monitor competitors, and stay ahead of the news.

Media Monitoring: Guides, Best Practices & Industry Insights

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics?
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.
Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.
Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

The current state of mental health in Hong Kong

World Suicide Prevention Day in Hong Kong amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Why are children in Hong Kong suffering from mental health issues?

Mental Health Monitoring: How CSRP prevents suicide in Hong Kong

Data is more than just a number - it’s a life

Asking this question nowadays carries a different weight than it did in the past. Until recently, a certain stigma has come with talking about how we feel. Admitting one's difficulties is traditionally considered a sign of weakness, resulting in the haunting fears of helplessness from an imagined audience.

All too often, even small events particularly impact our emotional well-being. Social media heavily influences our worldview daily and is relevant to the point that it can dictate certain life choices.

What can we do about it when the world is as connected as ever? As much as social media has been helping us feel connected, it has sometimes also made us feel incredibly alone.

Tip: Learn more about social media statistics in Hong Kong, andake a look at the top Instagram Influencers in Hong Kong to find the right influencers to partner with.

Unfortunately, the painful reason mental health has been pushed to the spotlight is the COVID-19 pandemic's disastrous effects. The World Suicide Prevention day press conference held by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) could not have come at a better time, drawing attention to the growing chatter on mental health concerns. There was an effort to raise people's consciousness about the issue by sharing insightful social analysis of the factors contributing to the rise in reported incidents of self-harm.

A worrisome statistic from Coroners Court (2000 - 2021) presented during the conference was how suicide rates among those aged 15 and younger had grown dramatically in recent years, demonstrating the seriousness of this generation's worsening mental health. Many of today's youth are fearful, furious, and worried about the future due to the disturbance to their routines. Academic stress, irregular leisure, and family conflict have all been heavy sets of baggage they need to carry along with the struggles of growing up.

Field trips, peaceful walks around campus, proms, festivals, spontaneous evenings out, and other in-person activities where students may catch up with friends and enjoy the routine and beauty of school life have been cancelled. A bright future full of dreams has been put in shambles due to the uncertainty of a "lost" year. Children who were once bright-eyed and full of hope now wear sunglasses to shield their eyes from the unrelenting light of the virus.

Family issues have also been a fundamental cause of the mental health struggles faced by this demographic. Whether it be feelings of unreasonable educational expectations, disagreements and disputes on small things such as gadget use, or even second-hand effects on previous family suicide attempts, the problems have often begun within one's household.

Disconcertingly, some youth have been led to believe that their birth was a "mistake". Aside from this, a hostile connection with one's mother has been a common theme among fundamental attitudes relating to family concerns.

The importance of family in adolescent suicide prevention

Ironically, the role of the family is incredibly crucial during these trying times, as parents are an adolescent's first line of defence and an easily accessible suicide hotline against mental health issues. Data from the World Suicide Prevention Day press conference has shown that parents immensely contribute to the fight against suicide by providing social support and guiding their children on stress management. 

Nourishing an environment where it’s more acceptable to discuss worries is a first-aid measure for their child's mental health. Awareness of a change in behaviour on the outside, even if it's only a slight shift in daily routines or mood, is a cue to start a dialogue. Career planning is also a meaningful way to decrease anxiety, allowing the youth to discern and know what to expect as they grow up through these turbulent times.

Mental health has been continually driven into the public’s attention in Hong Kong - and rightfully so - with influential role models such as athletes and celebrities coming out and admitting such struggles on social media. On top of this, research facilities and other institutions have been aiming to increase public awareness of these issues and the need to take action, providing services such as mental health counselling.

One such institution is the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, also known as CSRP. As a client of ours, they've been dedicated to identifying at-risk youth to prevent suicide. Using the tools Meltwater provides, they've been able to track mentions and sentiments of suicide around Hong Kong and spread awareness as soon as early warning signs are detected.

A Meltwater case study: Hong Kong social intelligence 

From 2021 to 2022, Meltwater's social listening tool has shown that the number of mentions of World Mental Health Day in Hong Kong has increased significantly, from 174,000 to 365,000, with over 47% positive sentiments. The country’s media has gradually caught up to the worldwide buzz on mental health awareness. However, NGOs, rather than businesses, have been making the most of the effort.

Furthermore, Meltwater's social intelligence data shows workers' concerns about their work-life balance have increased in recent months, especially compared to their British counterparts.

97% of Hong Kong employees felt overworked, 87% felt stressed, 40% felt apprehensive about the future, and many considered leaving their jobs. Social media analysis reveals an alarmingly high level of resonance with workers' chatter about their jobs - they are weary and irritated. In some extreme cases, many end up taking their own lives.

Tip: Read the full Meltwater x CSRP case study

How CSRP utilizes Meltwater to boost mental health in Hong Kong

The vast majority of CSRP's time is devoted to information collection related to the chatter of suicide. They efficiently gather real-time data using Meltwater's social media monitoring software and Meltwater media monitoring solution, ensuring maximum exposure of their information. Publishing this knowledge, thereby effectively disseminating it to their target audiences, such as educators, public officials, and social workers, helps them reach their primary goal of spreading mental health awareness and preventing suicide.

Using Meltwater's platform and social keyword listening tools, CSRP can track and analyse entities and issues related to suicide ideation on social media and forums. Through a database that records cases of suicide, as well as historical information on suicide, they can identify risk factors and strive to reduce them by alerting and educating appropriate authorities and stakeholders. CSRP's suicide now-casting model has improved due to their all-in-one subscription to Meltwater's customised solutions.

Learn how Meltwater can help you with your own customised solution.

The significance of data analytics powered by social chatter cannot be overstated in today's rapidly evolving digital environment. Socially responsible organisations like CSRP have benefited from using these technologies to track social chatters in the same way companies have benefited from using them for their initiatives.

Being able to draw meaningful conclusions from data points further emphasises that there is a bigger picture behind each digit than an addition to the total number of suicide cases.

Learn how you can benefit from our solutions as well by filling out the form below.

Mental Health Monitoring in Hong Kong: How CSRP saves lives by listening

Is Instagram still worth investing in? Well, the short answer is yes. Instagram may be having a bit of an identity crisis as it tries to keep up with TikTok, but there’s no denying that it’s still a powerful social media platform to go to for building your online audience.

Throughout 2022 and going into 2023 there are a number of key Instagram trends that brands should be watching in order to get the most out of the platform in the coming months and years.

TikTok’s dominance clearly has Instagram shaken as they try to keep up with its popularity and features. Though Instagram risks losing its base — users have been vocal in 2022 about just how dissatisfied they are with some current Instagrams trends  — the the world of social media moves fast. If the below list of trends is any indication, Instagram still has some moves to play to maintain a powerful position with its loyal fans and new users alike.

Tip: Take a look at our TikTok-specific resources: What Is TikTok And How Did It Become So Successful?, What's trending on TikTok? And 54 TikTok Stats You Need To Know [2022].

Here are the biggest Instagram trends happening right now:

1. All Reels, All the Time: Instagram Reels Trends

2. The Pulse of Culture: Instagram Audio Trends

6. Cross promoting with other platforms 

While the rest of our list is in no particular order, there couldn’t possibly be anything else listed at #1. Perhaps the biggest and most impactful Instagram trend from this year, and certainly going into 2023 is the continued focus on Reels. 

Instagram has pushed Reels front and center as the primary content type favored by the algorithm, and this has definitely caused some disgruntled users. Many are lamenting for the early days of Instagram and its photo sharing roots:

But so far, Instagram seems reticent to listen, remaining full steam ahead on making Reels and video content their main focus. And on the one hand, by doubling down on short form video content, the app has developed a micro-culture, where Instagram Reels trends take on a life of their own. More on this below. And though the usability of creating Reels still lags, Instagram has made great strides toward improving the Reels creation flow. 

Tip: Read our blog to learn what Instagram Reels is all about and check out more Instagram statistics.

Collaborative Reels & expanded remixing options

Increased Reels maximum duration to 90 seconds

Templates to help you recreate popular trends

Achievement badges — gamification to encourage Reels creation

Tip: Learn how to use Instagram collab posts to increase your reach.

Like TikTok, Instagram Reels trends often start from trending audios, which are a great place to look for inspiration in your branded content. When an audio starts trending on Instagram, it often has a lot to say about cultural shifts, generational hopes, dreams, and nostalgia, pop culture phenomena, mental health mantras, and much more. 

For example, in response to Reels taking over the platform, this humorously defeatist tongue and cheek audio is often used by creators:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci0rEJtvMGC/?hl=en

If you notice a trending audio that you’d like to use for your brand, the best piece of advice is: don’t wait! Trending Instagram audios have a way of disappearing in the blink of an eye, like memes, replaced instantly by the next trend.

The “old” sounds are still available of course, but using them after the trend has peaked will definitely be less impactful for views and engagements.

I mean, can you remember when Running Up That Hill was literally everywhere? Yeah, me neither.

Some popular audios that tend to be evergreen include Mr. Sandman, and this mashup of Abba and Britney Spears.

Instagram has made some significant changes to Instagram Stories which can be considered Instagram Story trends — some we’re thrilled about and some that have us scratching our heads a bit:

Links in Stories
Perhaps the most celebrated update has been the elimination of the “10,000 follower or more” rule in order to access a link sticker (what used to be the “swipe up” feature). Now anyone, regardless of follower count can include a link in their Instagram Stories. This is not-so-small change for businesses and micro-influencers on Instagram who now have more opportunities to provide links to other content such as blog posts, event signups, and other landing pages.

60 second snippet
This one we’re not so sure about yet. A recent Instagram update allows Story videos that are 60 seconds or less to be uploaded as a single piece, rather than split into the traditional 15 second snippets. This not only impacts granular engagement metrics like tap forwards and tap backs, but it’s also a lot to ask of users who are used to the tapping format of Stories to sit and watch a full minute.

Another Instagram trend to watch, of course, is the shopping experience. According to Sprout Social, 70% of people head to Instagram for purchases. And because of the popularity of Instagram for shopping and browsing products, Instagram has responded in kind, improving the ways that people can search for new products and complete transactions. 

Products can be linked from photos and even videos, meaning viewers and scrollers can learn more about things they see without a jarring jump from the app — great for influencers and brands alike. 

“Shoppable posts” like the one below from Sephora are indicated by a shopping bag symbol in the upper right corner:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjI4LLUp4jX/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Tip: Learn more about the social commerce trend in our blog post or download our social commerce ebook!

We mentioned this above briefly, but it’s worth expanding upon. One of the more interesting and impactful changes Instagram made to Reels has been the introduction of collaborative posts. Meaning that two creators can co-produce a Reel, each tagged in one line in the description.

This collaborative Reels style opens a lot of interesting doors for influencer marketing and brand partnerships.

In the below example, you can see “@ jimmy fallon and @ nick kroll” tagged together at the top of the Reel description.

6. Cross Promoting With Other Platforms 

Sharing between social platforms is also getting easier. Tweets can now be shared as Instagram Stories, which is a great way to subtly encourage people to follow you on Twitter, while breaking up your general Story content. You could also share popular memes from the Twittersphere to your Stories or grid:

You could also share influencer Tweets or industry Tweets and accompany them with an Instagram poll or other interactive element to increase engagement.

In a continued push to attract creators to the platform, Instagram is following a major trend among other platforms: offering a media kit option. Influencers can use it to streamline their brand partnerships, and find new opportunities. 

Officially called your “Creator Profile” this feature facilitates in-app profile sharing and promotion. A powerful way to cut out the middleman and simultaneously encourage users to continue creating Instagram content, rather than transitioning over to TikTok for example.

Marketers who want to tap into Instagram for influencer marketing will definitely want to keep this in mind in 2023. As recently as October 2022, AirBnB partnered with a number of influencers to promote their Hocus Pocus themed stay, in conjunction with the much-anticipated release of Hocus Pocus 2:

Tip: Learn how to build a successful influencer strategy for your brand.

For brick and mortar businesses, a significant addition to Instagram is a searchable map experience. Now you can attract new customers through geo-targeted posts and tags from other users.

The above example shows how a search for the "Stranger Things Experience" in San Francisco shows up on the map, accompanied by posts tagged with that, while also showing you nearby businesses such as restaurants, stores, and theaters.

Lastly, an Instagram trend that may or may not have a big impact on businesses is the return of the chronological feed. It’s the kind of feature that users commonly grumble about not having, but when it becomes available don’t tend to actually care about that much. But it’s still an important aspect that brands should be aware of — that could make it easier to get in front of your key demographics rather than having to depend on the algorithm.

It will be fascinating to watch how Instagram continues to grow in the next year. We've surely not seen the last of Instagram Reels trends and new features, and Instagram Stories trends. This author is particularly interested to see if we'll be getting some new photos updates.

The Meltwater blog will be here to document it all! 

Curious how Meltwater can help you strengthen your Instagram marketing strategy and to stay on top of Instagram trends using Social Listening? Fill out the form below to schedule a 15-minute demo.

Current Instagram Trends to Watch

How did we ever live without hashtags? The Australian hashtag love affair started in the early days of Twitter. Since then, it has infiltrated social media platforms from LinkedIn to Instagram to TikTok and even Pinterest. We’re so enamoured with their mini-megaphone capabilities, it’s rare to see a post go out on social media without one or more of them dangling off the end.

We wanted to do a deep dive into the most popular hashtags to give marketing teams insight into what drives interest in Aussie content. We’ve pulled the list from our Meltwater Explore tool for a better understanding of hashtag success in 2022. It includes Twitter hashtags, Instagram hashtags, and TikTok hashtags. 

If you want to pick the right Instagram hashtag, boost your tweets, improve your social media management, or are generally curious about trending hashtags in Australia, read on for tips and hints on using hashtags to amplify your brand.

Tip: Check out the most trending hashtags in South Africa. We also have a generic hashtag guide that tells you how to hashtag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as a blog explaining what TikTok is and how businesses can make use of TikTok. We've also got you covered in case you're looking for the top Australian TikTokers or the top Australian YouTube influencers.

Most trending hashtags in Australia for politics

Most trending hashtags in Australia for crypto

Most trending hashtags in Australia for news and current events

Most trending hashtags in Australia for arts and entertainment

Using the right hashtags is a great way to tap into the top Twitter trends and reach a wider audience with your tweets. They can also boost your Instagram Stories and improve your follower count in real time. Engagement is a common topic for marketing, so it’s worth taking a closer look at Australian hashtags for clues on how to improve every post.

Tip for more engagement: Not only hashtags but also the right timing has a great impact on your posts' performance. Check out the best times to post on Instagram in Australia to get that extra boost.

Let’s start with the ultimate list of the top 30 Australian trending hashtags for 2022. Keep reading because next we’ll categorise this list to show the top themes emerging.

<table style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: scroll;">

<thead>
<tr>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Hashtag</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Total Post Count</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#auspol</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">3,765,537</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ausvotes</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">496,171</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nft</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">478,611</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#covid19</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">337,759</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftcommunity</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">328,377</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nfts</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">299,710</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#insiders</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">282,137</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#australia</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">262,280</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#alboforpm</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">216,528</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#crypto</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">199,096</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">11</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftgiveaway</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">177,372</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">12</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ukraine</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">174,595</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#abc730</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">174,445</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">14</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ausvotes2022</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">160,168</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">15</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#9news</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">152,305</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">16</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nswpol</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">148,383</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">17</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#bitcoin</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">146,860</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">18</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftart</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">134,242</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">19</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#breaking</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">126,076</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">20</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#7news</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">124,626</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">21</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#eth</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">123,633</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">22</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#photography</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">121,024</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">23</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#auspol2022</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">108,095</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">24</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#bts</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">105,166</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">25</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#qanda</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">102,851</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">26</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#springst</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">99,036</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">27</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#art</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">94,860</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">28</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#melbourne</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">87,450</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">29</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#russia</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">85,901</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">30</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#sydney</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">84,446</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

Here’s the first big surprise. Sports do not factor into content using the top 30 trending hashtags in Australia. If you came here to compare the popularity of Ben Hunt, Dane Gagai, Billy Slater, and Andrew Johns, you’ll be disappointed.

What does capture the attention of fans of the hashtag? It turns out politics and crypto are what keep us busy in our tweets and ’grams.

<table style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: scroll;">

<thead>
<tr>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Category Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Overall Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Hashtag</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Total Post Count</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#auspol</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">3,765,537</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ausvotes</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">496,171</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#alboforpm</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">216,528</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">14</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ausvotes2022</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">160,168</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">16</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nswpol</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">148,383</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">23</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#auspol2022</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">108,095</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">26</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#springst</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">99,036</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

Maybe it was because 2022 was an election year, but post for post more hashtags were dedicated to politics than anything else. Let’s decode each one. 

#auspol is short for Australian politics. If you want an update on the pollies, follow this tag to find all the political tweets.

#ausvotes is used for tweets or any social media post about an election.

#alboforpm worked as a mini slogan for Anthony Albanese, who was elected Prime Minister of Australia.

#ausvotes2022 had a strong showing and helped people in their search for current election news.

#nswpol showed people from New South Wales each post and all the tweets about local politics.

#auspol2022 was another hashtag helping people search for national political news for 2022.

#springst refers to Victorian politics and the Andrews government. The Victorian Parliament is located on Spring Street in Melbourne. 

<table style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: scroll;">

<thead>
<tr>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Category Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Overall Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Hashtag</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Total Post Count</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nft</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">478,611</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftcommunity</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">328,377</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nfts</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">299,710</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#crypto</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">199,096</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">11</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftgiveaway</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">177,372</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">17</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#bitcoin</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">146,860</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">18</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#nftart</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">134,242</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">21</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#eth</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">123,633</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

Once Oz social media fans were done discussing their political fortunes, the chat quickly turned to all things crypto. We had a LOT to say about new ways to find wealth.

Here’s a breakdown of the most popular crypto tweets and social posts in Australia.

#nft stands for non-fungible token, the most popular topic in the category.

#nftcommunity is the crowd of people participating in the creator economy and investing in NFTs.

#crypto is all about cryptocurrency or digital currencies like Bitcoin.

#nftgiveaway signals a content creator is running a contest for their NFTs.

#bitcoin is the world’s first successful cryptocurrency.

#nftart is used when discussing the drawings, music, or artwork asset used to make an NFT.

#eth is short for Ethereum, which is commonly known for its native cryptocurrency called ether. 

<table style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: scroll;">

<thead>
<tr>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Category Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Overall Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Hashtag</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Total Post Count</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ausvotes</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">496,171</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#covid19</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">337,759</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#insiders</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">282,137</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">12</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#ukraine</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">174,595</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#abc730</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">174,445</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">15</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#9news</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">152,305</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">19</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#breaking</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">126,076</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">20</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#7news</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">124,626</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">25</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#qanda</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">102,851</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">29</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#russia</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">85,901</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table> 

Spend any time on Twitter and you’ll quickly discover news bleeds into politics. You’re as likely to see Jo Dyer taking on Christian Porter as you are to hear about Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey espouse on the topic of how to fix Australia.

Regardless, Australians love to tweet in real time when they’re getting their news fix.

#ausvotes refers broadly to elections and the federal election was one of the biggest Australian news stories in 2022.

#covid19 is the hashtag for anything to do with the pandemic, which seemed like just about everything on Twitter.

#insiders is arguably Australia's most popular political affairs show.

#ukraine is used to discuss the Russian invasion and the war on Ukraine.

#abc730 is Australia's premier daily current affairs program shown at 7:30pm on ABC TV.

#9news refers to news programming on channel 9.

#breaking is for newly received information, usually news, happening anywhere at any time.

#7news refers to news programming on channel 7.

#qanda is now called Q+A, but was formerly known as Q&A. It’s an Australian television panel-discussion program broadcast on ABC Television on Monday nights. Australia Twitter is out in force to debate, support, disagree and throw shade at what the expert panel is saying.

#russia is almost always, but not always, related to the Russian war on Ukraine. 

It’s the smallest category in the top 30, with notable omissions – no sports, no travel hashtags, and no shopping.

It’s also the category where your Instagram followers can learn about all your branded hashtags because you can stuff more of them into every post than on tweets, which have a tight character count.

<table style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: scroll;">

<thead>
<tr>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Category Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Overall Rank</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Hashtag</th>
<th style="min-width: 135px;text-align: center;background-color: #28bbbb;color: #ffffff;font-size: medium;font-weight: bolder;">Total Post Count</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">22</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#photography</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">121,024</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">24</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#bts</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">105,166</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">27</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">#art</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">94,860</td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

For location-based hashtags, there’s no mention of Perth, Hobart, Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide, or perhaps most surprising, Canberra. #sydney and #melbourne make showings in the top 30 list but Aussie social media champs aren’t too worried about tying their tweets to a place.

#photography is a testament to how well photographers use trending hashtags. Australian Instagram is a great place to find some of the best work of influencers.

#bts pays homage to BTS, a South Korean boy band also known as the Bangtan Boys.

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Social Listening

Mental Health Monitoring in Hong Kong: How CSRP saves lives by listening

Current Instagram Trends to Watch

List of the Most Trending Hashtags in Australia

34 Twitter Stats Marketers Need To Know

Meltwater Celebrates G2 Best Software Awards Wins

Fighting Fake News on Social Media

3 Social Listening Use Cases for Pandemic Marketing

The Top 3 Social Media Trends for the Middle East

Social Listening in Dubai and the UAE: A Wealth of Opportunity for Marketing, PR & Comms

Why Now Is the Time to Practice Social Listening

Why Social Listening is Important at All Levels of Business

5 Ways Small Business Can Use Social Listening Tools

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