Threads has over 150 million daily active users. Ideal for reaching new target groups. Also a discovery problem.
How are you seen when millions of conversations are happening at the same time?
Type “Trending Topics for Threads” directly into Buffer. It brings real-time trending conversations directly to Buffer’s composer.
Developed in collaboration with the Threads team, Trending Topics shows what’s trending in Threads to anyone, regardless of their location, via Buffer’s API access.
The Thread Discovery Challenge
The Threads algorithm rewards real conversations and authentic engagement. Success comes from engaging in discussions that people actually care about, at the moment they care.
The trick is knowing what these discussions are.
Which topics are currently trending? Which conversations have momentum? What should you talk about to reach new audiences who share your interests?
To solve this problem, we created Trending Topics in Buffer.
This is how trending topics work
When you open Buffer to create a threaded post, trending topics appear directly in Composer.
You see what’s trending, browse the actual posts of each conversation, and understand the context before jumping in. Then create your post and join a discussion that is already capturing the audience’s attention.
Fun fact: Threads currently only shows trending topics to users in the US and Japan. But through our partnership, we make US trends accessible to everyone, everywhere.
A real example: My quantum physics experiment
Last week I wanted to test the function myself. I saw the “quantum physics” trend and thought, “This could be interesting.” I’m not a physicist, but I’ve seen enough science fiction to have an opinion. I used AI to come up with a post that was equal parts curious and ironic, hit send, and went to bed.
I got up to 54,000 views and over 90 reposts.
The post resonated because it added value to the conversation people wanted to have. That’s the power here. You engage in real conversations at the right time.
The entire process took maybe 10 minutes. I recognized the trend, thought of a relevant aspect, wrote the post, planned it, done. The next morning: 54,000 views.
It’s not just me either. Other people on our team have also experimented with trending topics and seen real results. For example, Amanda, our staff product manager, posted her opinion on “The Muppet Show” and generated a ton of conversation and 6,000 views.
What I learned from testing trending topics
I learned a lot from the experiment (and not just about quantum mechanics).
Relevance is more important than reach. I spent a lot of time researching the topic of quantum physics before posting. Some people just dropped the word “quantum physics” into random posts. They got almost no engagement. You can’t just blame anything on a trending topic. The posts that work best connect the trend to something you really have a perspective on.
Timing is everything. Trending topics have momentum curves. Jump in at the right moment and you’ll catch the wave. Trending topics help you find the right point.
It reinforces good content. A trending topic doesn’t save a bad post. However, if you have something valuable to say about a topic that people care about, Trending Topics can help you reach the audience that wants to hear it.
Trending Topics is the latest addition to our Threads features. Here’s everything you can do with Buffer for Threads:
Schedule your posts This way you will always be visible, even if you are offline. We support any thread format: text, images, videos, carousels, ghost posts.
Track your performance with analytics showing likes, replies, views, quotes and reposts. See what works and do more of it.
Manage your community from a unified inbox. Respond to comments, keep conversations going, and build relationships in a focused workspace.
Use AI to refine your content. Our AI assistant helps you adjust the tone, improve clarity, or try different variations before you post.
Crosspost to other platforms. Create once in the buffer, publish to threads and everywhere else at the same time. Or customize it for each channel.
Developed as an official Threads partner
Buffer is an official Threads partner. We work directly with Meta’s Threads team to develop features on official APIs. Our product managers, engineers, and marketers attend Thread’s API Summit. We work together on which functions make sense and how they should work.
We are active in threads ourselves and use the platform every day. These tools exist because we needed them ourselves.
Here’s how to start using trending topics
Trending Topics is now available to anyone using Buffer with Threads. It is included in all plans, including free.
This is how it works:
- Connect your Threads account to Buffer (takes about 30 seconds)
- Open composer to create a new post
- Select Threads as your channel
- Trending topics are automatically displayed
- Browse the trends, find something relevant and create your post
If you have a Threads account connected to Buffer, Trending Topics is already there.
Everything Buffer offers for threads (the complete list)
A comprehensive reference of Buffer’s Threads features can be found here:
Content creation:
- Post scheduling with automatic publishing
- All post formats supported (text, images, videos, carousels, ghost posts)
- Trending topics in the composer
- AI assistant for content optimization
- Crossposting on multiple platforms
- Topic tagging for discovery
Analytics:
- Engagement metrics (likes, replies, views, quotes, reposts)
- Performance tracking over time
- Post-level analysis
Community management:
- Unified comment inbox
- Response management
- Suggested answers
- Community score tracking
Productivity features:
- Quiet workspace for focused content creation
- Team collaboration
- Multiple account management
- Calendar view for planning
- Available for web, iOS, Android and browser extensions
Try it yourself
Connect your Threads account to Buffer and see what’s trending while you write your next post. Maybe you’ll find your own quantum physics moment!
Trending Topics is now available on all Buffer plans, including free.
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