How to Find Trending Hashtags Without Tools ?

Introduction:

In the world of content creation, there exists an unspoken myth that you need a tool to find trending hashtags. According to this belief, you need some form of dashboard or analytic graphs, and maybe even a subscription fee, otherwise, you would be left to guess the trend. However, if you take a moment to really look at what people do on the internet, you will soon realize something: trends happen before they show up in the dashboard; they are created by people, and thus, it is possible to spot the trend even before the tools catch up.

Hashtags, as you might have guessed, are nothing more than reflections of people's moods and interests. They are the reaction to what people feel at the very moment: anger, excitement, happiness, etc. Therefore, rather than searching for hashtags, your task is to learn to observe behaviors and trends.

a)  Start by Looking at What People Are Saying Now

• The most basic method of discovering the best hashtags for your content is to simply observe what people are talking about. Open up Instagram, Twitter (X), YouTube comments—no scrolling needed just yet. Instead, observe the patterns.
• Say you notice the same joke, hashtag, or subject appearing in various places. This is your first clue.
• If a lot of influencers are making videos discussing a certain aspect of a newly released movie, a viral joke, or an event that recently occurred, pay close attention to their captions. They might be using different hashtags, but the underlying message will remain consistent.
• This is something that most people overlook because they scroll too quickly. However, if you take a few minutes (5-10), you can begin to spot trends before they even happen. Remember, trends don’t come suddenly. They develop gradually.

b) The Search Bar Is for Humans, Not Robots

The search bar on social media sites such as Instagram is often underappreciated. It isn't due to the statistics it provides but due to its reflection of real-time human interest. Begin typing a keyword related to your niche. The suggestions will begin popping up. These auto-suggestions aren’t generated randomly; they're based on human search behavior.

For example, if you type "fitness," you may see options such as "fitness motivation," "fitness routine," or even "fitness glow up." This “unexpected” keyword is where trends lie. Humans search for things differently once a trend emerges.

Go into the hashtag page and look for three indicators:

1. Are the top posts new?
2. Is the hashtags being used by smaller accounts (instead of celebrities)?
3. Is there any repetition within the content?

c) Monitor Comment Sections (Herein Lies The Gold)

If you are truly serious about knowing the latest trends, then stop checking out posts, and start analyzing comments. Comments contain unadulterated and honest feedback from followers. Once you start noticing people constantly using a certain phrase, joke, or meme, then you know for sure that it will soon become a hashtag.

For instance, if there is an incredibly popular reel online, and all followers continuously comment on something, then eventually, the content creator will make it into a hashtag, which they can utilize for their advantage. This strategy is highly underrated because most creators overlook it entirely.

d)  Follow Creators Just Ahead of You

While it might be easier to follow successful influencers, consider following creators that are just a bit ahead of you those who are developing their channels quickly, yet aren’t quite “mainstream” yet. Typically, creators just ahead of you are those testing out new content styles and hashtags.

A clear sign that a hashtag is successful is when several pieces of content from one creator use the same hashtag. If other creators who are in similar growth stages are also using that hashtag, chances are it is a developing trend.

However, don't blindly start using it yourself. Instead, think about:

• Why does the creator choose this particular hashtag?
• Is it relevant to the content?
• Is it emotional? funny? relatable?

e) Don’t Forget to Look Out for Offline Trends as Well!

• There is one thing that everyone seems to miss out on: online trends always begin with offline ones. Hashtag trends could be triggered by movies, news events, a celebrity moment, a festival, or even an incident in your locality.
• For instance, around festivals such as Diwali and Pongal, hashtags get more interesting and creative. The same holds true for a trending news event or an entertaining moment.
• Staying tuned to offline trends will help you predict which topics people would be discussing online and which hashtags they will be using.

f)  Try to See Through The Audience Eyes, Not a Creator's

• The main problem of most creators is that they start thinking “which hashtags should I use?” Instead of trying to understand how an ordinary person would react.
• Try to look at your audience's mind. If they saw this, which words would they use? How would it make them feel? Don't assume that people would search in keywords people search for feelings, slang, and things they can relate to.

Conclusion:

Finding trending hashtags without any tool or help from software is not something like hacking or doing anything against the system; it all depends upon your ability to observe people. With the help of tools, you will get numbers, but observation helps you understand people and their behavior, and sometimes intuition works much better than numbers.

Once you start observing things, you will find that trends are around you. It all depends on your perception as to where you have missed noticing them.

With the help of the above-given tips, you will be able to create content as trends keep evolving with time. The benefit of following these tips is that they help you stay closer to your audience.

Whenever you think that some tool may help you discover new trends, take a minute to open your feed, observe people's reactions, and try to identify those emerging trends.