Trending Instagram Audios 101
Confused about trending audios? I gotchu. [Spoiler: don't overthink it.]
TL;DR — look for the upward arrows but don't overthink what to use, or when. Focus on good content overall, not trying to game the algorithm.
THE BASICS ABOUT TRENDING AUDIO
Instagram marks audios as trending in the mobile app with an upward arrow. you can see it on videos using the audio at the bottom like this:
And in audio pages it should specifically say "trending" at the top like this:
Trending audio simply means that it has had an influx of uses and — typically — higher engagement regarding dwell time (how long people spend watching or re-watching) and engagements. The reason it can work well is because the platform will show the same audio to people who've engaged with it previously as well as favor well-performing audios that keep people replaying videos.
HOW TO ASSESS AUDIOS
How often is it used?
The next thing to look for is number of uses. The earlier you can get in on a trending audio the better (think under 10,000 uses) but that doesn't mean you should avoid anything with over 20, 50, or even 75 thousand uses either. If you have a video idea that works, USE IT.
How is it being used for content?
As noted above, Instagram will tend to show the same audio to people who've engaged. So if you check out an audio and all the top videos underneath are in a completely different industry, language, or audience focus than your own, it may not be the best bet. It doesn't mean never use it, but just give it a courtesy look to be sure you aren't grabbing audio only used by European car dealers or something.
IN CONCLUSION
Instagram is imperfect, sometimes they mark audio trending that never actually takes off, and sometimes they leave something marked trending long after it's been used, abused, and dismissed (aka it's annoying people now). On the same side of that coin — they don't always predict audios that are about to take off as soon as they get used.
A cheat code can sometimes be to look for audios that’s original use (top left corner on an audio page that says “original” — again only on mobile!) has 1 million views, but don’t stress too much about that.
In the end, trending audio can be useful and push your content to more people, but you don't HAVE to use trending audio.
Plenty of successful profiles never use it. Focus on content your audience will enjoy and/or find useful vs trying to choose the exact perfect audio that will give you a chance at going "viral." Going viral is overrated anyway — it often doesn’t translate into sales.
