Twitter Outlines Latest Key Trends and Topics of 2020, Including TV Shows, Sports, People and More

Twitter has released its latest listing of key trends and topics for the year, which, unsurprisingly, saw #COVID19 and #StayHome as the first and third most Tweeted hashtags of 2020.

But beyond the pandemic, it’s interesting to note the key focus points and people via tweet.

First off, on TV shows – the Brazilian edition of Big Brother came out on top as the most discussed via tweet.

Interestingly, ‘Game of Thrones’ remained a key point of TV discussion, despite the series finale airing over a year ago, while Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ was also a major trend early in the year.

In terms of sports, the new NBA Champion LA Lakers were the most tweeted about the team.

Even so, soccer dominated the Twitter discussion, with eight of the top ten slots taken up by professional soccer (or ‘football’, depending on where you’re based) clubs.

In terms of people, it’ll be no surprise to see that US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden dominated proceedings.

South Korean boy-band BTS and rapper Kanye West also made the list – while the two also lead the listing of most-discussed musicians for the year.

In the broader entertainment sphere, the death of ‘Black Panther’ actor Chadwick Boseman had a major impact on many. Boseman’s final Tweet was the most retweeted tweet of the year and became the most liked Tweet of all time.

Boseman’s death was a shock to many, and it added to the broader sense of mourning that’s lingered throughout an extremely tough year.

On a lighter note, the ‘laughing with tears’ emoji was the most used via tweet:

It was also the most used emoji via tweet last year, with the top ten shuffling around only slightly, despite a significantly different period.

Indeed, Twitter also notes that despite the overarching sense of anxiety and sadness throughout the year, tweets that expressed being grateful or thankful increased by 20% globally. People are looking for positivity amid the doom and gloom of the relentless news cycle, which is an important note for marketers as they consider their messaging on the platform.

Overall, the trends reflect the challenges of the year, but also the hope, and the need for positive, even joyful content.

That can’t always be the case, but Twitter’s trends provide some key insight into how people are looking to engage, and what messaging they respond to on the platform.

You can check out Twitter’s full listing of 2020 trends here.