The Most Discussed Issues on Facebook and Instagram in August [Infographic]

Facebook has released its latest ‘Hot Topics’ report, which highlights the key subjects that generated the most discussion across The Social Network – Instagram included –  in August.

The Hot Topics reports serve as a great resource for those looking to get a better understanding of key audience trends – not only do they help identify the key topics of interest, but the charts also display which topics are of relevance to which demographic groups, whether they were more mentioned by older/younger users, or men and women. 

And with fewer major seasonal events in August, the chart provides a clearer idea of which topics are resonating most among different groups – here’s the chart for the US:

As you can see, entertainment-based topics dominated the mentions, with the NFL, in particular, generating a lot of discussion among men.

The solar eclipse was also a key focus, and you can see how younger users engaged heavily with entertainment-related subjects, with the pink bubbles rested along the bottom line (the larger the bubble, the more mentions).  

Over on Instagram, entertainment-based topics were also dominant – though interestingly there seems to have been a lot more discussion of the Connor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather fight. 

That’s interesting in the context of what Instagram was (a home for beautiful images) and what its becoming, which is something more akin to Facebook, a place to discuss and engage with others on a wider range of subjects. There are also more product-related mentions on the Instagram chart, which is another interesting development.

As always, Facebook has also included regional Hot Topics charts for:

Canada

The UK

Australia

The conversation charts are always worth a look – even if you’re confident you know and understand your target audience, the trends can highlight relevant topics and interests which you may not have picked up on, helping to refine your strategy.