How to Add Topics on Twitter

Using Twitter Topics is one of the fastest ways to improve your timeline and discover conversations you actually care about. Instead of seeing content based only on the accounts you follow, you can get Tweets from experts, fans, and creators centered on thousands of specific interests. We'll walk you through how to find and follow Topics on Twitter and then show you how to use this feature as a powerful tool for building your brand.

What Are Twitter Topics, Anyway?

Think of Topics as interest-based timelines curated by Twitter. When you follow a Topic - like "Social Media Marketing," "Indie Gaming," or "Baking" - Twitter's algorithm adds a mix of relevant posts into your main "For You" feed. This includes Tweets from popular accounts, experts you may not be following, and breaking news related to that subject.

Essentially, it's a way to follow a conversation instead of just following accounts. This immediately broadens your view of a subject beyond your immediate circle, helping you find new ideas, perspectives, and creators who are passionate about the same things you are.

Why Following Topics Is a Game Changer

Before we get into the "how," it's good to understand the "why." Both casual users and serious brands can benefit from using Topics strategically.

• For Personal Use: Discover a Better Feed. Curation is the name of the game. Instead of relying solely on the accounts you remember to follow, you let Twitter do the heavy lifting. Your feed becomes more organized, relevant, and far more likely to show you content you'll find interesting or useful. It's a fantastic way to break out of your regular information bubble.
• For Brands and Marketers: A Direct Line to Your Audience. This feature is a goldmine for analytics and content strategy. Following the same Topics your target audience follows gives you an unfiltered look at the conversations they're having, the questions they're asking, the problems they need solved, and the language they use. It's some of the most authentic audience research you can get.

How to Follow Topics on Twitter: A Step-by-Step Guide

Finding and adding topics to your profile is a straightforward process whether you're on your phone or your computer. The steps are slightly different for each.

On a Mobile Device (iOS or Android)

The Twitter (X) app makes it easy to add and manage topics on the go.

1. Open the Menu. Open the app and tap your profile picture in the top-left corner to slide open the main navigation menu.
2. Select "Topics". In the menu, you'll see an option labeled "Topics." Tap on it. This will take you to your personal Topics hub.
3. Browse Followed and Suggested Topics. The first tab, "Followed," shows all the Topics you're currently following. Tap the "Suggested" tab to see a list of Topics Twitter thinks you'll like based on your activity. This is often the best place to start.
4. Follow or Unfollow. Scroll through the suggested list. To follow one, just tap the Follow button next to it. To remove one you are no longer interested in, tap the Following button to unfollow it.
5. Find More Topics. In the "Suggested" tab, there's a More Topics button at the bottom. Tapping this opens up a broader universe of categorized interests. You can browse through categories like "Sports," "Business and finance," or "Gaming." You can also use the search bar at the top to find something specific that isn't suggested.

Pro Tip: You might also see suggestions to follow a Topic directly in your timeline. If you see a Tweet with a label like "See more about [Topic Name]," you can tap it to start following that Topic immediately.

On a Desktop Browser

The experience on the web is just as simple, though the menu is laid out differently.

1. Click "More" in the Navigation Bar. On the left-hand navigation panel, find and click the "More" option (it has a three-dot icon).
2. Select "Topics" from the Menu. A pop-up menu will appear. Click on "Topics" to access your hub.
3. Manage Your Topics. Just like on mobile, you'll see a page divided into "Followed" and "Suggested" Topics. The "Suggested" list is a great place to discover new interests.
4. Follow and Sort. Scroll through the suggestions and click the Follow button for anything that interests you. You can sort the suggestions by category using the tabs at the top of the page (e.g., Entertainment, Technology, Travel).

How to Clean Up Your Feed: Unfollowing and Managing Topics

Sometimes a Topic isn't what you expected or you've just lost interest. Unfollowing is just as easy as following, and it's smart to periodically review your list to keep your feed relevant.

Steps to Unfollow a Topic:

1. Navigate to your Topics page using the steps outlined above (on mobile or desktop).
2. Select the "Followed" tab. This displays everything you are currently following.
3. Find the Topic you want to remove and click the "Following" button next to it. It will immediately switch to a "Follow" button, and you'll no longer see content from that Topic in your feed.

What if an Interest Isn't on the Topics List?

Twitter's list of Topics is massive, but not exhaustive. If you're interested in a niche subject that doesn't have an official Topic, your next best option is to create a List. Lists allow you to manually curate a feed of specific accounts focused on a particular subject. It takes more work to set up but gives you complete control over the content you see.

Using Topics for Brand Strategy: A Marketer's Guide

Now, let's move beyond personal use. For anyone managing a brand, creating content, or driving social media marketing, Topics are an incredibly powerful, free intelligence tool. Here's how to put them to work for you.

1. Get Authentic Audience Insights

Stop guessing what your audience cares about and just look. What Topics are they actually following? Following these same Topics is like having a direct window into their world.

• Discover Pain Points. In a Topic feed for "Small Business," you might see dozens of Tweets from founders asking about payroll software or complaining about a specific marketing challenge. That's your cue to create content (a blog post, a thread, a video) that solves that exact problem.
• Learn Their Language. How do coders talk about a new framework? What slang do photographers use? Immersing yourself in the Topic-curated feed helps you pick up on the specific language and terminology of your target community. Using that language in your own content signals that you're an authentic member of the group, not an outside brand just trying to sell something.

2. Find an Endless Source of Content Ideas

Staring at a blank content calendar is tough. Topics can fill it instantly.

• Monitor Trending Conversations. Check your relevant Topics daily. What memes are popping up? What news broke? What debate is everyone having? Creating timely content that joins these conversations can dramatically boost your visibility.
• Find Frequently Asked Questions. If ten different people within a Topic are asking the same question about "how to SEO a video," that's a clear signal to create the ultimate guide on video SEO. You know there's a demand for it.

3. Scout for Collaborators and Competitors

Topic feeds are packed with influential accounts that the algorithm has already identified as relevant and authoritative.

• Identify True Influencers. Who are the people consistently showing up in a Topic feed with high-engagement posts? These aren't just users with a lot of followers, they're the people who are legitimately shaping the conversation. They make perfect partners for collaborations.
• Silent Competitor Analysis. What are other brands in your space talking about within a specific Topic? You can see their best-performing content, get a sense of their voice, and spot opportunities where they're missing the mark.

A Quick Note: You Can't Add Your Tweet to a Topic

This is a common point of confusion. There is no hashtag or tag you can add to manually force your Tweet into a certain Topic. Twitter's system automatically categorizes Tweets based on its own analysis of the content, keywords, links, and overall context.

So, the strategy isn't to try and "tag" for a Topic. It's to create high-quality, deeply relevant content about that topic. When you write authentically about social media marketing, using the terms and focusing on the pain points of that community, you significantly increase the chances of the algorithm picking it up and distributing it to people following the "Social Media Marketing" Topic.

Final Thoughts

Following Topics on Twitter is a simple action that delivers a huge payoff, whether you're building a smarter timeline for yourself or researching your audience for a marketing campaign. By curating your feed based on your real interests, you get straight to the best conversations without all the noise.

As for managing all the great content ideas you get from monitoring Topics, we know how tough it can be to keep track. A fragmented workflow often gets in the way of acting on strong insights. That's why we built our visual content calendar in Postbase to make it easy to see all your plans at a glance, allowing you to quickly schedule and organize posts inspired by the conversations you discover.