Trending topics have been around on Twitter for awhile, but right now, there is no such thing as a trending hashtag on Instagram, only a collage of popular posts. It’s up to the brand to know what the trends are and it’s up to them to take advantage of them. That being so, I was shocked more companies didn’t take advantage of the pop-up #Chiberia and #PolarVortex hashtags. Total missed opportunity.

Personally, I found myself scrolling through these hashtags every day of the recent frigid weather spell to see what the crazies (aka the people taking pictures outside in places you have to walk far to get to) were up to. I know tons of  people were on the same boat as me because most of us were “holed up” in our houses with not much else to do but go from Instagram to Facebook to Candy Crush to TV and back to Instagram.

I noticed a ton of regular folk posting their #Chiberia pics (20,000+), including these goodies:

I did notice a few posts from companies, but not from any major brands. We  posted several on behalf of our clients and saw an uptick from our normal posts because people could directly connect with the situation. If you saw any big brands with a #Chiberia or #PolarVortex post, let me know in the comments.

The few I did see: