- Social Media is here to stay. According to Forbes Magazine, in 2014 “Investment in social media will become a necessity, not a luxury.” 2014 will bring full adoption and complete integration of social media content and strategy into other marketing activities. While measuring results and having a clear objective formulated for your social media is essential, the primary benefit to social media is shaping up to be enhancement of your brand through increasing customer connection with YOU.
- Images and video usage and sharing will explode across social media channels. Pinterest will continue to gain market share as a result. Businesses will need to make sure that videos and pictures on their blogs and websites are sharable.
- Google+ will continue to increase market share and mindshare. Google+ is just one piece of Google’s grand strategy to become the go-to solution. Other components include SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and paid advertising. Watch out Facebook!
- Paid advertising will earn increased consumer acceptance on social media. Both Facebook’s and Google’s advertising suites are increasingly able to reach the buyer most interested in the advertised product. Google’s Adwords, through advances in personalization “Extensions” will be of such a benefit to the customer they outweigh the “Advertising Intrusion”. For example, Google Adwords knows I am interested in Yoga and may display an ad from the yoga studio nearest to me with a telephone number and even include a discount coupon!
- Cross-device usage will continue to increase exponentially. We are now sitting down to watch TV with our tablets and smartphones gathered round. Any marketing strategy needs to consider this new behavior. Websites, blogs and ads need to be smartphone and tablet-friendly.
It is not an overstatement to say that everything and everyone are rapidly becoming instantly interconnected. This acceleration continues to drive the blurring between personal and professional and the need to share information freely and for free. Any social media marketing campaign needs to deftly ride the line between personal and professional and genuinely connect with the customer. Look to create a campaign that hits the sweet spot with your clients. Here’s to an exciting 2014!