Whether you’re a Techie, Social Media Professional or Entrepreneur you’ll want to know 2014 trends for social media. The list below is something to seriously consider and help you gain further insight of where you should be taking your social media and what to put more focus on for the rest of 2014 and beyond. 

After doing some extensive research we have concluded that these are the top trends to watch out for. If one or more of these trends are applied to your current social media efforts you can expect to see some improvements! Let’s dive right into it!

Social Listening

What is Social Media Listening?

Social Media listening is noticeably becoming a vital part of social media initiatives. How it works is that companies monitor comments and conversations online through social media networks. These comments and conversations taking place online are in regards to the company’s service or product. This leaves the company an opportunity to not only get feedback but also allow the company to participate in the conversation and engage with customers or prospects online.

The Stats

60% of marketers use social media listening strategies in 2013 and 24% plan to do so in 2014.

Tips

1. Don’t just listen; try to really understand the customer or prospect.
2. Engage users with the intention of giving them value.

 

Social Media and Email Integration

Social Media is awesome for so many things marketing wise but it is even stronger when mixed with email marketing! Think about it. Running campaigns online through social networks is hugely beneficial to a business. They get exposure, they get people involved in the conversation, they give something of value to the customer whether it be a discount on a product, contest of some sort or maybe an ebook!

However, integrating opt-in email into your campaign is gold! Not only are you building up an email list now but you are able to have direct contact to the customer or prospect. For instance, you won’t have Facebook’s algorithm getting in your way. You’ll have a better chance of turning a customer into a returning one and gain more chances to promote your amazing service or product to a prospect that otherwise might have just been exposed to it once online.

The Stats

1. 68% of marketers say that email is core to their business. If anything social media has strengthened it.
2. Email marketing helps bring the customer back to the door and social media helps by showcasing your brand to your customer’s friends on their news feed.

 

Tracking Social Media ROI

If you are not doing this yet then it is something that you should start doing!! Out of all the trends listed this is a MUST. Regardless of what stage you are in implementing your social media efforts it’s always important to track your progress. Without doing this you won’t know if your efforts are working and you won’t know how social media has affected your business and profits. You’ll especially want to be able to measure how well an online campaign does.

Tips

1. Define measurable social media goals. i.e. Facebook likes, lead generation, email opt-ins, etc.
2. Keep track of the size and growth of your audience.

 

Incorporate High quality Images and Videos in your Posts

Individuals are drawn to pictures and are very attracted to the visual aspects of a post. It’s no coincidence that posts with images or videos do a lot better than what I call a naked post – a post with just content. I don’t know about you but that sounds like a boring post to me. No wonder they don’t do well!

When it comes to videos, seeing how Youtube is owned by Google you can utilize your Youtube videos and boost your site’s ranking.

Tips

You create Youtube videos in which you provide interviews, Q&A’s, product demos, etc.

 

Utilizing Google +

Google + is actually more used by online marketers for SEO. Google + is obviously associated with Google search engines so creating a profile and optimizing it would be your best bet!

You can optimize your profile by using a great high quality and eye catching image. Even if you happen to rank third or fourth in Google’s search engine your link will stand out because of your image. Your image is what’s going to get people’s attention.

Tips

When posting on Google + it’s a good idea to choose popular keywords or phrases commonly used within your industry in the first sentence.

 

Overcoming Facebook’s Annoying Algorithm

Facebook’s algorithm has yet again changed. Facebook is now more centered more on text updates because people on Facebook interact more with other users not fan pages. Grr, it makes sense but it makes our job just a tiny bit harder. Have no fear though, there are things you can do to overcome this.

First off, banish the naked posts! If your posts are now reaching a smaller audience then it did before you are not helping yourself by creating dull posts. A simple way to solve this is by dressing them up and making them more interesting.

Tips

The recipe to a winning Facebook post is a high quality image(s), engaging videos, supplying links, asking your audience questions, promoting offers and giving value!!

If you found our 2014 Social Media trends informative and helpful drop us a comment! Also, if you have any other trends that you think we should be looking out for please let us know we’d love to hear what you have to say 🙂