Today we continue looking at social media marketing predictions for 2014. I’m going to tell you who is prophetic and who is pathetic when we finish looking at Mashable’s “9 Ways Social Media Marketing Will Change in 2014.”
Last blog, I called some people clairvoyant and called some on the carpet for their predictions.
A quick recap:
1. Graphic software will rise because more people will want visual content. Yes.
2. Social media’s use for sales will decrease. Yes and no.
3. Automation of tactics in social media marketing will explode as technology grows. Yep.
4. LinkedIn will become a major player in news dissemination. Yep.
Now, the final five on the list:
5. Content will be bigger and better.
“Simple messages and simple questions aren’t enough anymore. To achieve a deeper connection with your customers, a company needs to engage on a deeper and more intelligent level. Short videos, infographics, quality imagery and polls are all ways to engage deeper. Companies need to look at the content they put out and ask themselves, “Is this shareable?” An example of a huge company that’s doing this really well right now is Wal-Mart. Its content is smart and engaging, and the fan engagement is very high by comparison to its competitors. Also, companies need to focus on the fans they have and not the fans they want. If your message is always trying to reach out, you’ll bore the fans that have chosen to connect with you.”
They are spot on here. Content is and will remain king.
6. Social will need to stand out.
“Social media has really started to mature. Therefore, it will be a lot harder to stand out. To win big in social media, you’ll have to think outside the box and find ways to get your content to stand out in all the noise.”
Right again. Social media doesn’t need to stand out, and it doesn’t stand out for smaller, service-based businesses.
Google ranks websites that turn out better content. Facebook, on the other hand, is charging companies to promote their content to their own followers. So you’ll see people transferring money from Facebook to Google.
7. Social media campaigns will have to be paid.
“I assume that the most effective social media campaigns in 2014 will be paid. The key is learning how to use Facebook and Twitter’s paid tools now so that you’ll have an edge on the competition. For instance, are you using Facebook’s advanced audience tool? It allows you to upload your email database and send specific response messages directly to your focused audience. Imagine being able to segment both email marketing and Facebook ads to your target audience. Facebook already offers these types of advanced tools, and they will become more mainstream in 2014. Similarly, Twitter is now public and has been making an aggressive push into paid advertising. If you are a brand and want to succeed on Twitter in 2014, get ready to pay for it.”
Absolutely true. There is no organic reach anymore. That advanced audience tool is pretty cool. You could export every email in your database and have Facebook target ads specifically to those people (as long as they have a Facebook page, of course).
8. Interactive content will trump static content.
“Creating static content is too easy. In 2014, the bar will be raised on the type of content people choose to engage with. Expect to see content become more interactive (think software-like). The year 2013 was the year of ‘Top 10’ lists. To get users to engage to the same degree in 2014 and subsequent years, publishers will need to make it increasingly engaging, and one effective way to do that is to make your content interactive.”
Right again. The more you can engage the audience through video, infographics and buzz graphics, the more effective you will be.
9. Google+ will merge into the social scene.
“As Google continues to merge its products, it’s becoming more and more important in the social media landscape. There are so many benefits to using Google+. It creates a strong community that allows you to use your brand and identify consumers who share an interest in your products. It also allows your brand to become more social with like-minded consumers. They provide like-minded consumers a platform to connect with one another. This builds a strong community, which is a great way to get feedback on new and old products from real-time consumers.”
Negative. Google+ is more connected to the local search scene, but you won’t see it become more mainstream than it was this year.
So there they are. What do you think about the nine predictions and my observations on them? Leave comments or you can email me at colin@smartboxwebmarketing.com.
Until next time, keep moving forward.