The 10 Best Social Media Predictions for 2014
In my years in marketing and media relations, Iâve learned there is one constant: change. If you canât embrace it, you will wither on the vine. Peeirng into the crystal ball of 2014, I found some excellent prognostication from people that know much more than I do on whatâs next in social media marketing. Here are the ten best Iâve found so far.
1. More real-time marketing. From John Kultgen on PR Daily. When the Oreo Super Bowl ad went viral, the wheels were turning in marketersâ heads everywhere. Kultgen says, âThe brand set a new standard for extremely timely and relevant content. Sporting events, awards shows, and season finales became the source of inspiration for many brandâs posts throughout the year.â  Real-time marketers will help fans engage in an experience. Savvy brands will learn how to do it well, not a la Kenneth Cole.
2. Whether your real time is faster than my real time will no longer be the problem. From Marketing Profs. âMarketers will begin taking advantage of new capabilities that enable them to act on insights in the very moment they need to act. Speed of delivery will no longer be the problem. The real opportunity is whether an experience can be delivered when it counts for the businessâand when it matters most for the consumer.â
3. Word-of-mouth marketing will take off. From Jason Falls on Social Media Explorer. Falls say that consumers will continue their migration away from sponsored messages and banner ads. âWe donât want the blinking lights of Times Square. Weâd rather have the relative peacefulness of a stroll around Greenwich Village.â Falls says marketers are going to have to migrate to Snapchat, Path, Vine, and any other network that connects people but doesnât have an established business model. But beware, âyouâll only be there for a year or two before the ads emerge and consumers migrate again.â
4. User-generated content will be the hot content commodity. From Marketing Profs. What many already know, most will start taking advantage of: user-generated content creates loyalty, puts the fan/customer in the driverâs seat, and generates sales. Every fan wears a marketing hat. Rick Mulready dubbed this âembracing fandomâ on Entrepreneur.
5. Short form content will dominate. From Julie Fleischer, Director of Media & Consumer Engagement at Kraft (via Content Marketing Institute).  Fleischer predicts that short form sound, sight, and motion will deliver greater viewership and higher engagement than long-form. She predicts, â brands will compete over who can tell the shortest stories with the biggest impact.â Consumers will be the winners.
6. Niche interest networks will increase in prominence and usage. From Adam Vincenzini on PR Daily. Even though they will never significantly make a dent in the market share of the big channels, they will get more attention in 2014 as marketers who want to stay fresh look to engage the crowd that embraces innovation and change. Itâs all about learning to ride the wave.
7. More visual, less text. From Jessica Smith on Social âN Sports. Smith cites how images have changed the way we digest social: âphoto albums, pictures, and video get 180, 120, and 100 percent more engagement respectively (Facebook).â  Weâll have to push ourselves to keep up with all the channel settings that will enhance visuals for maximum engagement. Note recent Twitter changes.
8. Erasable media. From Dave Kerpen on Inc. Kerpen predicts our desire for the ephemeral will give rise to new channels and move current mainstream social media networks to adopt a disappearing content function. Kerpen attributes this to our increasing desire to personally share with one another. âThis means that youâll have to be prepared to have the results of your hard work in content marketing literally vanish.â
9. Social listening will become a requirement, not an option. From Pam Moore on Marketing Nutz. Moore says, âBrands of all sizes will start to understand that they must invest in social listening strategies, tactics and technologies to truly understand, inspire and connect with their audiences. Managing and protecting brand reputation must start from the inside out.â Preachinâ to the choir.
10. Investment in social media will become a necessity, not a luxury. From Jayson DeMers on Forbes.  As demand for good content and measurable results increase, brands will move from spreading social media duties across existing positions to hiring social media managers, according to DeMers. The era of assigning social media duties to a âtech-savvy, passionateâ staff members is over. When companies need outside help, they will be looking for agencies that know social media business, not just social media tools.
Related articles
- My Experience Blogging (baileysoliz.wordpress.com)
- From Whence We Came – Lessons From Three Social Media Trailblazers (business2community.com)
- Content Marketing to Explode in 2014 [Infographic] (prweb.com)
- 10 Outrageous Social Media Predictions for 2014 (halyardconsulting.com)
- Oreo’s successful Vine video (360socialmediamarketing.wordpress.com)
- 2014 Marketing Predictions (blogs.imediaconnection.com)
- 6 Social Networks to Watch in 2014 (stephendarorionsocialmedia.wordpress.com)
- Top 10 Social Media Predictions for 2014 (Based on 2013 Moments) (socialmediatoday.com)
- Groupon’s Super Bowl Commercial and Other PR Controversies (savings.com)
- Oreo’s successful Vine video (socialappshqs.wordpress.com)