6 Things that Blew us Away about Social Media Marketing in 2014

As 2014 nears a close and businesses start planning their strategies for 2015, some trends from this year will be the stepping stones to those that will emerge in the next one. Take a look at 6 things that blew us away about Social Media Marketing in the current year.

2014 Social Media Trends

#1 Tweeting to the Top

Twitter emerged as a very strong contender for the top spot in the social media marketing space. It is being used by a number of small businesses to generate leads & close sales. The site has a massive market value from a financial perspective but it is still not at top spot with reference to business development & financial results.

However, in 2014 it made all the right moves with its platform. It prioritised visual content, launched Twitter cards in order to catalyse sharing of the richer content. In the sidelines it provides a mechanism that could capture user’s email contact information. In addition, it launched a number of different kinds of advertising too

#2 Visual-Based Content

This year, there was a lot of focus on using visual-based content and it was used very successfully by online marketers to keep their users engaged and interested. Today, photos account for 93% of the most-engaging posts on FB. Social media is becoming highly visual in nature, and having a visual-content plan in place was one thing that helped a number of companies catapult their brand into the limelight

#3 Google+

For quite a few years, online marketers have just been waiting for Google+ to move into full force before they decide they want to make it a part of their main Social Media platform. However, 2014 saw a significant acceleration in the manner in which Google+ grew. Market watchers are also projecting that by 2016, Google+ will overtake FB in total users and this was definitely one unexpected change in this space

#4 Facebook Advertising

In 2014 Facebook advertising accounted for more than 90% of Facebook’s revenue. The expectation is that this number is going to grow steadily over the coming years. There are a few frustration points to using FB Advertising though. It is constantly in change mode- they take away some ads while they tweak some others & experiment with the interface almost on a daily basis

In addition, they limit the number of free traffic that your posts receive. In the future, this may result in a backlash, but for now, online marketers are giving the medium 5 stars and they continue using it to communicate with their existing and prospective customers

#5 Blogging

No matter what people say, blogging is alive and ticking. As a matter of fact, since social media is essentially a content-driven engine, the medium has been revitalized. Through 2014, small businesses did not let up on their blogging efforts. For a number of businesses, blogging proved to be the single most significant driver of visits to their social media sites and websites. If you have been considering kicking off your own blog, don’t delay- get working on it right away

#6 Snapchat Marketing

This one was definitely a surprise entry in the social media marketing space in 2014. This site allows users to share self-destructing photos and videos. It has become a big hit with smartphone users everywhere. Once the receiver has viewed the pictures/videos, they auto-delete and a number of companies have started integrating Snapchat into their social networking strategies.

But it is important that this app be used casually (that is how it is positioned) and creatively. You can host a special contest to get prospective customers interested and engaged in your brand. The site also allows you to use videos and these can be used to convey messages that are not easy to communicate via photos

Successful Social Media Marketing

And so, there were some definite surprises in the Social Media Marketing space. Today, Social Media Marketing is booming and small businesses should be making every effort to incorporate it into their digital marketing strategies. Getting a good online marketing company to handle your social media marketing campaign is the one way to ensure its success.

Thanks for reading,
Bizow Online