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With the New Year just around the corner, you might have already started making an initial plan that outlines how you’ll spend your marketing pennies in 2015. Whatever you do, don’t assume that what you did in 2014 will be still relevant in 2015. Online marketing and social media are fast-paced when it comes to evolving. With 92% of marketers saying that their social media efforts generate more exposure for their business, you simply cannot afford to get it wrong!
So if you are in it to win it, pay attention to the following 4 BIG social media predictions for 2015 and how to make them work for your small business.
#1 Visual content
You may have gone away with text-rich content in 2014 but 2015 will be about the visual content. The shift towards visual content has already begun, Facebook for instance, continues to modify its News Feed to include larger and more prominently displayed images and videos; Pinterest is now the fourth most popular social networking site; Twitter now pulls pictures and videos right into its timeline and Google+ is essentially the go to platform for sharing images with its many image processing features. Think infographics, videos, high quality images and pleasing to the eye content.
Video example:
High quality, attractive and memorable content will be a sure fire way to cut through the clutter and capture your audience’s attention. In addition, if you want one of your campaigns to go viral, you will definitely need visuals. So next time you think about your content with regards to social media, show, don’t tell.
#2 Automation
Rumors are that marketing automation adoption will increase 50% in 2015 so it may be about time to jump on the bandwagon and start your automation campaign. Does that tie with social media, I hear you ask. Yes, yes it does.
You can begin your on boarding process by attaching a sign up form to your social media feeds and asking people to sign up for your emails and newsletters. Social media will be all about engagement in the coming year and I think you will be (pleasantly) surprised how many of your followers would want to hear from you via email.
#3 Mobile
Marketing has changed dramatically in the last year. Customers now have more control and autonomy, they jump from a mobile phone to a tablet multiple times, use social network to educate themselves and they want to learn for information in their own time. You must look to close the marketing loop by being everywhere (more than one social platform) but also to provide content that is mobile friendly. Everything you post on social media will at some point pass through the mobile filter, so make sure you live up to that.
As mobile gains more and more prevalence it will become increasingly important to cater for users who may be looking at your content on a smaller screen.
#4 Paid advertising
Paid advertising is what will drive results in 2015. It is a necessity rather than a luxury. In fact, paid ads on Facebook are so popular that some people predict the price for an add will increase 4 to 5 times in the coming years.
Some great areas for paid advertising:
One great thing about paid advertising is the degree of targeting you can employ. By getting laser focused with your targeting you will be able to drive great results, without a doubt.
Now you have all the information you need to start prepping your social and digital media strategies for the new 2015. Enjoy!
