Looking toward 2014 already? See what social media trends are coming over the horizon. Some networks are here to stay and will continue to grow, while others are already stale. Determine where you should budget your time in the upcoming fiscal year now.
Without further ado, here are the top five social media trends of 2014.
1. Social media is now a must-have
For your business to be successful, you can no longer chose to opt out of social media. A whopping 97 percent of marketers now integrate social media into their plans. If you're not on social media, your company is behind the competition.
Why, specifically, does social media matter?
- Brand your company daily
- Boost brand awareness
- Ignite word-of-mouth
- Create customer loyalty and trust
2. Google+ will grow
While Facebook and Twitter always seem to lead the social media pack, it's actually Google+ that has the second-highest number of monthly users, not Twitter.
Google+ also has a huge impact on your company's social signals and SEO. And, you can host Google+ hangouts to increase engagement and get face time with your audience.
Within the next year, companies will truly take hold of the SEO power of Google+.
3. The shorter, the better
In 2013, we saw the rise of six- and 12-second videos thanks to Vine and Instagram. Now, longer videos have to work harder and harder to hold the audience's attention. Plus, with the inception of Twitter, headlines and content have also gotten shorter.
Microbloggers paved the way for microvideo, which will grow exponentially in 2014.
4. Visuals > everything else
As our attention spans grow shorter, readers are drawn to visual storytelling and images over the written word.
Pinterest and Instagram have become outrageously popular, and your brand needs to have a presence on these sites. Especially since Pinterest is a great medium for the visually-stunning images your company already has. Plus, Instagram hooks up to your Facebook to keep your content and images fresh.
Visual stories told primarily through GIFs or images with just a short caption really work. Need proof? Just look at the success of Buzzfeed.
5. Foursquare is finished
Foursquare's traffic numbers have been stagnant in 2013 to put it kindly. Their concept is no longer relevant since many other social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram now offer options to tag locations.
Plain and simple, if your business is using Foursquare, factor it out of your 2014 budget, and focus your time on rising social media networks that also have location-based features.
Stay ahead of the competition by harnessing the power of the above trends.
