2014 brings upon many changes in both technology and social media based on how marketers analyze its audience and how they react to the media. Here are some of the many predictions for the 2014 year of marketing:
1. “Content Snacking” – Social media is made for on-the-go activity. By incorporating things such as checking-in and special promotions for followers and constant special status updates offers, you are catering to those that are willing to follow you. This is called “content snacking,” which gives your audience a little bit of information at a time. It works well for this fast-paced environment and gives people reasons to constantly check what you have to say. Your audience will always be on their toes to see what’s coming next as this concept is more exciting than giving them all the information at once.
2. Social Expansion – When it comes to social media, many turn to the web and mobile as they are the most common platforms. However, television and print ads are also making a difference. Place your Twitter or Instagram or Facebook handles, links and hashtags in your commercials and posters and you will see a change in how your activity is. Don’t stop there! You can place these on your car, clothing, etc. You should incorporate your social media wherever you can to achieve the highest potential. Campaigns are great at this as they place information on things form shirts, buttons, signs, posters, bottles and almost anything they can get their hands on. This is how you should view your social media; as an on-going campaign.
3. Don’t Leave Email – Although e-mail seems like something of the past, it still has its place in society. It allows for you to build corporate assets and maintain relationships with your prospects, customers and businesspeople. It isn’t a very fast-paced system but that’s how your information is kept organized. You can completely control the content you send and receive without worrying about much getting like a simple status you made a few months ago. It is better as an archive of information and is most likely where your business started from.
4. Multiple-Revenue Streams – Social media depends on several platforms of income including advertising, subscriptions and one-off products. Advertising attracts those that are potential prospects and need convincing while subscriptions are those who are willingly coming to you for your services and ads. Having both of these allows for a two-way relationship so that you aren’t doing all the work for those you may not even know are fully interested. One-off products include those that are custom-made. These are the things that really attract customers as people like personalized things and give people more of a reason to do business with you.
With these social media predictions for 2014, you will be able to see the direction marketers are going towards. As audiences are easily distracted and have so many advertisers trying to reach out to them, you need to make yourself cater to their needs both in how you advertise your brand and how your service can actually better their lives. If you don’t know how to market to those in this generation, it will be difficult to even get to the process of showing them that you have a service of value to them. By keeping up with these social media tactics, your business will have more success reaching out to your audience in 2014.