Want to know where social media is headed in 2014? Here are 67 social media forecasts from 27 experts to get your social media strategy and plans on track. If you enjoy this presentation, please read the full text of these predictions on Heidi Cohen’s Actionable Marketing Guide [http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440 ] & share it with your colleagues.

1. Social Media Forecasts 2014
67 Predictions From 27 Experts
Heidi Cohen
Actionable Marketing Guide
http://HeidiCohen.com
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440

2. Background
• Over 70% of the US online population uses at least
one social network regularly. Social media is an integral part
of people’s lives and daily media consumption. (Source: Pew Internet)
• Increasingly, social media is a staple of most
marketing plans. In some firms, social media has extended
beyond marketing and communications to the entire organization,
often known as social business.
• To understand where social media is headed in 2014
and what it means for B2B, B2C, Not-For-Profit and
solopreneur businesses, here are 67 social media forecasts for
2014 provided by 27 top social media experts.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

3. Social media will become a fully
integrated part of a brand’s marketing
and communications plan.
Lindsay Bell Laura Petrolino – Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/criminalintent/3998707613/ via Lars Plougmann
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

4. Online and offline will become more
collaborative.
Lindsay Bell Laura Petrolino – Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/intvgene/370973576/ via INTVGene
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

5. Video will become more engaging and
interactive.
Lindsay Bell Laura Petrolino – Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/everypassingminute/4203341678/ via JSawkins
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

6. Opportunities around big data will
require tying together multiple
databases.
Connie Benson - Dell
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2355790455/via Marcin Wichary
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

7. Marketers will need to continue their
focus on mobile.
Connie Benson - Dell
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/4049950966/ via Ed Yourdon
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

8. Shares, not views.
Jonah Berger - Wharton Professor; author of
Contagious:Why Things Catch On
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3088582622/ via Ed Yourdon
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

9. Forget 10 million views, turn
customers into advocates.
Jonah Berger - Wharton Professor: author of
Contagious:Why Things Catch On
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/belarusian/7000186533/ via Belrusian
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

10. Not just viral, valuable virality.
Jonah Berger - Wharton Professor; author of
Contagious:Why Things Catch On
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/8425030684/ via NIAID
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

11. Predictive marketing trumps real-time
marketing .
David Berkowitz - MRY
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandguy808/4641809117/ via Island Guy
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

12. Snapchat comes out with some kind of
marketing-driven monetization model.
David Berkowitz - MRY
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Snapchat_logo.png
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

13. The rich keep getting richer with
acquisitions.
David Berkowitz - MRY
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/5437288053// via Steven Depolo
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

14. Social media becomes less interesting
as social business and social selling
strategy take center stage.
Michael Brenner – SAP B2B Insider
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/marklarson/5386113807/ via Mark Larson
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

15. Personal branding continues to
become a key training and enablement
requirement of the social business.
Michael Brenner – SAP B2B Insider
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/badastronomy/3422324971/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

16. Customer-centricity becomes a key
cultural theme for 2014.
Michael Brenner – SAP B2B Insider
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelawler/8630623522/ via Dave Lawler
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

17. Public relations, SEO and social media
will begin to connect the dots and
collaborate more.
Lisa Buyer – Author of Social PR Secrets
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/nauright/3882368750// via Romana Klee
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

18. Senior marketers will finally realize
that SEO, SMO and CRO are
meaningful.
Lisa Buyer – Author of Social PR Secrets
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/9737685677/via Mike Cogh
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

19. Data will become even more cluttered
before it’s uncluttered.
Lisa Buyer – Author of Social PR Secrets
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/s_w_ellis/3877534599/ via Bandarji
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

20. [Companies] start building a real
community with their customers.
C.C. Chapman – YSN; author of Amazing Things Will Happen
co-author of Content Rules
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelawler/8630623522/ via Dave Lawler
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

21. More companies to look at their web
pages and everything they create to
make sure they own the relationship
C.C. Chapman – YSN; author of Amazing Things Will Happen
co-author of Content Rules
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/6026050882//
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

22. Instagram will double in size.
Ian Cleary – Razor Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit Instagram
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

23. Social search will become increasingly
important.
Ian Cleary – Razor Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/desiitaly/2337703151/ via The Italian Voice
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

24. Social advertising will become the
norm.
Ian Cleary – Razor Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/1039271534/ via Mike Cogh
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

25. Context matters.
Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Image: http://motorblog.com/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

26. Pay to play social media will increase.
Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelawler/8630623522/ via Dave Lawler
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

27. Social media gets down to business.
Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedsblog/60581754/ via Ted’s Blog
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

28. Ads will appear on Google+ in 2014.
Andy Crestodina – Orbit Media; author of Content Chemistry
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Icon: Google+
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

29. Twitter will get more aggressive with
sponsored content and advertising.
Andy Crestodina – Orbit Media; author of Content Chemistry
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/3920802413/ via Clever Cupcakes
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

30. There will be more experiments in the
integration between social media and
TV.
Andy Crestodina – Orbit Media; author of Content Chemistry
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsie/1501184684/ via Elsie Esq.
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

31. Facebook content and data will
become more open.
Sam Decker – Mass Relevance
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreasivarsson/7244169122/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

32. Hashtag campaigns will increase.
Sam Decker – Mass Relevance
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/edans/5619884617/ via Edans
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

33. Social integration will become a key
priority for brands.
Sam Decker – Mass Relevance
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/museumofvancouver/8497574505/ via Museum of Vancouver
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

34. Microsoft will try again for a social
network play.
Pawan Deshpande - Curata
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/pocarles/3510895527/ via Pierre-Olivier
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

35. The cry for better models of value
determination in social media are
growing and growing.
Ric Dragon – Dragon Search; author of Social Marketology.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristabaltroka/8527817179/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

36. The continuing rise of the use of social
advertising to give a bump to social
media activities.
Ric Dragon – Dragon Search; author of Social Marketology.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/n-o-n-o/3372698878/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

37. And speaking of LinkedIn - it's
undergone massive changes.
Ric Dragon – Dragon Search; author of Social Marketology.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/smi23le/4613342990/ via A Name Like Shields Can Make You Defensive
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

38. Marketers will have to work harder on
their content strategy.
Emeric Ernoult – Agora Pulse
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/2052728068/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

39. Looking at social media as a
broadcasting channel will be less and
less effective.
Emeric Ernoult – Agora Pulse
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/tulanesally/3638663013/ via Tulane Public Relations
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

40. Marketers will learn how to leverage
paid campaigns on social media and
will get used to it.
Emeric Ernoult – Agora Pulse
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankaronline/8392092760/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

41. Hashtags get unified.
Apu Gupta – Curalate
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/6046126385/ via Cambodia 4 Kids Org
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

42. Social goes beyond social.
Apu Gupta – Curalate
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/karen_od/2732710048/ via Karen O’D
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

43. User generated brand love.
Apu Gupta – Curalate
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/8298068701/ via Nina Matthews Photography
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

44. All of the top social networks will
lower organic reach for brands in some
fashion…
Kristi Hines – Blog Post Promotion
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartpilbrow/2887408253/ via Stuart Pilbrow
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

45. Niche networks will prevail.
Kelly Hungerford – Paper.li
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjcockell/3251147920/ via SJ Cockell
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

46. Social listening goes mainstream.
Kelly Hungerford – Paper.li
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/trekkyandy/1511951150/ via Trekky Andy
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

47. Google+ will sprout wings.
Kelly Hungerford – Paper.li
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/tavinorigami/4748661840/ via Tavin’s Oragami
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

48. More automation and as a
consequence more people filtering out
the automation.
Nick Kellet – List.ly
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddharmonic/2235494011/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

49. People will crave putting the social
back in social media.
Nick Kellet – List.ly
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/galant/2598078808/ via TheBitterWord.com
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

50. A bigger role for the consumer.
Nick Kellet – List.ly
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/anoldent/5340620576/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

51. Pay to play.
Dave Kerpen - Likeable Media; author of Likeable Business
Likeable Social Media.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnji/8374324911/ via Special Operations
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

52. Twitter world.
Dave Kerpen - Likeable Media; author of Likeable Business
Likeable Social Media.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakrapong/5056341320/ via Twitter cupcake by @marisanun
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

53. LinkedIn opens up its blogging platform to its
entire userbase …
Dave Kerpen - Likeable Media; author Likeable Business
Likeable Social Media.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanpalmero/4278432941/ Nan Palmero
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

54. Fragmentation will continue in 2014 and
its pace will accelerate, with more and
more consumers moving away from
Facebook and participating in smaller,
more niche social platforms.
Orli LeWinter – 360i
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/navalhistory/5891422358/ via Naval History Heritage Command
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

55. Social media will cease to be managed
in a silo...
Orli LeWinter – 360i
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/5500714140/ via Doc Searls
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

56. Paid, earned and owned will converge
even further in the social media space.
Orli LeWinter – 360i
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/parkeyparker/4316936774/ via Parkey Parker
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

57. Native Advertising and real-time ads
will make their way into more and
more social media places
Rob Peterson – Barn Raisers; contributor to
Strategic Digital Marketing
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/134974908/ via Steve Cadman
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

58. Expect big increases in location-based
marketing
Rob Peterson – Barn Raisers; contributor to
Strategic Digital Marketing
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/zabdiel/3028620509/
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

59. Brand recommendations from friends
will receive more credible
quantifications
Rob Peterson – Barn Raiser; contributor to
Strategic Digital Marketing
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/lancesh/191281235/ via Lance Shields
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

60. Marketers will stop all the
experimentation and start to put
investment behind those platforms that
are proven to work.
Joe Pulizzi – Content Marketing Institute; author of Epic
Content, Managing Content Marketing Get Content Get Customers.
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpeterke/3546334679// via M Peterke
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

61. More brands will be using social media
for lead generation.
Dayna Rothman – Marketo; author of Lead Generation for Dummies
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonahowie/8583949219/ via Jason A. Howie
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

62. Businesses will delve deeper into
Instagram.
Dayna Rothman – Marketo; author of Lead Generation for Dummies
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureclara/4122373509/ via Clara S.
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

63. Businesses will put emphasis on
recruiting social-savvy job candidates
with a virtual “book of business.”
Dayna Rothman – Marketo; author of Lead Generation for Dummies
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonolist/2491740697/ via Jonolist
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

64. Employee advocacy will become a
strategic initiative for more and more
large (and some small) companies.
Neal Schaffer - Author of Maximize Your Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantrobertson/4486493761/ via Grant Robertson
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

65. Google+ will finally win respect from
the social media marketing community.
Neal Schaffer - Author of Maximize Your Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/henriphotography/7296928208/ via Henri Photography
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

66. Mobile Personal.
Neal Schaffer - Author of Maximize Your Social
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/7348035690/ via Mike Cogh
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

67. Paid social becomes a requirement for
social media marketers.
Mike Stelzner - Social Media Examiner
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/quazie/578252290/ via Quazie Foto
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

68. Social filtration will become a much
bigger deal.
Tommy Walker – Online Marketing Strategist
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit www.hoskingindustries.com.au
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

69. Smart marketers will start really
paying attention to social intelligence
data.
Tommy Walker – Online Marketing Strategist
Source: http://HeidiCohen.com/?p=21440
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerlos/3119891607/ via Gerlos
© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

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© 2014 – Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide