1. 14 Social Media Trends for ‘14
As we are fast approaching a new year, it is important to look ahead to where social networking is
heading, and how we can get on board with the happenings. Here are the 14 most important social
media marketing trends to watch out for in 2014.
1. Investing in Social Media Will Be a Necessity
While it is essential even today to invest in social media, 2014 will see a tipping point from
‘should invest’ to ‘must invest.’ Many businesses today are recognizing the importance of
integrating their content marketing strategy with their social media efforts and are personally
seeing social media’s positive impact of on referral traffic, lead generation and revenue.
Businesses will realize the importance of hiring professionals in social media strategy to get the
job done.
2. Welcome The New Superstar of Social Media, Google+
Yeah alright, Facebook does lead the pack when it comes to active monthly users (1.19 billion at
last count), but Google+ is very close behind with the second highest number of monthly users
(540 million). On top of that, Google+ has bigger ownership in terms of search power and is one
of the most powerful social forces on the Internet today. By 2014, no one will be able to dismiss
the potential of Google+ and people will start to view it as a personalized web experience that
integrates all interactions a user has with Google products. Google Authorship will become one
of the key components to Google's search ranking algorithm by the end of 2014.
3. Want success? Bring Out The Images
A social media marketing trend that started in 2013 was sharing content through image and
video, rather than text-based content. This will continue and amplify in 2014. Any content
strategy worth its salt will have visual content has a critical component. Social networking site
Pinterest will become an integral part of retailers' marketing strategies and will shed its
reputation as a female dominated network. Tumblr, Slideshare Mobli and Path will continue to
grow.
4. Micro –Videos Will Dominate
Taking 3 minute-long videos and writing 140 characters is becoming too much of a hassle for the
best of us. Enter Micro-video. Micro-video apps like Instagram video sharing and Twitter's Vine
are leading to more real-time video sharing. Vine allows 6 second videos and Instagram allows
3-15 second videos. This means that users will start to create and share videos from their
Smartphones. These bite-sized content pieces are sure to change the face of video-based social
media.
5. The Social TV Takeover
No more couch potatoes, 2014 is all about tweeting, posting, tagging and interacting with all
your TV shows. Bravo Network started it all during reality shows like, “The Bachelor”, hoping
that if you weren’t watching the show, you’d see an intriguing post or tweet and tune in. Next
year the idea is headed for primetime television.
6. LinkedIn Will Amplify its Position as B2B Market Player

2. 7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
A social media marketing trend that everyone predicted for 2014 is that LinkedIn will emerge as
the primary player in the B2B market. Even today, it has 259 million users and is the #1 social
networking site for professionals. LinkedIn has managed to position itself as one of the largest
sources of content curation and generation for professionals with the launch of its Influencers
program. This means that the advantages of being on LinkedIn will be massive for B2B
marketers. For a few tips on how to use LinkedIn for Marketing check out this guide, The
Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn Marketing
The Rise of the Social Boomer
The age 55+ demographic is becoming the fastest growing group of social media users. Two
dynamics are likely at play here: (1) other demographic groups have already adopted social
computing in large numbers, and (2) baby boomers have become convinced of the value of
social media and are ready to climb on board. Brands would be wise to take notice of this trend,
as the boomers’ increasing online presence will open up many new marketing opportunities,
especially as this demographic group continues to move into its retirement years.
Key Role in User-Generated Content
"Next year will be the year that retailers go bananas over user-generated content," said Apu
Gupta, CEO of the social analytics company Curalate. Expect to see more initiatives like the one
from Urban Outfitters. The retailer encourages customers to take photos of themselves in its
clothing and to post them to Instagram with a hashtag. The company moderates the content
and picks some photos to include in a gallery that links to the pages where you can then buy
those looks. "Not only is user-generated content free, but they're interested in it because every
business wants to measure the ROI of social," he said. "This is a really easy and effective way to
do that."
Fans Like Brands on Mobile
No doubt, the mobile movement is here and it's taking up permanent residence in the
marketing department. That's why brands like the Boston Celtics made it a priority to launch the
first official mobile show by an NBA team called "Home Court Advantage", giving fans mobile
access to exclusive and unique content before each game.
Real-Time Marketing
From John Kultgen on PR Daily, When the Oreo Super Bowl ad went viral; the wheels were
turning in marketers’ heads everywhere. Kultgen says, “The brand set a new standard for
extremely timely and relevant content. Sporting events, awards shows, and season finales
became the source of inspiration for many brand’s posts throughout the year.” Real-time
marketers will help fans engage in an experience. Savvy brands will learn how to do it well, not a
la Kenneth Cole.
Tell Your Story
Using social media to engage with hundreds – maybe even thousands – of strangers is no easy
task. It requires hard work, consistency, and tenacity. Building a relationship means speaking
with your followers about more than just business. Bringing a personal touch to your business is
the KEY to generating more sales. Connect with your audience, tell them your story, make them
laugh, make them cry (in a good way!), build up their spirits, and then gently promote your
wares.

3. 12. Myspace, Love it or Hate it, Will Grow
With their radical makeover and re-branding efforts earlier this year, MySpace appears to be
getting its second wind. Offering an iPhone app that allows users to network, receive private
messages, and listen to their own personalized radio station, MySpace seems to be on track for
growth in 2014, especially among bands and music-lover networks.
13. Nice Interest Networks Will Increase in Prominence and Usage
We have seen major social networks like Facebook take the biggest chunk of the two-way media
market in recent years; however, our online preferences are rapidly changing and interest –
based networks/destinations are starting to gain more traction. These micro-netowkrs will never
significantly bite into the market share of the Facebook’s of the world, but they are likely to get
a little more attention in 2014.
14. Long-time content creators finally reap the rewards they deserve
One of the largest changes Google has made in recent times is been to roll out ‘author rank’
which verifies the profiles of content creators and can make their content more visible within
search results. After years of being prisoners to an algorithm, content creators are now being
rewarded for their history of quality content that has been published over a sustained period of
time.