{"id":5441,"date":"2014-03-13T00:37:39","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T19:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designcanyon.com\/?p=5441"},"modified":"2014-03-13T00:37:39","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T19:37:39","slug":"5-social-media-predictions-for-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designcanyon.com\/articles\/5-social-media-predictions-for-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Social Media Predictions for 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

We already know that social media has changed our lives. Google has placed emphasis on its importance. They want engagement levels through these platforms to determine SEO rankings.<\/p>\n

Today, all businesses have to concentrate on social media. If they don\u2019t, they will never rank high with Google.<\/p>\n

Social media changes every year, though. Stay informed by taking a look at these five social media predictions for 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. You Become the Marketer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditional marketing has involved professionals pushing information towards people. The key to success is to get others to share it. This increases exposure and enhances your SEO value.<\/p>\n

In 2014, your audience will become the marketer. It follows the principle of viral content. Spending lots of money on forcing content on websites is a thing of the past. And it can even take away from your SEO value.<\/p>\n

Now the core of your audience will do the sharing for you!<\/p>\n

2. Social Integration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Social media will no longer be viewed as this entity separate from other forms of marketing. It\u2019s something you have to integrate into your brand through your campaigns. Weave everything together for the best results.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s an additional reference<\/a> to prove this. 50% of all consumers now regularly watch TV through their smartphones. This provides ample room to increase social media exposure.<\/p>\n

3. Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Growing your email marketing list is a key performance indicator. It\u2019s how you speak directly to individual consumers. The more sign-ups you get the higher your chances of making a sale.<\/p>\n

In the past, it was a case of putting a little toolbar on your webpage. People could sign up or they wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In 2014, social media will become the main method of email marketing. You\u2019ll use it to actively encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter.<\/p>\n

For example, the holiday company Kahlua grew its email list by 16,000 just by using social media to promote their newsletter.<\/p>\n

4. Social Commerce<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we look at social media and business, we would call it a tool for promotion. The standard goal is to send people through these channels to your website.<\/p>\n

No longer.<\/p>\n

2014 will be the year where social media takes on a new role. It will become a vehicle of commerce. More and more studies show that we\u2019re using social media in our purchasing decisions over company websites.<\/p>\n

Companies that want to increase sales will use social media to do this. It\u2019s nothing fancy. They\u2019ll essentially do something similar to what they\u2019re doing now. Rather than sending people to their homepage, they\u2019ll send them to a different sales landing page.<\/p>\n

5. Diversification<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a trend that\u2019s developed over a number of years. The increasing diversification of the social media market will force firms to make changes to how they promote themselves.<\/p>\n

Facebook drove the social media industry into the mainstream. Twitter managed to join them. Beyond these, the majority of us have no other social media accounts.<\/p>\n

Trends have demonstrated that this has steadily changed. The likes of Google+, Pinterest, and LinkedIn continue to take bigger slices of the market. This diversification has a big impact on companies.<\/p>\n

Companies will have to diversify their social media campaigns. And they\u2019ll have to make some tough decisions on how they promote themselves. Here are some of the reasons why:<\/p>\n