2014 has been a furious year in social media. Facebook changes (as always), Instagram ads, acquisitions, apps, bendable iPhones and all kinds of technology has played a role in shaping the digital marketing landscape. We’ve analysed some key trends that 2014 has brought to us, and what this means for the not so distant future. Download our FREE White Paper to find out!

1. WHITE PAPER – OCTOBER 2014
THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
LANDSCAPE OF 2014:
DEVELOPING TRENDS

2. CONTENTS
2. Introduction
3-4. The Resurrection of Myspace
5-6. No escaping the hashtag
7-8. Visual Marketing
9-10. Not mobile? Not moving!
11-12. The Rise of Google Plus
13. About BlueDoor Inc., Sources
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3. INTRODUCTION
Nothing in business ever stays the same. If there is one thing marketers have learned
from the social media world is that trends do not stick around for very long.
Everything has a shelf life. The social environment is evolving with new tricks, trends
and tools, and marketers who don’t adapt to these changes are left 'unfollowed' and
‘friendless’, sinking into abyss of stale content and haphazard posting.
While this rapid evolution might seem overwhelming, new opportunities are arising in
social media marketing that allow businesses and consumers to connect in more
meaningful ways, thus increasing potential for online growth and measurable
contribution to the bottom line.
2013 was a big year for social media marketing but it has already been eclipsed by the
first half of 2014. Here we will examine 5 top trends that are set to change the social
landscape.
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4. RESURRECTION OF MYSPACE
The general consensus after Facebook exploded onto the social scene was that
Myspace was dead and buried. It had had its day and social media experts predicted
that the market was too saturated for a comeback. It seems these social media
forecasts may have been a bit too premature.
According to newsnet.com the site has gained 24 Million new users during the final
months of 2013. Before this the number of users had only reached 12 Million. This
dramatic increase is due to the sites revamp into a music platform site and its new
pinterest-esque visual overhaul.
According to Mashable Myspace is aiming to be not just a social network, but a
“social entertainment destination”.
MYSPACE - 2008 MYSPACE - 2014
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5. RESURRECTION OF MYSPACE
Myspace has ultimately become the Pinterest of the music industry. It is a giant,
interactive, visually striking playlist.
It seems that the site’s objective is to encourage its audiences to share musical and
artistic content in order gain followers and encourage ‘shares’.
An expensive ad campaign fronted by Justin Timberlake has helped to create a buzz
around the revamped platform. The new site has nothing to do with the old one in
terms of the design – it seems the creative team started entirely from scratch. Its
more mobile and tablet friendly with sharp graphics and icons.
It is unclear yet whether enough of an audience will be driven back to the brand and
whether the Myspace comeback will truly have the desired effect.
"[W]e’re staying true to our roots in one important way — empowering people to
express themselves however they want," the message accompanying the video at
Myspace reads. "So whether you’re a musician, photographer, filmmaker, designer or
just a dedicated fan, we’d love for you to be a part of our brand new community.“
Whether Myspace storms back onto the forefront of social media networks, or
continues lingering in the background is yet to be seen, but it certainly deserves
attention from marketers working in relevant entertainment industries.
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6. NO ESCAPING THE HASHTAG
Contrary to popular belief the hashtag was not invented by Twitter, although it was
certainly responsible for its introduction into social media. The Twitter adoption of
the tool was to hyperlink search results with the hashtag, and this trend has
followed across other popular social platforms, including Facebook.
According to social bakers the number of hashtags has dramatically increased on
Facebook from 4% to 21% between 2013 and 2014. Hashtag use has also increased
on Twitter but at a more moderate rate of 1% since 2013.
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7. NO ESCAPING THE HASHTAG
According to more data collected by social bakers in February 2014 the majority of
posts on Facebook contain no more than 2 hashtags. These posts on Facebook gain the
most interaction from users whereas Tweets that have more than 2 hashtags get more
interaction than Tweets with less. However the more hashtags you use the less
interaction will occur, as can be seen in the charts below.
Although these finding don’t give the full reason for rich engagement – post quality and
timing also play a major role – thereis no denying the power of the hashtag.
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8. VISUAL MARKETING
Perhaps the biggest social media marketing trend of 2014 that is gaining momentum and
popularity is the use visual assets. The future is visual and marketers should adjust
content strategies to reflect this.
A report conducted by social media examiner reveals that the type of content that
marketers most want to learn about is how to create visual assets. Creating original
visual assets has the highest percentage in the area marketers most want to learn about
(68%), followed by producing original videos (60%).
(Source: Social Media
Examiner)
The data compiled by The Social Media Examiner also signifies the growing interest and
usage on the visual based platforms like Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram as platforms
over recent years, as well as the continued trend of the increased use of visual posts
seen within established platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
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9. VISUAL MARKETING
Videos are perhaps the best promotional tools for brands. According to the online
marketing Institute, in 2013 more than ¾ of the international market were watching
some sort of video promotions online. This means that in the future, marketing
content without a video will have a lower chance of connecting with audiences.
According to MediaBistro the growth in visual based social media marketing is not
surprising given how quickly our brains process images over text. Infographics in
particular have become a handy alternative to text heavy posts because of their visual
impact. 2014 has seen an increase of infographic use by 70%.
How Marketers have made use of Infographics in
2014
Increase 70% No Use 12% Decrease 1% Stayed the Same 17%
(Source: MediaBistro)
The Social Media Examiner report reveals 92% of marketers say that social media is
important for their business (an increase from 86% in 2013). From this there is a
growing trend towards using visual assets on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter,
and a rise in marketers using visually-based platforms such as Pinterest, YouTube and
Instagram.
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10. NOT MOBILE? NOT MOVING!
Social media is a large component in the daily activities performed on smartphones due
to accessibility and convenience. People always thrive for a better social experience and
because of this mobile devices are set to overtake the use of desktops. Businesses are
scrambling to not only make their websites mobile friendly but to rethink their whole
content and marketing strategy to be compatible with all mobile devices.
According to the Huffington Post 84% of smartphone shoppers currently use their
mobiles in stores. This has prompted a need for businesses to create online promotions,
coupons and online ‘checkout’ availability while ensuring all content is targeted to the
right audience at the right time.
Mobile strategies are also recommended to include research into the time consumers
spend on both the mobile site and the app (if available) in order to best determine the
areas to target. According to data by Nielson at the end of 2013 consumer preference
for App’s peaks at 89% whilst mobile browsing accounts for the other 11%.
Source: Nielson
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11. NOT MOBILE? NOT MOVING!
A study conducted by ComScore shows that 68% of the time that Facebook users spent
online happened on a mobile device. The percentage was even higher for Twitter and
image based platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. By contrast LinkedIn’s mobile usage
is low at just 26% . Perhaps given to the fact it has yet to have a major overhaul to make
the site mobile friendly. Or perhaps LinkedIn is primarily only checked during office
hours?
It is apparent from these figures that a brand’s social media strategy would be severely
lacking if it did not recognise the importance in tailoring marketing messages and social
experiences for mobile device users .
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12. THE RISE OF GOOGLE PLUS
Google Plus is a relatively new social platform but already it has been making waves in the
online world. According to globalwebindex the current number of Google Plus users is
350 Million. This makes it 2nd among social platforms in terms of usage. This figure is
believed by experts to rise and surpass the number of Facebook users by 2016.
(SearchMetrics)
As Google continues to grow in importance the benefits of the site are clear. 53% of
digital marketers say they will increase the time spent and financial commitment to the
site in the next 12 months. (Huffington post).
Marketers are recognising the benefits of being able to showcase a brand in an online
community whilst being able to better identify interested consumers. Google Plus
provides like-minded consumers a platform to connect with one another and to provide
feedback.
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13. THE RISE OF GOOGLE PLUS
We should stop comparing the platform to Facebook and Twitter given that it has a
different targeted audience. It is less about what our peers are doing and more about
what consumers and interested parties are doing. According to IBTIMES Google+ is
probably the best mobile APP that Google has ever made as it has integrated its search
engine with a social tool.
From data presented by ‘Shareaholic’ we learn that:
• Google+ visitors spend an average of 188.54 seconds on the site as compared to
127.44 seconds on Facebook.
• Google+ visitors go to 2.54 pages per visit as compared to 2.03 pages per visit on
Facebook.
• Google+ visitors ‘bounce’ only about 50% compared to 56% on Facebook.
Although it is unlikely that Google Plus will overtake Facebook by the end of this year,
the 2016 predictions made by Globalwebindex look promising. It is still growing at a
rapid rate – in a market that before its release seemed already saturated. Unlike other
platforms Google doesn’t need to solely rely on social media for growth. Says QUARTZ,
“Google is turning into a platform on which the rest of Google’s web service are
evolving—something that has the effect of making people use Google+ by default.”
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14. ABOUT BLUEDOOR INC.
BlueDoor Inc. is a social media company based out of Toronto, Canada, specializing
in social media strategy development and execution for mid-size and large
organizations. Since being established in 2011, BlueDoor has served a variety of
sectors, including retail, e-commerce, financial, real estate, marketing, medical, food
& hospitality, travel and more.
BlueDoor’s primary product and service offering consists of an in-depth industry
analysis, specific strategies and tactics to achieve business objectives and detailed
execution plan to turn ideas into measurable results. This premium product is one of
its kind in the marketplace today, and is the primary reason for the company’s
growth over the last few years.
To learn more about our company, products and services, please visit us at
www.bluedoorinc.com.
Join our LinkedIn group called Social Media Done Right and don’t forget to
connect with us on the other networks!
References
http://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/5-amazing-statistics-about-google-authorship-and-author-rank/
http://www.ibtimes.com/google-plus-becomes-worlds-no-2-social-network-after-facebook-knocking-twitter-1042956
http://takeitfromageek.com/google/google-the-social-media-of-the-future-whats-facebook/
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/04/03/data-point-social-networking-is-moving-on-from-the-desktop/
http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/2143-hashtags-increasingly-popular-on-facebook
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/prediction-time-breaking-down-2014-social-media-trends-social-tv-facebook-myspace-instagram
http://media2.bazaarvoice.com/documents/Bazaarvoice_WP_SocialTrendsReport-2014
http://mashable.com/2014/01/27/social-media-marketing-2014/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-garst/social-media-marketing-wo_b_5110966.html
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/history-hashtag-social-marketing_b59753
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/visual-content-future-social-media_b59705
http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/
http://www.ekaterinawalter.com/2014/05/why-marketers-love-instagram-pinterest-and-other-visual-social-networks/
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