It wasn’t too long ago that businesses caught on to social media marketing, exhausting and exploiting the communication tool until it reached a plateau. Or so we thought. With 97% of small business owners and marketers using social media to engage with potential and existing clients online, focus is now on employing strategies to improve customer experience on these platforms as well as on their websites.
And with Google now using Facebook et al data in their algorithms for page ranking, small businesses will be busier than ever in 2015 strengthening their sales and marketing techniques across social media platforms where they have a presence. As of 2014, the numbers haven’t changed. Eighty percent of internet users still use Facebook to look up and connect with brands and 34% of online vendors generate leads using Twitter while 52% of adult users have two or more social media accounts. And businesses should have a Google+ account since obviously, you’ll increase your ranking with Google. Hence, it makes great business sense to know what the trends are for 2015 as far as social media marketing is concerned, so that small business owners can maintain their competitive advantage and rebound if the previous year wasn’t its most awesome.
Social image and video will draw in more customers and enhance engagement.
It’s unarguable. Several studies have proved that visual content on social media attracts more readers and increases purchase potential. Consider that the videos uploaded to the internet about the Super Bowl 2015 garnered more than 1 billion views on February 3, many of them through social media sites. It will no different for products and brands. Social video has the power to hold that elusive user trait known as short attention span and raise the chances for purchase.
Social media biggies Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are now offering video advertising, and small and medium businesses must modify their social media marketing strategies to include them. How to do it: Make use of eye-catching infographics and videos and follow them up with a post ad and a CTA.
E-commerce via social media will increase exponentially. Online shopping will be faster and easier.
Facebook and Twitter lead the pack in social commerce with the addition of their “Buy” call-to-action buttons. Testing began in July and September 2014 limited to a few medium and small businesses in the US and selected existing Twitter users.
The feature allows consumers to purchase merchandise through their Facebook or Twitter accounts without having to go to another website. Payment is done within the social media site and security of credit or debit card information is secured.
Social, local and mobile will take center stage in social media marketing.
The combination of engagement with users, location-based ads and mobile technology will dominate online marketing in 2015. Mobile web design, location-based features like Facebook’s local awareness ads and Twitter’s zip code targeting will increase customer involvement with the business. Foursquare and Yelp allow marketers to send push notifications to users who come within a certain geographic area.
Use data analytics to drive your paid search, paid social and targeting techniques for the most ROIs at lowest cost.
0 Comments