Social media has become so much more than just the latest trend. It’s a way for companies to establish & reinforce their brands, connect with customers on a whole new level, and to participate in the conversations their customers are already having.
If you can bet on anything, it’s that social media (and how businesses use it) will continue to evolve. For now, here are some things you need to know about social media for 2015.
1. Social media needs to be part of your holiday marketing strategies. Social media conversations jump dramatically during the holidays.
2. People are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media. Usually, if customers are following you on social media, they’re doing so because they like your brand. People buy from brands they like – so, do whatever you need to ensure you’re likeable and connecting with your customers on a personal level.
3. “Dark social” will only continue to grow. “Dark social” refers to any traffic you get from your site where the referring site cannot be tracked. It most commonly refers to the sharing that happens privately in instant messages and emails. It’s projected to account for 59% of shares in North America (that number jumps to 69% for global shares). It’s definitely not something to be worried about, but you should be aware of it when thinking about and analyzing your marketing campaigns.
4. Instagram is a big thing. At 300 million, the number of Instagram users has overtaken the number of Twitter users, which means there’s an opportunity to connect with a wider, and different, type of audience with highly visual content. Add in Instagram’s Like2Buy feature, and ecommerce companies have a whole new playground.
5. Social commerce will continue to grow. Instagram has the Like2Buy feature, Twitter officially has the buy button and undoubtedly, more is on the way. Twitter cards are a great feature to uniquely showcase products and promotions, and draw users back to your site. Additionally, Pinterest actively participates in driving sales for ecommerce companies with the rich pins feature to drive users back to your site and your products. When it comes to social media, strategic visual content and increased ecommerce capabilities will be the “bread and butter” of your social media marketing efforts.
6. Social media can be a great tool for customer service. It’s public, so if you do it right, you’ll not only wow the customer you’re dealing with; but you’ll also make a good first impression on potential new customers as well. Using social allows for more human interactions and connections with your brand. It offers more opportunities for personalization and effective social listening will lead to better insights into the minds of your customers.
7. Video, video, and more video. Aside from more people getting smarter mobile devices and the number of users for social networks growing, video views from smartphones are set to rise 14% in 2015. Video is already underutilized; that, plus the projected growth in how people engage with it, means you have an opportunity to make an impact and set yourself apart, simply by using video effectively. You want engagement & interaction from your customers, your customers will interact and engage with video content.
There’s no doubt that social media will continue to evolve, as will the way your customers interact with it. The only question is – what are you doing to ensure existing and potential customers are interacting with you?