Social Media Journal Entry One

        What does 2014 bring for Social Media Marketing?

The addition of online marketing has changed the way companies spend their marketing budget. Digital marketing has increased in importance and is therefore gaining more budget. Not only is there Facebook or Twitter to advertise on but Google, Websites, Blogs, YouTube, Tumblr and more. The social media world is forever evolving. Can companies keep up? What does the upcoming new year, 2014, bring for social media marketing?

According to Forbes, there are 7 things we all should prepare and look out for. They are as follows:
1. Content Marketing will increase
2. Social Media will need to be more diverse
3. Emphasis on images
4. Simplistic is the way to go
5. Must be Mobile
6. Higher use of Ad Retargeting
7. Social and SEO intertwine more

Social Media has become this complicated thing that can be simplified to those 7 things to look for. If your content is relative to your consumer, if it is constantly updated to maintain interest, if there are pictures to grab attention, if it is accessible in the right formats for your target, then your social media marketing will show you results. Companies should already be doing all these things. Think of social as an on going campaign. It needs to be accessible, creative, captivating and constantly updated to ensure repeat browsers.

The predictions that Forbes had all make sense when you look at the results of social media this year. There has been an increase in content marketing. Content marketing has become more important. This is a way for a company to really relate and understand its consumers. Trust and rapport can be built using content marketing. It gives the opportunity to address issues and answer questions while showing that they are worthwhile and honest. Having proper, engaging content can lead to browsers becoming buyers or activists for your company.

Spreading your content on multiple platforms increases awareness and gives diversity to your content approach. Not everyone uses the same channels. The more mediums your content shows up on the more the consumer sees it and responds too. A negative side to this is that if businesses try to be on all platforms they can, the content can loos its creativity and effectiveness. I suggest you pick the top three that your target use most and have the best content for those channels.

Images are a great eye catchers. The first thing I notice on a new website or blog is the picture related with it. Having image based content is an interesting, alternative way to grab the consumers attention. Images can be quick and easy which is going to gain attention faster.

People are being exposed to more media, ads and content then before. Having simple marketing can be just as effective as in-depth marketing. As Forbes article looks at, take a look at a top company like Apple. The marketing strategy is very simple.

Majority of people have either a phone, tablet, computer or multiple of each. Making sure that advertisements and content is mobile friendly will be very important coming into 2014. People are constantly on their phones. Those who do not adapt will loose out on the opportunity to reach consumers that their competitors may be able too.

Retargeting lets your consumers see your content once they have already seen it. It narrows down the people who may not want to access it. The more they see it, the more they will remember!

Social signals help consumers to see that a company is trustworthy. Sharing content, liking pages, and so on will be able to increase the organic ranking. Google will notice that more people are visiting one site over others. Having SEO and social intertwine is going to help target customers more efficiently.

Although these things are in effect right now, some are in the trial process and as time goes on and results increase they will be modified in the hopes to be perfect. Those were some tips to look out for if your not already heavy into social media marketing!