Top 5 Social Media Trends for 2014

While the importance of social media for Millenials is pretty self evident, employers and businesses are quickly seeing the merit in a social media marketing strategy. However, with so many platforms to choose from it can be difficult to determine where to allocate resources. Where is social media going?

I have searched high and low, and thanks to Jayson Demeyers, contributor at Forbes, here are some 2014 Social Media marketing trends that you can start thinking about!

1. Investing in Social Media will be a NECESSITY, not a Choice.

Many companies are seeing the value in social media and are allocating time and resources into forming comprehensive social media marketing strategies. However, in 2014 it is likely that we will see a shift from wanting to invest in social media marketing to having to invest in social media platforms.

And this is not surprising as social media offers a variety of benefits including:

• Increased exposure & traffic
• Company branding
• Develop loyal fans
• Generate Leads
• Improved audience reach & influence
• Word of mouth

Social media is also one of the pillars of SEO!

2. A Picture says more than 1000 Words!

There's no denying that photo-sharing (and video) platforms have been all the rage this year. Marketing with social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are great for companies to produce shareable non-text based content!

As Jayson Demeyers points out:

Visual content will increasingly become a critical piece of any solid content strategy, and social networking site Pinterest will continue to shed its reputation as a ‘women’s only’ network and become an integral part of retailers’ marketing strategies.

3. The Rise of Google+

Google+ may not be new, but the social network has found its purpose now that the "+1" button is linked to Google's search rankings and is becoming an integral component of SEO and personalized search. And for those of you still wrapping your head around this whole Google+ thing, Here is a Quick Guide & How-To from Lisa Myers, CEO of Verve Search.

4. Foursquare who?

With platforms such like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offering location-based "check-ins", Foursquare very well might become a thing of the past. It won't be long before Foursquare users (many of whom are already using the other platforms) will be absorbed into other location-based features of the networks mentioned above.

5. Are you LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is undoubtedly the most successful social networking site for professionals with an impressive 225 million users to date. LinkedIn is positioning itself as "one of the largest sources of content creation and curation for professionals."

Conclusion
So, for those of you who have yet to invest time and resources into a social media strategy - it's not too late! Do some research and see how you can best incorporate social media into your marketing strategy this year.