12 Social Media and Digital Marketing Investment Tips / Prediction for 2015

I was just evaluating my Social Media Marketing predictions made for year 2014 and I am very glad almost all the predictions came true except Google+ holding the same place as it was! With a lot of social media platforms to choose from, you pretty much have to know where you are going before you embark on your journey to get your social media game right.

So, where are we heading towards in 2015? While we get our hands on various national and global brands, these predictions are an accumulative personal perspective of what we have experienced at echoVME – Digital Marketing Training and Services Company.

1. Pay to Survive on Facebook:

As the headline suggests, Facebook is not free anymore! To reach every individual who will make sense you will have to pay. Concentrate on images with 20% text rule! Post less, but post good and allocate a budget per post (precisely a very targeted reach). If you are still investing in a Like Campaign – ensure they are mainly re-targeted or you build a custom audience for the same (build more relevant community than bringing random likes to your pages). Create a content quotient; what is that one thing that will bring people to your page? As the saying goes, it is always first in the mind and then in the market. That ‘one thing’ to change ones perception about a product or a service really does matter.

2. Mobile Advertisements & Responsiveness will Evolve:

As per a report by eMarketer, globally there would be 34% significant increase in Mobile advertising budget. Marketing effects will take place over time. Marketers who are responsive will succeed. So start investing big time in creating websites and digital properties that get accustomed to array of digital devices! Mobile commerce will be the need, especially for products that do not need a larger display to confirm!

Invest in:

? Mobile Targeting: Targeting your posts, offers, advertisements for mobile Facebook users will be smart choice provided you ensure that the landing pages are not so heavy enough to conveniently open on a mobile network, if not opt for target only if the user is on WiFi.
? Mobile 3rd Party App Targeting: If not for Facebook, people are on Google, 3rd party applications. Facebook now allows 3rd party apps to host its customer ads! Invest on the same (provided you pick up a very key niche)
? Cross Promotional Strategies: While you invest in Mobile targeting for Facebook ads, do the same for Google ads too! Mobile searches will surpass desktop search in 2015!

3. Email Marketing is Dead, Re-Targeting is the New Cool:

Other than key opt-ins, emails are passé. Building custom audience and targeting your website visitors is important. Investing in re-targeting strategies will help brands distribute content. Build a database of your customers – make it mandate and invest in re-targeting them through Facebook! Re-targeting works well while advertising on 3rd party apps too through Facebook Ads Network.

Re-targeting might get monotonous , unless the brands don’t invest in new form of ad creatives every alternative day. You might fail if you use the same old creatives for months.

4. Videos as Content and Facebook Video Ads will work:

With advancements, brands will increase their investment in Facebook Video Advertising. Videos perform better, if the ads are not very generic and has a pinch of social element, emotional quotient they are more likely to do well! TV Ads are mass targeted, social media video ads can be niche targeted and re-targeted – The best way to register your brand!

3 Crucial Factors to Consider Video Marketing / Facebook Video Ads:

? As per a report by comscore, Facebook surpassed YouTube in the number of video views via desktop whereas mobile wise YouTube is still leading the show.
? Facebook attracted a billion video views per day since July 2014!
? Facebook ads receives more shares when compared to YouTubes (as per a data by Social Bakers)
2015 is a year when Social Networking platforms will give more preferences to original videos and that might result in decline of YouTube overall views.

5. Blogging will get a Priority:

Best content is the best SEO! With time, brands will switch from less Facebook or LinkedIn posts to more blog posts. End of the day, driving traffic to website is what social media channels are also focusing on through their ads or content means. So, if your brands have hired SEO professionals or outsourced the same, remember a customized wordpress corporate blog will add a lot of value to your SEO strategies

Provided, you update it with awesome content regularly.

6. Influencer Relationship is a MUST:

If not Paid Media, influencer relationship will matter. Digital PR is the need of every traditional PR Company. Do you know, traditional PR firms pitch Digital PR to clients? They are in reference to blogger meetups, tweetups and more. Opinions formed on Digital World matter more these days, especially when influential ones talk about it. Influential ones can lead your brand to the key people, key journalists and key analysts!

Remember, Personal Brands are more impactful! Start planning gifting ideas to influencers. At echoVME, we have come u with tweetups, blogger meetups, social media meetups and gifting solutions to influencers – they have worked well and have been impactful in creating a strong relationship with them and through them.

7. LinkedIn Contacts (email sync) will Help for Lead Generation:

LinkedIn.com/contacts will become mandate for Business Development Executives, especially in the b2b space! Growing LinkedIn network will only have LinkedIn Contacts and LinkedIn Advanced Search as solutions for better networking with existing contacts. Growing your LinkedIn network at first level will become important for better search at the 2nd and 3rd degree connections + to give better visibility to on-platform publishing. Marketers will consider re-publishing their blog posts on LinkedIn platform.

8. Investing in LinkedIn Ads:

LinkedIn sponsored posts and LinkedIn ad platforms will show advancements and will attract more B2B investments in 2015. LinkedIn communities will bring changes to its UI for better visibility of images and posts.

9. Google+ will stay Confused:

After the Google+ Authorship was removed, Google+ for brands will become another content dumping platform. However, Google+ results or page visibility in localised search results will add more value to local brands.

10. SlideShare will Become a Must for B2B Marketers:

A great SlideShare profile can help showcase your expertise and build thought leadership. After LinkedIn owns Slideshare, it has become all the more important for B2B Marketers to explore the potential of this medium. Building a visual brand is crucial and Slideshare is a hot spot of 2015! An upgraded version of Slideshare can add all the more value.

11. Twitter Ads Budget will increase:

Twitter is lately innovating the advertisement opportunities! Brands will start considering investing in the Twitter cards for lead generation, for events or more.

12. Hashtag Communities on Instagram:

Instagram has gone so mainstream that it is more than just a place to share photos. For fashion and fancy brands, Instagram can make a huge difference more than Twitter especially in country like India where a lot of people use Instagram actively, than Twitter. Start listening to hashtags and start creating campaigns pertaining to innovative hashtags. Cross promote the contest on other Social Media Channels.

These are some crucial trends to follow for 2015! While there are many other necessary trends but not as crucial as above!

This blog post was originally posted on Sorav Jain's Social Media and Digital Marketing blog.