Social Media Predictions

One of my favorite things to do this time of year — in addition to spending the holidays with friends and family — is to look back on the year that was and also look ahead to what the New Year holds in store.  Now don’t think that just because I blog every day that I believe that I can made social media predictions.  This is actually excerpts from an article that I read on Entrepreneur.com.

Here are some of their predictions for social media in 2014:

1. Look for a shift toward visual storytelling through short-form video. 
This is definitely NOT going to be one of my favorite things.  I am trying but I get so tongue-tied when I do it.  Supposedly these are easy to create on  Twitter’s Vine app and Instagram.  It is believed that short, concise videos tell a deeper story than pictures.  Time to get over my love-hate relationship with film.

2. Businesses will embrace the ‘fandom.’ 
Okay, so this is definitely a NEW term for me.  According to Tom Fishman, MTV’s vice president of content marketing and fan engagement, fandom is essentially the sub-culture of raving fans that exist within your overall customer base.  These are the fans that are going to do a lot of your marketing for you, the ones who will promote your brand to other people.  See now those addicted “bag-ladies” have a marketing term to help us grow our business that sounds more positive.

3. Google+ will continue to grow in size and importance.                                                                           Just what I need, yet another platform to try and remember to post to on a regular basis.  Time to learn how to post on them all in an easy, concise manner.  Anyone have any suggestions?

4. There will be a bigger focus on context. 
Okay, so I am clueless here.  Brands should start asking themselves, “How are people using a particular social channel?” and “What makes a channel unique?” Then they will create contextually relevant content based on that insight.  Does these mean that I need to change my content based on the social media that I am using instead of basing it on the customers that I want to attract?  UGH!

5. More businesses will get into paid advertising.
This is NOT where I will be heading… I am sure for some in direct sales, this will be an important part of their business.  I am more interested in building better relationships with my customers.  According to the article,  If you’re serious about reaching your tribe on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, paid ads will need to be part of your plan in 2014.

As a direct seller, I think the only “predictions” that I truly want to EMBRACE is the short-video and the “fandom”.  I mean the rest just seems more practical for a business that has brick and mortar (you know, a store-front).

Are you thinking about embracing social media in 2014?  What area will you focus on or do you already have a plan?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!