In 2013, Twitter made its initial public offering, passed the 232 million active users mark and became a major player in mobile media, with more than 60 percent of daily users logging on via their smartphones or tablets. However, the site is hardly done growing and changing. The coming year will see major developments on Twitter that small businesses and other companies can use to their advantage. Here are seven Twitter trends to keep in mind for 2014.
7 Twitter Trends to Follow in 2014
1. Vine is Devine
A year ago, Vine was in the experimental stage. Now this video-sharing service, which allows users to create 6-second snippets, has become all the rage with the popularity of online video skyrocketing. In the coming year, Twitter will allow Vine users to get “vanity URLs,” such as vine.co/username, which will allow for easier access to videos.
2. Ephemera
The success of Snapchat – the app allowing people to send images or video for up to ten seconds – has inspired other social sites to investigate their own version of ephemeral media. Look for Twitter to toy with now-you-see-them, now-you-don’t tweets.
3. Mobile Advertising Boom
Twitter is continually experimenting with its ad model, and one area with a ton of potential is mobile advertising as the site fights to become profitable. Just as Facebook introduced a slew of new mobile products after it went public, look for Twitter to increasingly experiment with new mobile ad formats as investors demand greater revenue.
4. Video Ads
Anything Facebook can do, Twitter also wants to do, and did we mention investors will be clamoring for bigger revenues? Look for Twitter to play around with different types of video ads, and watch the site learn from the mistakes made first by Facebook. For example, the automatic video roll has already proven unpopular with Facebook ads.
5. More Native Advertising
One of the big trends in social media advertising generally over the coming year will be the blurring of the lines between content and editorial. This “native advertising” will take the form of ads made to look like content produced by your friends or followers on social media networks. The idea is to appear more credible and trustworthy, and Twitter will work to develop more ads that flow like they’re part of the newsfeed rather than a complement to it.
6. More Acquisitions
Last year Twitter acquired MoPub, a mobile real-time buying company. Look for Twitter to continue on the buying spree to get companies closely aligned with its goals of increasing ad revenue in the coming year. It may not make a gaudy purchase like Facebook’s Instagram buy, but it will target companies that fit with its greater business strategy.
7. Continued Growth
Twitter is nowhere near its saturation point. Only 18 percent of online adults use the site, so there’s a ton of room for growth, unlike Facebook, which is nearing the top of the curve. With the increase in users will come an increase in helpful services geared toward small businesses, as more and more of them jump on the site.
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See also: Twitter the New Ecommerce Platform
