Trends. Just like a million other industries in this world, social media has its own trend as well. Guessing what’s next is easy but the biggest question is, which is the best social media trends to focus on?
Before writing this, I was searching for information on social media trends for the coming year and all I got from Google were:
- Visual marketing
- Facebook marketing
Yes, it’s really annoying and I decided to search for some ‘untold’ social media trends. In this article, you’ll find 16 social media trends to look out for in 2015.
This article is slightly over 1,500 words and therefore, feel free to bookmark this for future reference.
2015 Social Media Trends
1. More social media platforms will emerge (but can they last?)
For me, this is the number 1 no brainer trend to look out for. We seen the rising of Ello that provides zero advertisements (oppose to what Facebook does) and TSU on the other hand, offers monetization methods to increase its users.
The question remains as which platform will actually sustain in this endless battle?
2. Facebook advertising will get a whole lot more expensive
Facebook is forever changing their policies and this makes advertising even harder. With Facebook depending so much on advertisement, the cost will go skyrocket in no time.
Of course, rant all you want. Facebook has a database of over 1 billion users across every region (or countries you never heard about). So yes, they have the upper hand in this case.
3. Companies would need to invest more if they want to focus on social media marketing in 2015
Remember those days where we could just repeat the same content (for advertising) over and over again?
Ditch this idea in 2015. This won’t help you business at all.
Take an example of Facebook. A new algorithm will be rolled out in January 2015 where advertisers who are constantly promoting the same content will be have a lower reach.
Indirectly, companies will need to hire (or hire more) employees to ensure the right message rolls out to the right audience at the right time. Yup, three “rights” in one sentence.
4. Twitter’s new business advertising model will skyrocket in popularity
Do you remember the saying, “everything is interrelated and has a chain reaction”?
When things get harder on a certain social media network (namely Facebook), people will tend to find for alternatives.
Twitter has always been a close competitor to Facebook and with the recent surveys had revealed that advertising on Twitter provides better ROI compared to Facebook, Twitter’s new business advertising model will definitely become a popularity.
The biggest question right now is … “When?”
5. Google+ is going to lose some traction but they will be a-okay
When Google decided to switch on the kill switch on Google Authorship, it had indirectly affect the opportunity and chances for Google+ to grow.
Google Authorship is one of the reasons people like you and me uses Google. It’s all about search engine optimization and increase ranking on search.
While Google+ is often considered a dead cowboy town, expect it to be there for a long time. After all, it is Google’s flagship for social, right?
6. Instagram will be essential for image-based social media marketing
We know how powerful Instagram is and with the recent achievement of hitting the 300 million mark, you know they are not stopping anytime soon.
Backed by Facebook, Instagram is expected to be number one in image-based social marketing. If you (or your brand) is involved heavily in image, consider to participate in Instagram as it is going to grow massively in 2015.
7. LinkedIn will widen the gap as “the” B2B social network
Le’s be honest here. How many of you uses LinkedIn? For many, LinkedIn is a platform focusing on B2B and business. It is often considered the less preferred social platform but if your target market is the business industry, you need to get involved in LinkedIn … right now!
Over the past few years, LinkedIn is growing rapidly in the business niche and 2015 will be no different. They are going to dominate and widen the gap in B2B, as well as B2C industries.
Not convinced? Here’s a food for thought. Do you know why Facebook is creating Facebook at Work services?
Yup. Laser-targeted audience especially in the business niche.
8. Short video will gain (even) more ground
Recently, I noticed a huge spike in videos and to be exact, short ones. Short videos are meant to:
- Target the right audience
- Share the right information under a short time
- Provide value and brand visibility
Brand like Toyota, Dove and 13 others brands are killing it on Vine as per HubSpot. Do you think short videos are going off the radar anytime soon?
9. Social media in 2015 will be relevancy over quantity
Take a dive into multiple algorithm updates by various social media. Nearly everyone is focusing on one thing; relevancy.
Social media in the coming years will be all about sharing the right information at the right time and to the right people.
That’s why Facebook and Twitter have tested trending feeds to be visible on the timeline. While success wasn’t achieved, it doesn’t mean that it will not be here anytime soon.
There are way too much spam on social media and the only way to remove the noise is by creating algorithms based on relevancy.
10. Social media will be integrated into business
Did you know that Facebook is allow page admins to add Call-To-Action buttons on their pages?
The above is just one example. Twitter had also perform several tests recently along with Google+.
Social media will be used as a medium to drive sales and social media will become a direct marketing strategy in 2015.
Here’s a question for you, “Are you ready to embrace social for business?”
11. Payment system(s) through social media
Hacks released in October show a hidden payment feature deep inside Facebook’s popular Messenger app. If activated by the company, it will allow the app’s 200 million users to send money to each other using just debit card information, free of charge. Meanwhile, the network has also already rolled out a new Autofill feature (a kind of Facebook Connect for credit cards), which allows users who save their credit card info on Facebook to check out with 450,000 e-commerce merchants across the web.
And the above is just one example. Social media is going to evolve in more ways in 2015 and payment system could be the biggest practise of all.
12. Mobile first
Social media is going mobile, regardless you like it or not. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Vine work best on mobile (to name a few).
How can this affects you in social media? Make sure your smartphones or tablets are equipped with these apps, of course!
You can also use social media tools such as HootSuite and Buffer if you have several social media accounts to manage.
13. Viral marketing become even more craved for
Let’s face this. There is no way you can replicate a marketing strategy that gone viral. But this doesn’t mean that you can crave for it!
2015 is going to be a challenging year for many; from bloggers to businesses. You’ll feel the pinch if you not having a strong strategy.
I tend to use tools like TweetDis to get my posts tweeted out; you know, having a ‘click to tweet’ in the middle of the post. Here’s how it looks like:
Make no mistake. This may be simple but you are definitely building an opportunity to get the viral effect.
14. Real time marketing is important for companies to serve customers
When is the last time you asked for support via social media? Well, I just did that around 3 hours ago.
Ever heard about social listening?
Yes, this will be the next big thing in customer service and business in 2015. If you want to know how your customer feels about your product, how your competitors are doing or to build repo with your customers, you need to engage in social listening.
How this affects social media marketing? Majority of listening comes from social media.
Make sense now?
15. Creativity is the key to success
Being creative isn’t an advantage; it is a need and trust me, this is one skill you need to have if you want to succeed in social media 2015.
The challenge in social media will grow forever and in order to stay ahead of the pack, you need to think out of the box.
Taking for example, creating infographic requires tons of creativity and ideas to make the ideas stand out. That’s why Neil Patel from Quick Sprout spends over $2,000 just for a single infographic.
16. The most important social media platform in 2015? LinkedIn and Instagram!
Social media is evolving into a business and for those who takes social seriously, they are already miles ahead of us who don’t.
One of the best social media trends for 2015 is LinkedIn, especially when you are planning to find/engage with laser targeted markets. LinkedIn is home to thousands of businesses and if you are able to provide services needed by them, you have score yourself a jackpot.
Instagram is a no-brainer. From taking selfies, more brands are engaging into Instagram to boost brand visibility.
Now it’s your turn!
The above are top 16 social media trends to look out in 2015. Do you have something else in mind? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss.
See also: 20 Expert Opinions About the Most Important Social Media Trends in 2015
