How Social Media will develop in 2014

2014 has just began and it is time to predict what the marketing world is preparing for us, especially in social media. A new Pew survey has calculated that 73% of online U.S. adults use social media and we can image a similar figure for Europe too.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms are now part of everyday life (can you imagine a day passed without checking your Facebook profile or tweeting?) and little and big companies are increasing their investment in Social Media Marketing, understanding the impact that it can have on their business. A study conducted by Adobe showed that Social Marketing is the marketing area that will grow the most in the next 3 years.

1 - The Facebook and Twitter race

Facebook is still the king of Social Media, thanks to more than 1 billion users of which 58% are active every day. But something is chancing. Facebook has reached a secure plateau and the growth rate is slowly decreasing, especially among younger users (13-17 teens). The blue giant is not going to disappear soon, but it is more difficult for small companies to use for their Marketing efforts and it is necessary to invest more money and time to gain a wide and active community.

2014 is more likely to be the year of Twitter. The 7 year-old platform is becoming the favorite one among teenagers, because you can have a less secretive approach on Twitter, there is less drama and they can avoid a strict parent control. Many companies are more engaged in Twitter now, in particular those involved in the service industry.

2 - And Google+?

The Social Network made by Google will be and aggressive competitor on 2014 scenario. Google+ presents itself as a very important piece inside the SEO strategy of Mountain View brand, thanks to a more personalized search experience (made possible through the creation of the search algorithm known with the code name Hummingbird) and to the popular Hangout application. But something new is coming. In a recent interview, Steve Grove, head of community partnership at Google+, declared that mobiles are at the center of Google strategy for the 2014 and that Google is preparing new applications to allow users to upload photos and videos from their phones, emulating what once YouTube was for recorded videos.

3 - Snapchat

Will the little ghost become a relevant marketing tool in 2014? Yes. Snapchat is a new mobile application that let you to send "snaps" (messages with video, photos or text) that auto-destruct after few seconds. This app has reached millions of users in a short time spam a, despite recent troubles, it will be a great protagonist of this year. Some pushy companies have already sensed the opportunity and used Snapchat for their Marketing campaign, such as  16 Handles. Thanks to the launch of Snapchat Stories, marketers can ask customers to tell their stories, interacting with them while in a hotel or in a store, increasing interaction and customer engagement.

4 - Micro-video fever

Short videos appeared in 2013 and will grow in 2014. Bite-sized content videos became famous thanks to Instagram and Vibes in primis, and marketer will use them more often to communicate short but very effective, funny and creative messages. These network will become more important in the next years: just think that 71% of top brands are active on Instagram.

5 - LinkedIn

Finally, the most important Social Network among professionals, even if often judged one of the most boring. LinkedIn has more than 200 million users and in 2014 will gain more popularity inside the B2B industry. This networking website for professionals has gained a great position as one of the largest source of professional discussions and its importance will grow in 2014.

These are the main trends for 2014, but what do you think will happen in the Social Media world in the next years?

Image credits: arsgrafik on deviantart