Let’s Chat: Social Marketing in 2015

Are you planning on being social in 2015? Chances are the answer is yes, and I’ve got the stats to prove it. According to a survey conducted by eMarketer, 89 percent of us plan to utilize social media as a marketing tool in the next year. Additionally, we plan to allocate 13 percent of our 2015 marketing budgets to social campaigns. As social media becomes a staple in the everyday lives of consumers and businesses, it is imperative as communicators that we seamlessly incorporate social media into our marketing initiatives.

I sat in on an eMarketer webinar recently that discussed social marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2015. Here are my top four takeaways from the presentation. Keep these in mind as you commence your marketing plans for 2015.

1. Ad spends will increase

As organizations prioritize and position social media to be the “quarterback” of all marketing campaigns, more attention will be paid to advertising on social platforms. eMarketer expects that 9.4 percent of 2015’s marketing budgets will be allocated to social advertising. In fact, as of September 2014, Facebook’s share of digital ad spending is outpacing adults’ time spent on the social platform in the United States.

2. Less is more when it comes to content

Content marketing has been a successful marketing strategy in past years and most organizations promote their content on social media, but the key in 2015 will be standing out amidst the constant push of information. Interaction rates for brand posts on social sites are small (less than 1 percent on Facebook and Twitter) according to recent study published by Forrester. Marketers will need to be more strategic in regards to content and cater to audiences that they know will engage socially. Fewer, more thoughtful posts tailored to the target consumer will succeed on social media in 2015.

3. Mobile will be a priority

Statistics show that most social activity occurs on mobile devices. According to Facebook, 30 percent of their worldwide users are mobile-only. Not convinced? comScore media reports that as of June 2014, 71 percent of social media activity in the United States takes place on a mobile device and eMarketer claims that 8 out of 10 social media users will use a phone to access social networks in 2015. Gone are the days of scaling initiatives down for mobile, it’s time to make it a priority. Organizations will need to design campaigns that can be viewed in passing and on smaller screens. Make it easy for the consumer to learn about you, and keep it short and sweet.

4. Tailored social measurement

Measuring social media success has always been difficult to define. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to measuring ROI on social media campaigns, and a study conducted by eConsultancy found that 40 percent of marketers worldwide considered their social media measurement capabilities “poor.” As social media becomes a staple within the marketing silo, proper measurement tools become imperative. Social analytics platforms such as Brandwatch can help organizations identify where social conversations lie and which initiatives garnered the most success. Brandwatch recently published a blog post on proving the value of social media efforts if you are interested in learning more.

Trends and predictions aside, socially successful organizations will need to be nimble in the next year to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of social media. What are your social media predictions for 2015?