Facebook and Twitter shares rose to records, uplifted by growing optimism that social-media advertising will grab a bigger slice of the market for online advertising. The ads spend on social media marketing is at all-time high and it will continue to grow in 2014.

Social media is no longer considered a craze which will fade with time, it’s here to stay. Social media marketing is no longer something businesses and brands can brush off with an ambivalent shoulder shrug. More and more businesses, from SMEs to MNC, are embracing social media to reach out to their prospects and endeavour to engage their customers with regular content updates and interesting online campaigns.

As 2013 comes to a close, many businesses are reviewing their social media marketing plans and gearing for the next calendar year. Let us take a look at the social media marketing crystal ball for 2014.

Social Media Trends and Predictions for 2014

#1 Sponsored Posts Become Mainstream

In 2014, Facebook ads will continue to explode onto the scene, challenging conventional ways of advertising. Facebook is providing a more targeted form of advertising liked suggested pages and sponsored posts. With the flexibility of custom audience and functionality of advanced ads feature to determine the placement via Power Editor (mobile new feeds/desktop new feeds), social media advertising enables a business to reach out to the audience more effectively compared to any traditional advertising.

#2 Focus More On Conversion By Social Network

Conversion is the key. This coming year, there will still be an emphasis on getting traffic, but many businesses will start to realize that the sustainability of social media efforts relies on the ability to convert. Success will be measured according to the metrics that matter for that particular industry – it must be able to convert – whether it’s number of downloads, number of enquiries, appointments frequency, order volume, quality leads or a combination of those criteria.

#3 Google+ Is Going To Dominate

Google+ is now the backbone of Google Services, including Youtube, Gmail and Search. As the second largest social network according to Global Web Index, Google+ has wired together all of the “G” products to boost the “active usage”. While Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are trying to become more advertiser-friendly, Google+ is rethinking and trying to understanding how to become more social. As a marketer, investing your time in Google+ profile is essential before even more features are launched. Remember to claim your custom URL and be consistent with the branding. We’ve all seen the impact Google+ has had on SEO in 2013 and we can expect to see more in 2014. The best we can do is keep our eyes open.

#4 Social Becomes More Visual, Especially for Millennial

Looking to the past predict the future of Social Media. If you look at 2013, there has been a significant increase in the number of photos shared on social media. Most of the channels used to reach out to Millenials such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are putting more focus than ever on photos and visual assets, it is obvious that this is where the future of social media lies.

Marketers are scratching their heads on how to engage with this up-and-coming Millenials. Millenials are believed to be the most tech-savvy who know how to use social media to leverage opportunities and tune-in to stay connected with things they love. Millennials are more visually and relationally inspired. Providing Millennials with quality visual content and info through mobile devices, social media channels and email marketing should be part of your multi-channel approach to connecting with them. Many marketers are looking at expanding their efforts in this area next year.

#5 Mobile Is Changing The Game of Social Media

With the emerging mobile applications like Instagram, Snapchat and Path coming into the picture, it drives a significant shift in the social networking landscape. Marketers find it easy to focus on the “old” social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, yet many will shift their attention to new social networking services in 2014, and smart marketers will allocate resources and budget next year to tap into them.

The following infographic from SpareFoot gives a concise view of what is the must-know social media statistic from 2013 when formulating your social media marketing strategy for 2014.

Craving more info on upcoming social media marketing trends for 2014? Here’s another infographic depicting what’s in store for 2014 from TalkWaker.

Conclusion

Many predict that 2014 is going to be a year which would focus more on monetisation and conversion. This is only the beginning of social commerce. We haven’t seen the true marketing power of social media yet but 2014 will be the year.

What are you seeing as the biggest trends for social media marketing next year?