As more marketers have joined the social scene this year and discovered new ways to connect with their customers, the big question is this: How will things look in 2015?
A new article from Forbes gives us an idea by providing some practical projections, including which social sites are likely to gain steam, which may fizzle a bit and what the social picture could resemble as a whole.
Right now, the big buzz is about a new platform called Ello. Currently in the beta testing stage and only accessible by invitation, Ello is being described as a “hip” channel that will rival Facebook in many ways. Its tagline is “Simple, beautiful and ad-free,” and in its manifesto, the user-centric site promises to never sell member info to third parties.
While the article predicts the rise of Ello, it also forecasts a major decline for Google+. Why so? When put in the ring with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the consensus is that the social site doesn’t really offer its own distinct value.
A few other predictions for the social scene in 2015? Here’s a summary:
- Facebook and Twitter advertising will become more popular among businesses in an attempt to further improve reach and results
- Instagram will keep growing as the trend toward image-based social sharing continues to build
- LinkedIn will remain the social site of choice in the B2B realm and the gap will keep widening among the competition
To cap it all off, the final prediction for social media in the year ahead is the fundamental role it will play in content marketing. As marketers work to publish and distribute new material more regularly, they are expected to discover just how effective social media has become in getting this content in front of their intended audiences.
