Social Media trends for Marketing 2014:

from Social Media Examiner 04 April 14 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

Which platforms are most relevant to Social Media Marketing (SMM) right now? Marketers need to know where (and how) they should focus their efforts for maximum ROI. This article gives you four (4) major research findings from reports tracking trends in SMM and the content that works best on each.

#1: People Spend More Time on Visual Networks It’s impossible to miss the powerful effect of “visual “content on the social web. It can significantly enhance a brand’s marketing objectives by generating more customer interest and prompting prospects to take desired actions. Visitor spend 2/3 of their Social Media time on Facebook – 6.33 hours/month in USA vs all of the other the other Social Media.

The Power of Pictures. Consider that Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram each gained over 10 million visitors in 2012, thanks to eye-catching content. Numbers from Statista numbers shared on the Media Bistro show that users spend more time on Pinterest (1:17 minutes) or Tumblr (1:38 minutes) than on Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace & Google+ combined.

Adding Visual Content. If you’re looking for ways to incorporate visual content into your own social media strategy, one of the key things you can do is include one or more high-quality images in all of your Blog posts. (Don’t forget to add an ALT attribute in the image properties to help your SEO!) You can also leverage real-time photo sharing. Customers & followers are used to seeing staged photos that highlight your products and the best parts of your company. Sharing impromptu pictures can be equally compelling when shared in real time. When you do post product or brand pictures on networks like Pinterest, Instagram and Flickr, allow others to use your images in exchange for a link back to your site.

Don’t forget Video! YouTube is the second-largest search engine (after Google, which coincidentally owns YouTube). Videos uploaded to YouTube do very well in search and boost your site’s ranking. Interviews, Q&As, product demos or tips are popular with a wide audience beyond your current followers.

[ Memes, #2: Google+ Is Best for SEO, Focus on the Highest Priority, #3: Facebook’s updated News Feed affects Page Posts in Premium Content ]