4 Concepts Your Online Marketing Should be Ready for in 2015

At the end of 2014, many offered up their thoughts on what the online trends will be for 2015. Some will come true, and some will fall short. So instead of telling you what is going to happen in 2015, we offer a few items to watch for.

Could Ello rise?

Actually, it’s Ello. If you haven’t heard of the new social media site, there’s a good chance you will in 2015. The site offers a simple, easy, ad-free social network for its users to share information and status updates, and stresses that user information will not be shared with third party sites. It is currently still in beta mode and requires an invitation, which you can request from Ello. Why should you be aware? It has become very common for businesses and brands to jump on social opportunities once they grow a strong user database, and you never know when the next Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat will pop up.

Pay to play

This is the mantra of social networks in today’s digital advertising age. As Facebook’s organic reach continues to shrink, online marketers are flocking to buy ads in order to get messages to their target audience. While that continues, you can almost count on 2015 bringing more of it. If you want to be in the social media game to reach your current and potential customers, you’re going to have to open the wallet. While Facebook gets the most attention, Twitter and others have followed and will continue to do so, as long as brands pay.

Google Plus gone?

Google Plus may have seen its brightest days. The man behind the search engine’s social site, Vic Gundotra, stepped down earlier this year; and arguably the best feature offered by the site, Hangouts, is now available as a standalone application. Google would need a complete overhaul and rebirth of the site, and that probably won’t happen. But beware, while Google Plus may be dead, Google is still a necessary social network.

LinkedIn will become B2B leader

It’s off to the races! After offering a publishing platform for its users in 2014, LinkedIn continues to grow as the B2B social networking leader. LinkedIn has also excelled at its paid services, and the number of premium LinkedIn accounts shows their success. The first quarter in 2014 saw a 46 percent increase in revenue from paid users, totaling roughly $95 million. That number is expected to continue to grow in 2015.

Only time will tell what will really happens throughout 2015, which is why it is always important to stay up to date on what is current in the online marketing world to see the predictions and trends coming to fruition, and those that are falling to the wayside.

Published on: December 22, 2014