92 percent of marketers say that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses

Social Examiner recently published a report about stats and trends for 2014. Have a look.

1/ INCREASED EXPOSURE

I am pleased this has been confirmed. Just don't forget to make the customer/sales life cycle work for you.

2/ VISUAL ASSETS

As mentioned before, attention span of an average customer is about eight seconds. Pictures and infographics help to engage and let the customer memorise your point.

3/ BLOGGING

Again, very happy this is being confirmed too. There were times I had to endlessly justify why blogging is important and what are main benefits of providing good quality content on blogs.

4/ GOOGLE+

Yes, I know, not many people are happy about this (and there's lots of rumours about Google+ being left to die slowly), but again - if you want good results in Google search, Google+ can help you enormously.

5/ PODCASTS

A rather new one for me as I'd expect videos to be more effective. I look forward to seeing what the next months will bring in podcasting.

6/ FACEBOOK ADS

It's a big yes from me. Facebook is most versatile of all mainstream social media channels. Targeting your audience is pretty straight forward. You see the stats, you can take your strategy further.

8/ ROI

 Well, there's a bit of confusion about Social ROI. Especially for businesses that can't use offers on regular basis. But if you improve event tracking and set sensible goals as a start, you'll get a good idea about what converts the best.



Infographics used via SocialMedia Examiner

READ ALSO: MARKETING GUIDE 2014

We will survive! Marketing guide for 2014

In 2013, the average consumer's attention span was just eight seconds. Try to create short-form videos, use striking images, include an irresistible call to action, spread an integrated message, show your ad on TV as well as FB at the same time...

• Think quality over quantity (100 people who care about your brand are better than 1,000,000 people who don't)
• Create ads that amuse and entertain, pull on the heartstrings, or solve a problem

READ ALSO: WHY YOUR CONTENT MARKETING INITIATIVES ARE FAILING

The 2014 Social Media Marketing Guide from Brand Networks

Twitter sharpening its beak

Somebody said that Instagram is for people who can't read. Another said that pictures say more than a thousand words. Twitter is one territorial bird and Instagram can be seen as a cuckoo application. Well, yes or no. But I agree that getting own photo app would be a smart move.

''Although adding photo filters to Twitter may seem like a trivial addition to a social network that processes nearly a billion 140-character missives every two days, it could prove to be an important part of the company’s business.'' NY Times Blog

Well, it is not only about having THAT idea. In my opinion, it is the execution and integration of right elements. You do not have to go far for such examples. I remember a web based photo editing app called Picnik which was eventually bought by Google as a new editing tool for Google+. Unfortunately it never really caught on and left many loyal Picnik users angry.

If you are in a relationship with Twitter, then get engaged to Twylah

Everyone talks about social media trends here and there, but it doesn't happen often when you see a new real deal. Twitter's stream now looks like a kid's mess comparing to Twylah's sophisticated and dynamic tweet-pages. So pay attention and get those loose tweets under control!