It’s safe to say that Facebook is going to continue to update and tweak their site until it looks completely different in 2017 than it looks now in 2013 – but in terms of major changes on the horizon, the overhauls have actually slowed down. While 2014 may bring a few new and exciting features, when it comes to marketing trends, advertisers probably won’t see too many drastic differences than what’s trending currently.
What we’re looking at with 2013’s Facebook trends are strong, popular, still-growing trends that will continue through ’14 and perhaps even into years to come.
2014 Trends and How to Implement Them in Your Facebook Campaign
From certain types of posts and hashtags to content geared toward a growing mobile audience, let’s have a look at some of the trends you can expect to help your campaign in the coming year.
Promoted Posts
In 2013, Promoted Posts took on a new level of popularity. They weren’t exactly old, but they picked up a bigger head of steam after Facebook’s guidelines changed to allow marketers more freedoms when using the option. For advertisers using Facebook for business, this provided a low-cost way to increase engagement.
First and foremost, marketers were allowed to use existing posts that were older than three days. This meant that someone could take a post of theirs that was already popular, or once popular, and inject new life into it with a budget, certain targeting methods, and releasing it to the public and even pinning it on their own page. The new guidelines also allowed marketers to promote their content for more than a three-day span.
How to use this trend in 2014:
- Select a post of yours that is/was already popular and increase its reach
- Don’t rely on Facebook’s options alone to promote; use a third-party ad-management app to help you target and track your results
- Don’t exceed more than 20% of an image’s area with text
- Make sure you put your best foot forward, using a post that will drive engagement
- Promote the post for the longest duration available to increase your engagement
- Pin the post to your page for the duration of the promotion
Hashtags
Borrowing from Twitter, Facebook took hashtags to new heights in 2013. These clickable, searchable links benefit marketers tremendously by allowing for much greater visibility and brand consistency at no cost.
With Facebook’s addition of hashtags in 2013, marketers have benefited tremendously with increased visibility and brand consistency at no cost.
Marketers in 2013 used hashtags in a wide assortment of ways, but one of the best ways these tags were used was in conjunction with status updates. Regular updates already help to increase engagement, as they’re popular draws in people’s News Feeds – hashtags just added extra incentive for users to not only click-through to check out the brand but also check out the tag itself.
How to use this trend in 2014:
- Use tags that are specifically related to your niche
- Try to avoid tags that are too popular or that have multiple uses
- Limit the amount of tags you use in your material, preferably using one tag
- Show consistency with the hashtags you’re using as a brand
- Don’t be afraid to play the role of trendsetter by creating your own tags, even if it may be slow to start
- Keep your hashtags short and succinct; use a couple of words tops, not an entire sentence
Mobile Content
Anyone who’s seen a commercial or has been to an electronics store recently knows that mobile technology is dominating the market. Software is naturally following the hardware, and Facebook’s mobile version is more popular than ever. This is a trend that’s definitely going to be popular throughout 2014 and beyond.
With the majority of Facebook users being mobile, making sure your content is geared for the mobile market is essential.
Marketers using Facebook in 2013 started gearing their content for the mobile market. What this brought was more status updates with succinct calls to action, more hashtags used, more images used in place of text-based posts, and more engaging content that sought Likes and shares. Mobile News Feeds are different, and thus material geared toward a mobile audience needs to stand out.
How to use this trend in 2014:
- High-quality images that are crisp, clean and colorful
- Text within the images
- A stronger yet shorter call to action
- Use of popular hashtags
- A more direct marketing approach, either to narrow groups or even individuals
- Problem-solving material that directly addresses niche concerns
- Linking to other sources, internally and externally, though attention-grabbing, short material
Third Party Apps
Marketers using Facebook find that there’s a lot to do and ultimately a lot to keep track of. Facebook’s options for ads and their analytics are rather short on detail. So the addition of apps to track analytics and to improve ad campaigns is a trend that’s certain to continue.
In 2013, ad-management apps like Qwaya were in much higher demand. Advertisers wanted more options and more control over their ads in order to make their money stretch. The better the app, the bigger the audience reached per dollar (or equivalent) spent.
How to use this trend in 2014:
- Offers better split-testing opportunities for ad campaigns
- Gives you far more targeting options to select from
- Provides you with a greater level of control; instead of Facebook choosing the final ad, you get to decide which ad to launch
- Allows you to easily create ads through choosing multiple templates, toying with your creatives, exploring combinations, etc
- Gives you a streamlined, user-friendly control panel that makes creating and launching ads easy
- Allows you to better track the results of your ad campaign
Thanking Your Fans
Being a social brand in the social realm was something that took on a greater level of importance in 2013. Especially with the continuing rise of mobile marketing, social media became more popular than ever and thus brands that are actually participating by engaging with fans and customers were the trend. Showing customer appreciation was natural and necessary.
Brands like Kraft and AT&T showed their appreciation by way of benefits and videos.
Many other brands thanked their fans in similar ways. We’re in an age where you not only have to focus on your customers through loyalty rewards, but also on your fans. It’s marketing and PR combined, and this will definitely carry on throughout the years to come.
How to use this trend in 2014:
- Creating material that expressly thanks your fans
- Offering your fans and customers rewards for their loyalty
- Providing incentives for people to sign up and to become fans in the first place
- Solving actual problems of your niche directlyGiving fans what they expect from you per the niche
Keep Your Eyes Peeled
There may be a few unexpected trends that arise in 2014 and ultimately change the game, but you can be fairly certain that the trends mentioned above will continue on throughout the coming year. Leveraging these trends will ensure that you’re able to engage with your social market effectively. What other marketing trends do you think we’ll be seeing in 2014? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
