8 trends that will impact every small business this year

As all SMEs will know, it is important to always be one step ahead in business planning. That is why Pro-actions’ Business Improvement Specialists have compiled a list of the 8 marketing trends that need to be factored into your 2015 marketing plan.

Social media will continually drive consumer spending

First of all, 2014 was the year in which both Twitter and Facebook began testing new features that made it easier for users to buy products and services on their network. As a result, this meant that users could buy from business in just a few clicks.

The introduction of “buy” buttons allows users to make purchases without having to leave the site. This year, it is expected for Twitter and Facebook to drive consumer spending in a major way. This is an advantage for small businesses as it provides the ability to attach concrete revenue metrics to social media. Thus allowing marketing to be highly targeted and ROMI more accurate.

Friends impact your spending

Social media posts made by peers can be extremely influential over spending habits of those in their network. Take notice of millennials (people born between 1981 and 2000) on social media.

As a result of their unique online habits it has been found that roughly 58% of Millennials say they “love to shop” compared to 40% of adults overall. Further to this, a recent survey, 68 percent stated they were more likely to purchase a product or service after seeing a friend’s post about it. Similarly 60% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust a personal recommendation from somebody they know (source – Search Engine Journal).

The popularity of individual social sites will alter dramatically

2014 saw the rise of a number of new and innovative social networking sites. Similarly sites such as Yik Yak, Ello and Tsu have risen by fixing problems that users have found on other sites and using it as a USP.

The popularity of social networking sites can change at breakneck speeds. Guaranteeing popularity rankings will fluctuate throughout 2015.

Facebook and Twitter advertising will become a necessity

As a small business owner, Facebook or Twitter may not be part of your marketing mix just yet. Facebook are limiting how many ads its members view. This means its ad pricing has risen 10 percent since 2013. So expect this trend to continue into 2015.

Advertising on Twitter will become more and more essential for small business owners. Furthermore, the new advertising fee structure allows companies to pay for performance instead of paying for retweets, app installs and clicks.

Publishing on LinkedIn will become more popular

LinkedIn’s publishing platform is something you need to explore by the year’s end. It is almost guaranteed that LinkedIn will continue to dominate the business set.

LinkedIn has quickly become an influential publishing resource populated with relevant content on business trends, insights and careers.

LinkedIn’s publishing platform can be used by small businesses to express your thoughts on these topics and to build your brand.

Content marketing will continue to be an important tool

Content marketing can be used to spread the word about your business without the aggressive sales clichés. However it does require work. In 2015, take some time to discover how it could be used to benefit your business.

Social media (again) will continue to drive customer service

This year has seen an increasing amount of irate customers using social media to express their discontent directly and very publicly. This is why social listening is becoming very important.

You need to monitor what’s being said about your brand on social media and resolve customer issues immediately. If not the angry review maybe the first impression people get of your brand.

Personalisation

Globalisation used to be the thing that businesses strived for. Now it’s all about making your business and your product personal. For example, your advertisements are going to need to become a lot more targeted. Therefore, you may as well be throwing money away if you’re investing in adverts that the viewer has no interest in.

Finally, if you would like to find out more about how our Business Improvement Specialists can help you plan for 2015, please click HERE: