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Social Media Marketing: What to Expect in 2015
As 2014 rapidly approaches its expiration date, members of the legal industry may be exhaling a collective sigh of relief. For those who tested the waters of social media marketing as a means to cultivate clients this year, perhaps now is the time to look forward to a minute or two and catch your breath before planning for 2015.
With the release of the 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, the Social Media Examiner reviews the marketing trends of 2014 and forecasts that an increase in use of the following platforms should be evident throughout all 2015 marketing campaigns:
- Blogs,
- Facebook,
- LinkedIn,
- Twitter, and
- YouTube.
Although the utilization of these platforms have likely infiltrated the majority of all successful 2014 marketing plans, the continuation of branding through timely and relevant content as a means to reach a targeted demographic may be the most significant trend in social media marketing for 2015.
Once again, incorporating these marketing trends will certainly take time and effort, but by focusing on content savvy blogs, articles and professional videos for distribution through the aforementioned marketing platforms, brand recognition and traffic to your website will increase over time.
The emphasis and focus on smart distribution may include, but are not limited to the following five key elements.
- Applying significant keywords to content to improve Search Engine Optimization or SEO,
- Repurposing content across several marketing platforms. For example, utilizing a blog post as both a post and email notification to prospective clients or database contacts allows you to use the content in more than one place,
- Developing strategic relationships with those willing to share or comment on your content items,
- Focusing on specific audience demographics by tailoring specific content to suit specialized interests, and
- Opting to pay for professional content and exposure on numerous social channels.
To further elaborate, professional and effective content distribution through the use of exceptional keyword strategy will be rewarded with effective links driving natural traffic to professional websites. For 2015, the emphasis will be placed on technical compliance across all search engines resulting in a professional website hosting clean code, relevant content and exceptional user experience.
Another trend slated for 2015 is social media may no longer be the free marketing tool as years gone by. As marketing platforms such as Facebook become more crowded and competitive, businesses may be leaning toward paying Facebook to host their content more often through sponsored advertising.
Stretching or repurposing content across a multitude of platforms will be extremely important during the coming year. Websites will need to adapt to using mobile sites for their content to show up well on smartphones or tablets. The user experience should be the driving force of your marketing going forward into the new year.
Once established, marketing for 2015 will also turn to marketing automation tools that can be programmed to deliver specific content driven marketing messages to a specific demographic. These auto messages may be an email, invitation to revisit a website, or download of a video, making this form of marketing a very scalable and cost effective way to capture prospective client leads.
As the New Year looms just around the corner, it is important for all social media proponents to remain focused on content as a driven strategy for all online marketing programs slated for 2015.
If you need assistance with your 2015 social media marketing plan, the experienced team at OVC, INC. have been assisting those in the legal community with developing content driven marketing strategies since 2008. At OVC, INC., we rely on our professional content writers to enrich your content with keyword optimization to ensure your conversion of a prospective client into retained client. Contact our team at 630-635-8000 today to schedule your free consultation.
About the Author: Greg Wildman is the President of OVC, INC. Since 1999, Greg has developed hundreds of websites for attorneys from his company's inception as Online Video Concepts, LLC to the modern era's OVC, INC. Greg's knowledge of law firm marketing has helped many attorneys establish online presences through custom website development, Search Engine Optimization, legal directory partnerships, social media marketing, content writing and more.
