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Top 2015 Social Media Predictions
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We’re waving farewell to 2014 and diving headfirst into 2015 –hopefully it’s a good one! Meanwhile, social media is ever growing, ever changing, and ever present. So, what trends can we expect in the New Year? There are several ideas floating around there. We’ll see what you think of them.
Facebook Will Introduce Mobile Payments through Messenger.
After a rough start to 2014, Facebook has skyrocketed in the 3rd quarter up 64% in ad revenue from last year. In October, Hacks revealed a hidden payment feature inside the new Messenger app. So, is Facebook keeping this on the back burner ready to reveal? It has the ability to give its 200 million users the option to send money to each other using debit card info. Mobile payment is huge right now. Between the new ApplePay, Square, Stripe, PayPal, etc. there is a big battle happening in the market to play for favorite here.
Does this mean that other major social networks will be trying to throw their horse in the race as well? That’s yet to be seen I guess.
Smaller and Newer Social Networks will Fizzle.
This year seemed to be the year of niche social networks. Unfortunately for many of them, they just couldn't compete. The user base just wasn't there. No one wants to be on a network trying to be Facebook. They want to be on Facebook. If you want to be the next big thing, it’s going to have to be the NEXT big thing –not the next imitation of the thing that’s already working. The problem is that they are billions, BILLIONS, of users on networks like Facebook and Twitter. So, these smaller networks just feel like a complete ghost town. It’s hard to take off from that. The thing about a social network is that it’s meant to be social. If you have no friends there already, what is the appeal?
This doesn't mean that these niche networks can’t take off. It just means that they need to stand on their own feet and not try to imitate the look and feel of others.
Seriously Private Social Media and Apps Coming Your Way.
In 2014 we saw several “anonymous” and “private” social networks and apps like Snapchat, Whisper, Telegram and more pop up. Problem? These private avenues turned out to be less than private. Many were hacked repeatedly. People found loopholes in the privacy features. Networks like Whisper actually saved users’ posts to compile into a searchable database. Scary.
In 2015, I definitely think the demand for a truly private/anonymous network or app will rise and, as a result, more players are going to jump into the game with a better option.
Are there any social media trends you’re expecting to see in 2015? Any you hope truly won’t come to fruition? Is there anything from this past year that you were surprised about in the social media realm? Comment below!
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Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
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