1. Social Media specialists will continue to learn
The landscape of social changes so frequently and at such speed that anyone working in Social will continue to learn as they go - trialing, testing, falling and failing (as long as they do it quickly). Some will win but there will be no experts, still.
2. More Australian brands topic-jacking
Sadly 2015 will see the continuation of brands using social media and witty memes to topic-jack high-profile events or occasions - think Oreo’s SuperBowl tweet. Get ready to be swamped in your feed with everyone trying to out-viral each other. Only the smart ones will buck the trend and focus on meaningful engagement and actions.
3. Australian’s will embrace Human connections
The era of brands talking as ambiguous logos in social will swing towards a trend of humanizing channels and communities. From employees acting as voices to community managers becoming famous, Australians online in 2015 will embrace humanising social.
4. The gap between first and third Party Data will be bridged
2014 saw the start of this journey with serious start-ups offering platform and software solutions to bridge the gap between first party and social data. 2015 will see this become the mainstream for the mature brands online. Single person tracking and targeting? Bring it on.
5. Content for multiple screens will still be a challenge
Content will remain the focus in 2015 as Australian brands continue to grapple with the six to 90 second narrative landscape, as well as a myriad of device consumption. We’ll see more TV to tablet content plays and a lot of TV to YouTube fails.
6. Closed social and apps will dominate
2015 is the year of messaging. As Australian social media users move away from public social to closed messaging apps and communities, such as WhatsApp and Kik, brands will need to find ways to capitalise.
7. Proximity social will emerge
Geo-targeting and proximity social will see resurgence in 2015 as devices and platforms default to location as a targeting solution. We won’t see the return of Foursquare, but established social platforms will prioritise location-based content and targeting.
8. Zero Reach will not eventuate
Despite what you’ve heard, zero reach won’t eventuate. Even with Facebook’s armageddon warnings to pay for everything and not rely on organic, brand Pages and content will still receive organic reach. Just don’t bet your house on Page likes as a result (not that that ever mattered).
9. Converged media will be on everyone’s plan
The line between Social paid, earned and owned will disappear in 2015 with converged media becoming everyone’s go to, amplifying influencer content, sponsoring reviews, paying for content distribution with earned endorsement all part of the tool kit to replace straight paid social
10. Dark social will have a light shone on it
The sharing of content you see on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is only the tip of the ‘social iceberg’. Most content, in fact up to 80%, is actually shared via dark social. Dark social is content from open social shared via closed messaging apps, email, chat, SMS and other ‘off the grid’ distribution channels, and 2015 will see brands and vendors bring solutions to capitalise on it.
Karalee Evans
Head of social
DDB Australia
For more opinions:
Media rants: Chris Mitchell on digital evangelists and mobile pant dropping
Media rants: Michael West on big tech and big tax avoidance
#illridewithyou: Sydney siege shows power of people and social
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