5 social media takeaways for 2015 and beyond

After “open feeding season” last year, where’s social media going in 2015?
Robyn Showers, social media manager for HubSpot, flew in from Boston to address that question with the Baltimore HubSpot User Group (HUG) at Groove HQ on Wednesday night. (She spoke again Thursday night at the Baltimore Social Media Meetup.)
Showers, who oversees social media accounts that reach more than 1 million users for the inbound marketing and sales software platform, provided a social media forecast for 2015 — from a marketing perspective. From up-and-coming networks to sharing strategies, here are five takeaways to tuck away:

1. Facebook’s growth has leveled off, but it isn’t going anywhere. The social media giant is turning 10 this year, and has a massive reach — no matter what the various snippets about IPOs and privacy concerns may indicate. According to data presented by Showers, 4-in-5 humans have a Facebook account. Even though its growth has slowed down in recent years, it’s reach still blows everyone else out of the water. That means Facebook remains an important platform for marketers, and anyone. “Facebook is still leading the pack, and by an appreciable amount,” Showers said.
2. The growth is happening outside of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. As [Facebook’s] growth slows, we really have to look some of these other networks to fill in where we want to see explosive growth,” Showers said. She pointed to Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr as the platforms that are seeing the most explosion. Tumblr saw 120 percent growth of active users in 2014. As for Instagram, Showers said the photo-first network pulls together a wide cross-section of demographics, just like its owners at Facebook. “Your audience is probably there,” Showers said of Instagram. “No matter what kind of company you’re running, Instagram is a great place to be.” Slideshare is also growing, and offers a chance to pack content into posts that others don’t, and can have rewards. “Every once in a while, something on Slideshare hits, and all of a sudden it’s competing with Twitter,” Showers said.
3. Pins are forever. While Facebook posts and tweets may have a shelf-life that’s over in a matter of hours, Showers said Pinterest offers a chance to drive traffic “for years.” It takes more of a time commitment, but could ultimately have more rewards. Pinterest is also where the growth is, boasting a 111 percent growth in active users in 2015. One important tip: don’t use a link shortener like bit.ly on Pinterest, because the platform will tag the link as spam.
4. The moving pictures are coming. With Facebook’s embrace of video across its channels and the success of Vine, all signs point to 2015 being a big year for video. You don’t have to have a creative team to make a video, as apps like Flipagram and Hyperlapse can help. But making sure content is short (like, under a minute short) and compelling is important for getting noticed. “As people do more and more in their feed, you’ll have to do more to stand out to gain their attention,” Showers said.
5. Don’t ignore the upstarts. In 2014, “it was kind of open feeding season for the social media industry, Showers said. The buzz around new services like invite-only Ello and totally anonymous YikYak reflect a desire by social media users to take their privacy back. Showers admitted she’s still getting a handle on what marketers should do with the anonymous services, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Showers advised the crowd to lock down their brands, and experiment on the new sites — within reason. After all, Showers said, what might seem niche today could be where the conversation is happening in the future. As social media has grown from a curiosity to a staid tool, new ways to use it are constantly popping up.