What new trends in Marketing for 2015 can we expect?

Many people are excited for what 2015 will bring them with regards to online marketing and the new features that will be available for business, especially with regards to social media. I have spoken to a few people within the industry of social media at events in London I have attended recently and between us we’ve come up with the following points that we think will become big in the new year ahead.

  • Mobile phone payments will increase. For varied reasons during 2014, the usage of mobile for payments as been slow due mainly to privacy concerns. Options such as NFC, QR codes etc are out there to facilitate scan / contactless payments, but the weak surge in usage has also been put down to many people waiting on Apple and if their iPhone 6 would allow to them engage with such technology.  Thankfully for many, this is now a reality with the new iPhone 6 and their Apple Pay ecosystem. This advancement alone will see an increase in mobile phone usage for instant payments, expect to see an increase in contactless payment options from contactless card machines to stickers on restuarant tables allowing you to pay / order your food and drinks etc.
  • Google+ could very well disappear. I am sure many readers will agree, they have not really understood the benefits of Google+ and really only get involved in fear that if you are not on it, then you could damage your Google ranking. Lots of recent changes from Google+ gives us the sign that things aren’t going as they expect, ie they no longer force you to create a Google+ account when creating a GMail or YouTube account (I have a few Google+ accounts myself which is very confusing, as everytime I used Google they seemed to be demanding me to create a new Google+ account)! Hangouts, once exclusive to Google+, can now be used as a stand alone tool. If we take that many of the accounts created on Google+ were out of ‘having to‘ then it is likely many people will have duplicate accounts, making Google+’s overall subscription figures wrong and if like we see, not much activity is happening on it’s platform, then it is likely people will start to drop away from it and divert attention to other platforms.
  • Swapping your Casio for a Smartwatch! Myabe when I was at school, having that chunky Casio watch with calculator on your wrist was the ‘in thing’ – I can multiple 999 x 999 on my wrist or I can spell SHELL.OIL was seen as being cool! From cool we have now progressed to having the world on your wrist with the likes of Samsung, Apple and Sony providing us with samrt watches that allow us to take calls, access the internet and update our Facebook status etc. For businesses looking to target consumers, smart wacthes are another device they can target for ‘people on the move’. Let’s not forget Google Glasses are soon to be available and priced for consumers sometime in the near future!
  • Social Media, but more precisely, advertising on these platforms. The likes of Twitter and LinkedIn have spent time to provide advertising opportunities to rival that of Facebook and we see this trend increasing and indeed improving. You’ll soon be able to sell your products and services directly on Twitter and if you are a user, then you’ll be able to make purchasers directly from these Tweets! Facebook have indeed mastered, or their style of platform allows for easier ‘selling to consumer’ advertisements, but we’ll soon see others not only being a social media platform, but also a sales channel. Pinterest with sponsored Pins and even allowing certain themed photos to sell products, ie crafts / arts. Instagram wanting to get in on things and allowing for targeted sponsored photos and mini videos. All this shows that the average overall spend of businesses will increase on social media as the opportunity they present to sell directly to active target audiences will improve.

The above are the main points we discussed that we were all in agreement on we’d see happen in 2015. Overall it is social media that really jumps out at you as being really not even in it’s infancy with regards how it can help businesses online – There is so much more to come with Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram and other big portal names that it makes for a very exciting 2015!

 

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Renters’ Rights Bill: lettings experts outline key changes landlords must prepare for

Following the long-awaited Renters Rights Bill achieving Royal Assent, lettings and compliance experts at Beresfords Group are advising landlords to start preparing now for the most significant reform to the private rented sector in decades. While the bill has now officially become law, much of its detail including implementation dates and transitional arrangements remains unclear.…
Read More
Breaking News

England’s south coast sees highest rent increase in UK

Southampton, Portsmouth and Worthing average rent prices rise by +8%, the highest rise in the UK Renters in Yorkshire get the most for their money with UK’s lowest average rents of £978 Landlords didn’t flock to sell up, amidst Renters’ Rights Act anticipation   A report released from one of the UK’s leading estate and…
Read More
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Breaking News

Why the human relationship still defines real estate lending

By Daniel Austin, CEO and Co-founder, ASK Partners AI is now a core driver of transformation in financial services, reshaping the foundations of real estate lending. Over 85% of UK lenders now deploy AI tools to streamline operations and improve decision-making, according to AllAboutAI.com. For a sector long criticised for rigid risk models and slow…
Read More
Breaking News

Britain’s most desirable military towns where homes command premiums as high as 51%

The latest research from eXp UK has revealed that homes located close to some of Britain’s most prominent military towns command a price premium of up to 51% when compared to property values across their wider local authority areas. eXp UK analysed property values across 12 postcode districts home to major Army, Navy and RAF locations,…
Read More
Breaking News

Labour tax tirade hits UK with largest millionaire exodus of all global nations

The latest analysis from international property consultancy, Astons, reveals that the UK has seen the sharpest annual decline in its millionaire population of any country, a trend driven by sweeping tax hikes targeting high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) – including increases to Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, and major reforms to the non-dom regime. As a result, more…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 10/11/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   New conversational platform achieves $1.3M in ARR after only eight months of trading The next-generation conversational AI platform transforming property management, has announced that it now powers 25% of all Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) beds in the UK – equal to 168,000 beds – just…
Read More