An everything guide on how to be a successful omnichannel retailer in 2014

3 Social Trends to Be Aware of in 2014

Consumers are constantly connected, plugged in and online. In 2013, social earned its place as a marketing necessity as it had a huge impact on retailers’ bottom lines. It also saw a lot of changes. Businesses must adapt and change with it in order to remain relevant. Here are three trends to keep your eye on this year:

1. An increasingly visual web: 2014 will be the year told in pictures and videos, with visual social sites calling the shots. Instagram and Snapchat exploded in 2013 as consumers readily adopted the idea of sharing photos with one another. This changed the social landscape, forcing Facebook to adopt an 80-20 rule, where a Facebook post must be 80 percent visual and 20 percent text. Twitter expanded its traditional timeline to include photos in-stream. Take advantage of these updates by adding images to every post. On average, social posts with images and branded videos result in four times the user engagement.

2. Rise of user-generated content: We've all heard that "content is king"; 2014 will be the year user-generated content reigns supreme. Consumers are constantly sharing and uploading their own content. They're driving product discovery by pinning photos and creating brand awareness by uploading their own. Brands are capitalizing on this social phenomenon by creating unique hashtags to collect fan and product photos for unique product galleries. Add these hashtags to marketing campaigns to instantly generate fan images across all social channels. Create contests around user-generated content, asking fans to take real-life product photos to double up on user engagement and lay the foundation for a loyal community.

3. Collect and use social data: 2013 was the year of big data. In 2014, businesses will get better at aggregating and sorting through this data for optimal targeting and smarter remarketing. Consumers are becoming more willing to use social login, allowing businesses to collect rich consumer data through social networks. In addition, Pinterest introduced its API in 2013, which allows businesses to gather valuable insights on their most pinned products. Social login simplifies the registration process, reducing the number of steps to check out and the possibility of shopping cart abandonment.

Al Lalani is the founder of Social Annex, a social commerce platform provider. Al can be reached at alalani@socialannex.com.