The beginning of a new year is the time for many things: resolutions, packing away the Christmas tree and trying out that new gym membership.

It’s also the time for predictions, and to mark our first week back SMK has put together a list of the four top trends we think will be big in 2014.

1. Mobile

Sure it's a no-brainer, but no list would be complete without including mobile. 

Just think about how much you use your mobile compared to a year ago, and how this is going to increase over the next 12 months.

Basically everything is going mobile – from news and retail to finances, videos and social networks. Make sure your website is mobile optimised to ride the growing on-the-go wave. 

2. Pictures and video

In 2013 images, both still and moving, made great leaps forward.

Instagram and Pinterest proved the appeal of a quality pic, while Facebook posts with images attached are 12 times more likely to be shared than text-only posts. Facebook is poised to launch video ads shortly.

Add to the fact that YouTube is now offering itself as a base for quality videos, and we believe that photo and video marketing will hit the big time this year.

3. Data

Every time we interact with a social network – whether it’s a Like, Follow or retweet, we create data. This data presents an equally massive opportunity and challenge when it comes to processing and divining meaningful insights. 

However big data is coming into its own, with the recent IDG Enterprise Big Data report predicting that 70 per cent of businesses have already or are planning to deploy big data related projects.

All this means that making sense of your customers and their needs is about to get simpler – for a price.  

4. Integration

The days of having your Facebook Page separate from the rest of your business and marketing budgets is long gone. Or should be. 

Increasing amounts of businesses employ either a social media professional or an entire team to handle their social needs.

It remains an ongoing debate whether certain arms of social belong to marketing or PR, but as the medium adapts and matures so will social's place in your business structure. 

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