Social Media Marketing Trends for Restaurants

2015.1

Your Digital Identity

December 20, 2014HTTP://visual.ly

www.nrn.com December 29, 2014 Article by Ron Ruggless

NRN predicts 2015 restaurant tech trends

Restaurant operations will be tapping technology with greater gustoin 2015 in both the front and back of the house.

“Technology will perhaps be the largest arena to see some rapid innovation in 2015,” said B. Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association’s research and knowledgegroup. “Technology is just another tool in the operator tool belt, but 2015 is poised for a much more substantial integration of thetechnology into the typical restaurant operation.”

The restaurant industry will see some tech items become more affordable as prices dip, such as tablets for line-busting in quick service to tabletop devices for ordering and payments.

“Individual’s basic expectations for a restaurant experience includestechnology,” Riehle said, from smartphones to websites to front ofthe house and back of the house. “As the price points come down,there will be much more substantial integration of technology into the basic restaurant experience.”

POS upgrades

After 2014’s data breaches at restaurant concepts as varied as DairyQueen, Jimmy John’s and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, 2015 may pushmany restaurant companies in the U.S. to finally adopt point-of-salesystems compatible with the EMV standard that is widely followedoutside of the United States.

EMV, named after its developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), requires cards that have embedded microprocessor chips that storeand protect encrypted user data and is aimed at better protectingmerchants and issuers from fraud losses at the point of sale. More U.S. banks and credit card companies are issuing the chipped EMV cards to their users.

In addition, a 2015 POS Software Trend Report from HospitalityTechnology showed that 56 percent of restaurants say their top business reason for upgrading their POS is enabling new paymentoptions such as e-wallet. Adding mobile capabilities and preppingfor EMV is prompting 47 percent of restaurants to look at POS upgrades, according to the report.

Tech-enabled ‘dynamic pricing’

“Yield management” or “dynamic pricing,” which means varyingprices based on factors such as time, has been common in the hotelindustry for years. Now, digital menu boards and sophisticated POSsystems may pave the way for more restaurants to vary prices bydaypart to drive traffic.

“Restaurants can do really quick tests of not only pricing but menusubstitutions,” Riehle said, noting that alternating pricing could generate incremental demand in the industry, according to NRA research.

“Ten years ago,” he said, “that capacity did not exist because menuboards and tablets were not there yet. Now, it does allow the average restaurant operator to step up their game to generate additional demand.”

Saving time and energy

Technology applications will also continue to help cooking equipment to save time and labor.

For example, winners of the NRA’s Kitchen Innovations Awards at the organization’s annual show in May included combinationovens that saved energy and reduced cook times by as much as 20 percent, ice machines that sanitized themselves with ultravioletlight oxidation, and dishwasher technology that reduced water use and sped drying times.

While the restaurant industry expects to see modest growth in 2015and increasingly intense competition, operations will become morestreamlined. The challenge for operators, Riehle advised, “is to remain high-touch in a high-tech environment.

“In the end,” he said, “it’s the hospitality industry.”

Key Takeaways:Mobile Focus: 90 percent of people use multiple devices screens sequentially. So make sure you are using a responsive website design.

Interactive Scrolling: 66 percent of mobile users find thatwebsites load too slowly. Use infinite scrolling that cutsdown on website loading times by allowing the pages to load content little by little.

Clean Simple Layout: This type of layout provides an easyuser experience to guide visitors along a path to action.

www.socialmediatoday.com December 22, 2014 Article by Irfan Ahmad Infographic by Bowen MediaView the full-size infographic athttp://bowenmedia.com/readourminds/top-5-web-trends-for-2015

Top 5 Social Media Predictions

1) Much More Video Content

While video has been a popular social media marketing option for a while, I think it’ll gain a lot more traction in 2015.

With the rise of young video bloggers (or vloggers) such as Zoella,Tanya Burr and Alfie Deyes (they have millions of YouTube subscribers each and have signed beauty and book deals worththousands), it won’t be surprising to see brands jumping on thevideo bandwagon, with some of the larger companies vying for thechance to have one of the famous vloggers front their campaigns.

2) Goodbye Google+?

2015 might be the time that Google says au revoir to its own socialnetwork for good. As Vic Gundotra – Google’s Senior Vice Presidentof Social and the “father of Google+” – announced he was leaving thecompany back in April, 2014, and Google killed Authorship back inAugust, it seems that they’re phasing out the platform.

A lot of people spent time building their Google+ profiles in hopesthat their content would appear higher in search results, but nowthat Authorship’s been scrapped, it wouldn’t be surprising to seepeople migrating away from the network, and Google ultimatelyclosing the project.

3) Even More Paid Social

Anyone who manages a company’s social media presence will knowthat Facebook has been dramatically decreasing organic page reachin a bid to promote their paid advertising offerings, and that unlessyou’re a huge brand with a significant following, the only way toreach all of your fans is to stump up the cash.

Couple this with Pinterest rolling out its Promoted Pins feature to more businesses last August, and Twitter expanding advertisingofferings to include more specific mobile targeting, businesses willmore than likely boost their social media advertising efforts, as wellas explore the possibility of hiring paid social media experts.

4) MobileThere are lots of reasons to suggest that 2015 will see an even moredramatic increase in focus on mobile-first in terms of social mediamarketing and advertising.

With Twitter developing its advertising platform and giving businesses the chance to target users by mobile network and userswith new mobile devices, as well as buying mobile ad firm Tap Commerce, it’s clear that social is leaning heavily towards mobile.With this in mind, it won’t be surprising to see teams in larger companies purely focused on mobile social media advertising.

5) Bigger Use of Data/Analytics

Several social media platforms have really upped their game whenit comes to analytics and data on offer in 2014, so expect to seeeven smaller companies making more use of the information on offer to them in 2015.

This comes after Pinterest released its revamped, incredibly detailedanalytics dashboard in June, and Twitter announced that they’re experimenting with inbuilt analytics within tweets last month, so it’sclear that social media platforms want to share their data with theircustomers, and this will benefit businesses who will use this information for more intelligent social media marketing.

www.socialmediatoday.com December 18, 2014 Article by Lauren Riley

Top 5 Resolutions for your Restaurant

Resolutions aren’t just about working out or eating better. They canactually be a great way for your bar or restaurant to set—andachieve!—goals. But what should your New Year’s resolutions be?Here are five resolutions that could help your bar or restaurant increase sales, keep customers happy, and make 2015 a great year.

1. Amp up your social media presence.The social media landscape is always changing—what worked at the beginning of 2014 might not be so great as we head into 2015.New social media platforms pop up all the time, so resolve to keepup on the newest and best ways to use social media. But don’t forgetabout the social media sites that you’re already using! If your customers interact with you on Twitter, resolve to be there for them.Remember, social media won’t do your restaurant any good if youaren’t using it to make connections with customers. Answer theirquestions, offer promotions, and solve their problems whenever you can.

2. Get organized.After the crazy holiday rush is over, don’t feel bad if your typical organizational methods have fallen into disarray. But that doesn’tmean things need to stay that way! In 2015, plan to get organized.This means making sure your bar is always stocked and clean. Do aregular inventory of everything to make sure you aren’t wasting foodor liquor (and to reduce theft). The time you spend on organizationwill help you save tons of money in 2015.

3. Use more technology.In 2015, there will be even more new and exciting ways to use technology in your bar or restaurant. You’ve probably heard aboutApple Pay and the way it’s revolutionizing the industry. Considerusing it in your bar or restaurant. You might also consider usingtablets for payment, ordering, or games. And does your bar orrestaurant have its own app? These are all things to consider in the new year.

4. Focus on your staff.Your employees are your most valuable resource, but have you beenspending enough time developing them? If you don’t have a newemployee training routine, consider creating one. But don’t forgetabout your current employees! Training is important even for people who have been on the job for awhile. And if you want tokeep employees happy, remember to recognize their achievementsand be there to help them with their concerns. Whether you do thisthrough one-on-one meetings, weekly group meetings, or just occasional informal check-ins, make 2015 the year you truly connectwith your employees.

5. Try something new.How long has it been since you’ve changed things up? If it’s beenawhile, make 2015 the year you bring some changes to your business. You don’t need to do anything crazy, but adding a new entrée or cocktail to your menu, updating your décor, or redesign-ing your tired menus can bring some life to your restaurant.

www.buzztimebusiness.com December 12, 2014

www.mashable.com December 2, 2014 Article by Rex Santus

Pizza Hut menu picks toppings for you by tracking your eye movements

The chain is calling it the first "subconscious menu," and it acts as a stand-in for the paper menu you'd usually get when dining at a Pizza Hut. It tracks your eye movements and selects toppingsbased on where your gaze lingers the longest.

So if you stare at, say, cheese and basil, the menu might know thoseare your choices even before you do; it's all supposed to take just 2.5seconds. The menu has 4,896 possible toppings combinations and is already being tested at some restaurants in the UK.

That might seem like you're banking a whole meal on wherever youreyes happen to land for a couple of seconds. But Pizza Hut has testresults on its side — 98% of people who have tried out the subcon-scious menu have been satisfied with the experience, according tothe company. And if you aren't happy with the subconscious menu'sdecision, a glance at a restart button will start the process over.

The menus were developed in collaboration with Tobii, a Swedishcompany that develops eye-tracking technology. It took six monthsto get everything up and running.

Peter Tiberg, Tobii's vice president of sales in Europe and Asia, toldMashable in an email that the tech works by using algorithms andthe company's EyeX eye-tracking sensor.

"There is no touch involved at all; it’s a completely hands-free design," he said. "Eye tracking will change the way we interact with any device in the future, not only when ordering pizza."

Pizza Hut isn't the only internationally recognizable pizza chainthat's experimenting with technology. There's a Domino's app (nicknamed "Dom"), for example, that's designed to allow customers to browse the menu and order food by speaking. Pizza Hut, though, is the only chain that's trying to read your mind.

The new menus are rolling out in the UK for testing at Pizza Hut's refurbished locations. There's no set date for when the menus willhit the U.S., if at all.

See Pizza Hut’s video promo for the technology on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFn32N7KFY

Google is dropping its horizontal Carousel display of local search results in several categories: restaurants, nightlife, entertainment andhotels. It’s being replaced by a 3-pack of organic listings and somenew secondary pages.

The Local Carousel rolled out in June, 2013 for the PC in the US andgradually expanded to a number of categories beyond local results(e.g., US Presidents). It’s not clear whether it will remain for these non-local search results.

Since day one, the Carousel has been controversial among local SEOs and even among those involved in the European antitrust negotiations with Google (it has not launched in Europe).

Beyond the SEO questions and concerns raised by others, I have always found the Carousel to be limiting and awkwardly disconnected from the rest of the page.

The new 3-Pack will appear below the top AdWords results. The 3-Pack results are not ads; they’re the top algorithmicallyranked listings. Users will then be able to click any of those threeand land on a new business profile page similar to what users mightsee or have seen in a Knowledge Graph panel for the hotel or otherlocal business.

Google Drops Local Carousel for Hotels, RestaurantsNew design better integrates page and offers more information.www.searchengineland.com Article by Greg Sterling November 13, 2014

In the case of hotels you’ll be able to see pricing and room availability,as you can today in the Knowledge Graph panel. In the hotels category,but not in other local categories (today), the business details page mayinclude an ad unit (tied to booking).

Clicking on the “more” link at the bottom of the 3-Pack takes users intoa full page of local results that can be sorted. There’s a large map on theright. This is not unlike a page that would have been seen in earlier versions of Google Maps results.

Clicking on any of these local links will take users to the details page for that entity.

This new presentation and flow removes the awkwardness of theCarousel and enables the display of more information. Clicking on anyof the old Carousel results simply changed the Knowledge Graph panelbut didn’t provide any additional information depth. The new pagesand flow only appear on the PC and not in mobile.

Above, the old Local Carousel results format.At right, the new local 3-pack.

(L) The new businessprofile page formatand (R) the locallinks page format.

www.socialmediatoday.com December 30, 2014 Article by Brett Relander

Snapchat’s influence growing in marketing

If you thought that Snapchat was just for teenagers, think again. This social media site is rapidly gaining influence in the marketingsphere. Brands that are not already including Snapchat in their marketing campaigns could be missing significant opportunities.

Many marketers have remained somewhat confounded by Snapchatand how to deploy it for marketing purposes. Snapchat certainlydoes not function like other social media sites. Users are able to takepictures and videos and then send them to their friends usingSnapchat. Where the app takes a distinctive divergence from othersites is that once the video or image has been opened and viewed,the message is automatically deleted—forever. Users are able to establish a specific timeframe for each video or image that is sent,thus providing the recipient with a limited amount of time for viewing the message before it disappears. While most other socialmedia networks offer lasting messages and impressions, Snapchatdoes not. This may make things a bit more complicated in terms of marketing, but it would be a mistake to completely ignore Snapchat.

According to MarketingProfs, 50 percent of adult smartphone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 in the U.S. have installedthe app. Furthermore, that represents a significant jump in year-over-year usage, when only 30 percent of the same demographicused Snapchat. Older Millennials, between the ages of 25 and 34 are also using the mobile messaging app, with 20 percent usingSnapchat, an 8 percent increase from last year.

Clearly, Snapchat is growing in terms of market penetration, but youmay still be asking how your brand can tap into that influence, giventhe limited time constraints of this app. Several brands have foundunique approaches that are working with Snapchat. MobileMarketerreports that Marriott and Macy’s are two leading brands that have integrated Snapchat into their marketing strategies. For instance,Macy’s provided customers with a glimpse of their “Black Friday” specials using Snapchat. This is actually a brilliant marketing strategy because it is built on the foundation of what sets Snapchatapart from other social media sites-limited time messages.

Macy’s campaign was able to tap into the ability to give customersan insider’s glimpse while whetting their appetite for more.

The message did not need to live on for any longer than it took the customer to view it. MobileMarketer points out that the fastwindow of time in which the customer was able to view the imagemay have actually assisting in driving impulse purchases duringwhat is the busiest shopping season of the year.

Marriott took a different approach by releasing an interactive serieson Snapchat. The hotel chain opted to utilize the social media platform as a storytelling tool in the hopes of creating an emotionalconnection with consumers. The series was designed to supportMarriott’s “Travel Brilliantly” campaign.

Not sure how to implement Snapchat in your own marketing campaigns? Consider the following strategies:

Take advantage of the “stories” feature on Snapchat for sending a video or image-based story to customers, similar to the way thatMarriott launched their interactive series. This can be a great way to give your customers a behind the scenes glimpse into your upcoming products or offerings. Be sure to create multiple storiesthat will span the course of several days to make the most impact.At the end of the series, direct your Snapchat followers to other social media channels, or a specific landing page to keep them engaged. Contests are another great way to drive interest usingSnapchat. This is a method that has proven to be particularly wellsuited for all marketing platforms, and it is ideal for use withSnapchat. Remember to create a sense of urgency that plays intothe limited window of time on Snapchat.

Due to the limited availability of videos on Snapchat, it is also perfect for sending promotional videos. Keep in mind that yourvideos should both be tightly focused and entertaining. Provide insider’s tips. Show customers how to obtain a special offer, or preview an upcoming product.

As Snapchat continues to make inroads with consumers of almostall age groups, the time is now to ensure your brand is in the lead.

Ordering online.Of course, many restaurants already allow customers to order online.For quick service or fast casual restaurants, this can be a convenientway to keep customers happy. But in 2015, ordering online will beeven more prevalent. More restaurants will develop apps that allowcustomers to order before they even get to the restaurant. In fact,McDonald’s is testing an order-ahead and mobile payment app. If one of the most successful restaurant chains has an app, you canbe sure that even more restaurants will be quick to follow.

Apple Pay.Who needs credit cards or cash when you can pay with just a touch on an iPhone? Apple Pay isn’t everywhere yet, but it’s gaining popularity. McDonald’s, Subway, and Panera are alreadyusing it…is your restaurant next?

Personalized experiences.Apple Pay and other similar applications will make it easier to personalize customer orders. Collecting data from customer orders can help you remember customer names, their previous orders, and any other pertinent information you need to create the best possible customer experience.

You probably use technology in many parts of your restaurantbusiness, but what’s on the horizon? How will restaurants beusing technology in the coming year? It’s no surprise thattechnology is becoming even more important to our diningout experience. Here are a few things you can expect in 2015.

Tablet ordering.You might already have tablets at your tables, but they’ll become even more useful in 2015 as many restaurants beginusing them for ordering. If customers have ever complainedabout waiting for service from your busy servers, you can seewhy ordering on tablets is so attractive. It keeps customershappy and helps out your employees. And, just as importantly,the less time customers spend waiting, the faster you can turntables—and get more business.

Facial recognition software.It might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but didyou know that some services actually use facial recognitionsoftware to let bar-goers decide which bars to hit up? As The Guardian reports, SceneTap installs cameras in bars and lets customers know things like the ages and genders of patrons. If that sounds a little too crazy, there’s also a morepractical use for facial recognition software: by using GoogleGlass, bartenders can quickly find customers in a crowd.

www.buzztimebusiness.com Dec. 2, 2014

2015 Restaurant Tech Trends

Social media is just a fad. Sound familiar? Some prognosticators evensay that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. will all comecrashing down in 2015. Funny thing is that this is the same predictionwe’ve been hearing for the last 5 plus years.

While most non-believers remain paralyzed by that now famous line,“What’s the ROI of Social Media?”…year after year passes them bywithout ever developing a solid social plan.

For those businesses who still struggle with this question, the bottomline is that you really need to focus. There is so much information outthere as to how you can successfully set metrics that allow your business to track and measure results, it’s mind boggling. If you havealready jumped in, great. For those still searching for results, maybeyou need to look inward at yourself, your team or your agency.

To be clear, a basic social strategy needs to set realistic goals and objectives. Develop measureable campaigns with specific milestonesthat allow you to monitor success. Remember to deliver valuable content, be consistent, offer relevant advice and you will have the opportunity to become the authority in your space.

Here are the most recent changes to the social landscape and howthey will impact everyone’s businesses in 2015 and beyond.

Social PlatformsFacebook – Earlier this month, Facebook broke the news that theywill be rolling out a new Calls to Action feature for Facebook pages.As pages remain an essential destination for people on Facebook, the hope here is that this feature will allow businesses to drive clearerbusiness objectives. Admins will be able to select from a group of CTAbuttons – like Sign Up, Shop Now and more. Best of all, these CTA buttons can be linked to a destination of your choice either on or offFacebook. These features will begin rolling out over the next fewweeks and can clearly be used to boost new customer acquisition.

Facebook is also adding auto-enhance to photos uploaded viaApple’s iOS – check your settings, as you can control it now or justturn it on and off.

As some individuals head for the exits, Facebook remains a criticalportal for all businesses. The sheer numbers (1 billion active users) will not allow you to leave or not be active. Now with that being said,it’s going to cost you to play. However, once you adjust to this new marketing reality, you’ll quickly recognize that it’s just another costthat needs to be built in to your yearly budget.

LinkedIn – continues to build on its networking strengths by focusing on its members and the new homepage. As more and more emphasis is put on ease of use, watch for LinkedIn to continue to dominate the professional connection space.

Instagram – rolls out a total of five new filters. As you can imaginethese new filters are directly influenced by the photography, design,and art and fashion Instagram communities.

Google – the good folks over at Google launched the Video Analytics page in AdWords for video. This revamp offers more detailed information regarding YouTube performance with the goal of helping marketers create better videos with emphasis on improvement and optimization.

Digital marketing trends for 2015www.socialmediatoday.com Edited from an article by Danny Hall December 29, 2014

Top trends for 2015A recent survey released by StronView stated that business leaders arevery optimistic about their marketing budgets. The survey goes on toreveal that:• 54% expect budgets to increase from last year, while 40% will

maintain the current levels.• 33% of those surveyed expect at least a 10% growth.• Digital marketing efforts like email, along with social media

marketing, will see budget increases.• Traditional marketing budgets will decrease.

Email marketing is backSome will argue that it never left, but certain businesses have decidedly lost interest in list building over the past few years. In 2015,email marketing needs to again become a primary channel of focus.Because, done correctly, it remains a solid method of attracting new investments. With that, 61% of businesses will increase spend in thisarea. Companies are also expected to increase spending on SocialMedia 48.9% and Mobile 40.2%

Closing Points Worth MentioningIn general, 2015 looks to be another big year for digital online marketing. On the social side, it’s clear your business will need to be active; just be aware that this landscape changes quickly.

Make your blog the foundation of your online marketing. Produce high value quality content (videos, infographics etc.), and use it to drive traffic back to your website.

Shift your approach. Due to Facebook’s algorithm changes and the impact that has had on overall post reach, you should incorporate FB Ads as a support mechanism to gain more exposure. Yes, Facebookis free, but in order to gain more reach and target your specificaudience, you’ll have to pay for it.

Photos will continue to dominate post engagement, hint…75% rule, use more photos.

Look hard at your hashtag strategy, as they will continue to gain youmore traction.

Retargeting (marketing to an audience based on previous searchesthey conducted on other websites) will continue to produce more results, but make sure it’s right for your business. (for retail, ecommerce,it’s a no-brainer)

Pinterest- as a traffic source, refocus your efforts, and use it to acquiremore valuable data. (lead capture)

Instagram- will remain a platform of choice because of its pure visualimpact. Integrate this into your marketing plan, and get active.

Twitter- will remain a real-time network and look for them to grow theirstand alone app segment.

One of social media's most defining characteristics is its constant rateof change. Just a few years ago, it was seen as a novel time waster,these days businesses are recognizing the evolving relationship between social and business goals.

In 2015, social media marketers will be dealing with many of thesame problems and pitfalls as they have in the past, down to findingthe right way to think about marketing opportunities on socialmedia, which are different from any other medium marketers andadvertisers have dealt with before.

"This is where marketing and social and the future of all of this stuffreally have a tremendous opportunity to take a step back and under-stand what it is we're trying to do in the first place, and how we canadd value in order to take value from each of these platforms," said Brian Solis, principal analyst for Altimeter Group.

He mentioned a couple notable small business, Saddleback LeatherCo. and Giant Nerd, that have realized that social marketing wasn'tjust about using familiar practices -- coming up with a clever ad campaign or slogan -- and instead thought about social marketing as a bigger community play. It's about everything from service tobuilding relationships.

"The concept of marketing becomes something beyond a depart-ment, it becomes a way of relationship building and customer service that introduces all kinds of new opportunities -- increasedsatisfaction, NPS scores, and stuff that marketing just wanted to beassociated with in the past," he said.

In terms of trajectory, there are more than a few trends emergingand developing that marketers will want to consider moving as they strategize for next year.

1. Good to great: Smarter, more personalized, optimized social

Gartner analyst Jennifer Polk said that 2015 will be a year for optimization -- brands spending less time investing in new platformsor developing content, and more time looking at metrics to sort outwhat's working and what's not.

What has been working is personalization. Social media companiestypically operate with user IDs. Users log into their service, often staylogged in, and frequently across devices.

"As a result, advertisers are increasingly moving toward an approachof targeting, messaging, and measuring people, versus making advertising decisions based on a publication that you look at," saidMax Kalehoff, senior vice president of marketing for SocialCode.

He also talked about how this personalization will occur across devices. An advertiser will strategize where and how to reach a user,whether it's on a tablet or desktop.

"If an advertiser knows you became aware of them on a tablet, whenthat advertiser sees you on your desktop, where you're more likely to purchase and make a transaction, they'll send you a different message that's more relevant," he said.

9 Social Media Trends to WatchWe spoke with industry thought leaders about what's emerging, continuing, and fading out for next year.

2. More metricsA component of efforts to optimize and personalize social is track-ing the performance of those initiatives. Polk said, as has been true,it's not enough to have fans. Social media marketers have to look at the way in which what they do works towards business goals likeconversion, email acquisition, or retention. Using the right metricswill be even more important.

3. More money will flow into social media

Kalehoff expects the money to continue to pour in for social mediacompanies in 2015. Brands know that social media and connectedmedia is where people are spending their time, so it makes sense to target folks where they are. He cited an example from this pastsummer during the World Cup. Several of SocialCode's clients spentseveral million dollars promoting their brands around the WorldCup. One client in particular, devoted $20 million to it.

"That's TV scale," he said. "If you look at the advertisers around theSuper Bowl, there might be one that comes close to that level ofspend around the Super Bowl."

He sees this as a tipping point where there's a huge amount ofscale, because of the recognition that people are on social, and thatthe reach is global.

"Facebook alone, with 1.3 billion people, they have more scale thanall the TV networks combined," Kalehoff said.

As a result, that money will make these companies stronger, and stronger companies means that they have the resources to innovate, he said.

4. Social media companies will become more than just networks

Looking at the big players in social, they developed not just websites and apps that many people visit and use in everyday life, but infrastructures that support messaging, targeting, andmeasuring users, Kalehoff said.

Their identities are shifting from merely networks to digital platforms. "The gold example of that is Facebook. Facebook has a website, which is a social network, they have apps connected to it,but Facebook is also enabling advertisers to use its social graph, itsprofile database to reach people in other places," Kalehoff said.

Recently, Facebook purchased ad server Atlas so that advertiserscan target people based on what they know about them and theirFacebook profile, and reach them in places outside of Facebook.

"Social media is almost a red herring that enables them to becomepowerful infrastructures for marketing," Kalehoff said.

techrepublic.com December 8, 2014 Article by Erin Carson

5. Continued converged media

"We've seen in the last two years an increase in the amount of socialadvertising... social networking sites are getting more diverse interms of the different ad products that they offer," Polk said.

And newer platforms like Snapchat are coming out with their own ad products at a faster rate. Polk noted that it took Pinterest a year tooffer advertising. Snapchat, for example, caught on more quickly.

This in turn, drives the necessity for advertisers to pursue paid options on these platforms.

"Facebook has essentially said that content without advertising has a significantly lower chance of being seen, so if you want to makesure your content is being seen on sites like Facebook, it's becomingtable stakes," Polk said. Marketers also have to make sure content is being seen by the right people at the right time.

Amber Osborne, CMO for social media management tool MeshFire,said convergence could play out in a different way. For 2015, she seesmore integration into live events, including television.

When NBC aired their live version of the Sound of Music last December, Nielsen's SocialGuide showed nearly a half million tweetsduring the broadcast. It blasted them to the top spot for tweetedshows that week. And this year, NBC's banked on similar viral successwith another live, televised musical, Peter Pan.

In a similar sense, Solis talked about the partnership between HP and Vine where HP made a commercial this fall featuring Vine videos.In a sense, it's a matter or recognizing a new opportunity.

"When a consumer sees the HP commercial with their favorite Vinestar on television, it actually connects with them in a way that's introducing social to a traditional opportunity that was really notthere before," he said.

Therein lies an opportunity to combine something like Vine that's aneveryday stop for people, with a more traditional advertising format.

6. More mistakes"One of the trends that I perceive is for us to make more mistakes before we really start to realize that we have to rethink everythingfrom 'what does success look like' in order to reinvent metrics andthen in order to reinvent that strategies that drive those metrics,"Solis said.

As Kalehoff said, for as much as social media has evolved, we're stillvery much in the "second inning."

7. Mobile firstFor years, mobile has been viewed as the second screen, but Solissaid that in 2015, marketers will have to pay more attention towhat a mobile-first experience, or even a mobile-only experi-ence should look like for audiences. That means independentstrategies for independent devices. And what's more, he thinks thistrend will carry on through the next several years to come.

8. Visual brand language

With the popularity of apps like Snapchat, Vine, Instagram, and Pinterest, it's important to note the role that visual elements playin social.

Forrester reported in April that Instagram alone had a 4.2% engage-ment rate compared to Facebook's 0.07% and Twitter's 0.03%.

Posts with images typically do better than posts without.

"The strongest brands are adapting and creating a clear visual social media strategy," said Canva's Zach Kitschke (one of the firstcompanies to get Twitter's new profile page earlier in the year).

"Being consistent in the way you create content will help maintain a strong brand online," he said.

9. BreakoutsSome of the more successful platforms to watch in 2015 might be the ones that revolve around imagery, messaging, and video.

For example, while Pinterest has been around for several years,its scale has become enormous, Kalehoff said. Because it's basicallyimage-based search, it's rich with user intent, which lends itself tothe kind of marketing Kalehoff discussed.

"We believe they're sitting on something really valuable," he said.While mainstream brands are already on Pinterest, Kalehoff thinksthat in 2015, we're likely to see the platform evolve its businessmodel and gain more traction.

As far as messaging apps, apps like Kick, Snapchat, What's App, etc.,they also have large user bases and will explore new marketing opportunities. Though, it's more a matter of continued evolutionthan hitting one distinct point of maturation.

"Our customers are all marketers and we know they're all very, veryinterested in these possible emergent breakouts," Kalehoff said.

...and a prediction for Apple in 2015techrepublic.com December 29, 2014 From an article by Erik Eckel

Prediction: Apple will sell 20 million Apple Watches, boosting Apple Pay adoption

I'm already on record stating Apple will sell as many as 12 million Apple Watches in the first half of 2015. While other predictions estimate Apple will sell anywhere from 10 to 30 million units of its new wearable next year, I believe actual sales will come in around 20 million.

The sales number itself isn't seemingly that important, but it is -- and here's why. Over the last decade, watch saleshave seriously eroded. When was the last time you considered buying a watch if it wasn't a Pebble or device alsooffering FitBit-type functionality? While there's no doubt the Apple Watch will create considerable buzz and manywill purchase the new gadget just to gain immediate digerati credibility, what's most telling is Apple's ability to reinvigorate an essentially dead market segment.

Then there's Apple Pay. The Apple Watch will prove to be an important conduit to Apple Pay adoption. So, asApple sells millions of Apple Watches and continues along its well-documented path of converting customers ofother Apple products to its computers and smartphones, the company will also grow the Apple Pay army. Look for the payment option to grow in adoption exponentially in 2015 as a result.

5 trends that will change how you use social media

Big changes are afoot for the likes of Twitter, Facebook and others.

This year started with a death sentence for Facebook. In January, research company Global Web Index published a study showing thatFacebook had lost nearly one-third of its U.S. teen users in the lastyear. Headlines pronounced the network “dead and buried.”

Fast forward to the present and Facebook is reporting recordgrowth. The company earned $2.96 billion in ad revenue in the third quarter of 2013, up 64 percent from just a year ago. More impressively, the network has added more than 100 millionmonthly active users in the last year.

All of which goes to show how difficult it can be to predict the futureof social media. With that caveat in mind, here’s a look into the crystalball at five ways social media will (likely) evolve in 2015.

1. Your social network wants to be your wallet

Hacks released in October show a hidden payment feature deep inside Facebook’s popular Messenger app. If activated by the company, it will allow the app’s 200 million users to send money to each other using just debit card information, free of charge. Meanwhile, the network has also already rolled out a new Autofillfeature (a kind of Facebook Connect for credit cards), which allowsusers who save their credit card info on Facebook to check out with 450,000 e-commerce merchants across the web.

So why does Facebook want to handle your money in 2015? Right now, some of tech’s biggest players are battling it out in themobile payments space, including Apple with its new Apple Pay app,upstarts like Square and Stripe and even online payments veteranslike PayPal. The endgame at this stage isn’t exactly clear. Facebookmay eventually charge for its money transfer services, leverage customer purchasing data to pull in more advertisers or even try to rival traditional credit cards like Visa and Mastercard (which make billions on fees). One thing’s for sure: You can expect to see major social networks jockeying to handle your transactions in 2015.

2. New networks proliferate, but will they last?

2014 saw the rise of a number of niche social networks, many builtspecifically in response to the perceived failings of the big boys: thelack of privacy, the collection of demographic and psychographicdata, the increasingly pervasive advertising. Newcomers range fromEllo, which launched in March with promises to never sell user data,to Yik Yak, which allows users to exchange fully anonymous postswith people who are physically nearby, and tsu, which promises toshare ad revenue with users based on the popularity of their posts.

Will these networks grow and stick around? New social platformsthat try to replicate the Facebook experience while promising, for instance, fewer ads or more privacy, have the odds seriouslystacked against them. The biggest challenge – one that evenGoogle+ has struggled with – is attracting a sufficient userbase so the network doesn’t feel like a ghost town compared to Facebook’s thriving 1.3-billion-user global community.

On the other hand, new networks that map onto strong existingcommunities or interests (interest-based networks, as opposed toFacebook-style people-based networks) have a much better chance.In fact, thousands of these networks are already thriving below theradar, from dedicated sites for cooks and chefs like Foodie to sites for fitness junkies like Fitocracy.

3. Shopping finally comes to social media

Earlier this year, both Twitter and Facebook began beta-testing“buy” buttons, which appear alongside certain tweets and postsand allows users to make purchases with a click or two, without ever leaving the network. Expect e-commerce and social media integrations to deepen in 2015.

For starters, this approach eliminates one key dilemma all merchants face – how to get customers in the door (or to your website). On Facebook and Twitter, you’ve already got a receptiveaudience, happily chatting with friends, browsing the latest trends,sharing photos and videos, etc. Once their payment details are on file, purchases are a tap or two away.

In addition, since Facebook and especially Twitter are real-timemedia, they’re perfect for short-term deals tied in with fleetingtrends. With time-sensitive offers literally streaming by, consumersmay well be inclined to act quickly and seal the deal, forgoing the obsessive comparison shopping that internet is known for.

Finally, there are major benefits to advertisers. Connecting individ-ual Tweets and Facebook posts with actual purchases has thus farproved a huge analytical challenge. But with the advent of buy buttons, concrete revenue figures can be attached to specific socialmedia messages in a way that hasn’t been possible until now.

4. Smart devices get more socialCheap sensors have led to an explosion of smart devices. Everythingfrom home appliances like thermostats, bathroom scales and refrigerators to wearables like fitness bracelets and smart watchesare now collecting data and zapping it off wirelessly to the Internet.Lots of these devices are also pushing notifications to Facebook,Twitter and other networks, a trend that will continue in 2015.

The challenge in 2015 becomes how to more intelligently integratethe fast-growing Internet of Things with social media. In short,smart devices need to improve their social intelligence. This mightstart with tapping users’ social graph – their unique network offriends and followers – in better ways. A very simple example: a smart fridge that tracks your Facebook Events, sees you’re planning a party and how many people have RSVP’d and alerts you to make a beer run. By listening to social media in more sophisticated ways – tracking users’ activities and interactions withfriends and followers, then responding accordingly – smart devicesstand to get even smarter in the year ahead.

5. The illusion of social media privacy gives way to the real thing

2014 saw a number of anonymous and ephemeral social networks –Snapchat, Secret, Whisper, Yik Yak and Telegram, to name a few –surge in popularity. Not everyone wants every conversation over social media broadcast to the world, after all. At the same time, savvyusers are increasingly aware – and concerned – about ways personaldata is being collected and later sold to advertisers, manipulated in tests or accessed by government agencies.

The problem is that few of these “private” networks fulfill their mandates. Snapchat has been hacked, repeatedly, with hundreds of thousands of sensitive – supposedly disappearing – user photosposted on the Internet. And in October, it was revealed that theanonymous network Whisper was actually saving users’ posts andlocations and compiling this information in a searchable database.As Venture Beat points out, real anonymity and privacy on the Internet is extremely difficult to achieve. While it’s easy to makepromises, it’s nearly impossible to deliver.

blog.hootsuite.com December 1, 2014 Article by Ryan Holmes, CEO Hootsuite

Panoramic cameras. Those who work in fields such as real estate,travel and insurance know the importance of capturing an environ-ment. Panoramic cameras such as those from Giroptic can capture avideo or photo of everything that is in a room or an outdoor area. Theseimages can be posted on Web sites to help potential renters or travelershave a more realistic idea of what it will be like to actually be there.

Internet of Things. The term that has won favor for describing everyday objects imbued with intelligence and connectivity will helpbusiness people in two ways. In their personal lives, it will be able toprovide intelligence about the health of their homes, cars, loved onesand themselves. It will also enable some degree of remote control andautomation depending on certain conditions being met, i.e.., the classichome automation scenario. For those whose businesses rely on track-ing assets, though, the IoT can be a game changer. For example, onecan keep tabs on usage of inventory, vehicles and other business property or simply share meeting notes.

Mobile Payments. If you're part of a business that collects mobile pay-ments, you may know that Square made it easy for people to acceptpayment from credit cards anywhere. But now, the phone can be usedto make payments as well as receive them. There are many alternativesin the market, including Square, PayPal and WePay, but clearly there'sbeen even more attention on them with the introduction of Apple Pay.Look for products such as the Poynt terminal to deal with paymentsany way customers wish to make them.

Next week, what will likely be over 150,000 attendees from around theworld and all corners of the consumer electronics world, will gather inLas Vegas for the annual International Consumer Electronics Show(CES). While many of the products shown there are oriented toward entertainment, there are crossover implications for small business:

4K displays. TVs are always a cornerstone of CES. 4K TVs and monitorshave four times the resolution of today's high-definition TVs. As wasonce the case for high-definition TVs, 4K or "ultra high-definition" TVscost more than their lower resolution counterparts. However, they canbe helpful for meetings where the goal is to display a lot of detail in a relatively small screen size as well as showing off details of finelydesigned merchandise to prospects.

Slimmer, longer-lasting laptops. Once, there was a big difference between laptops and tablets, but the line has gotten blurrier. It willcontinue to do so as Microsoft pushes forward with Windows 10, which takes a smarter approach to 2-in-1 systems. The coming yearshould include many designs based on Intel's Core M design, which offers greater power efficiency in designs that don't need a fan.

Smartwatches. Whether you prefer them as intelligent bangles or partof a smartwatch/camera set, smartwatches come in many different varieties and can help with a range of tasks from being reminded of an upcoming appointment to getting directions to a new customer--all without accessing what has become the barrage of noise and notifications of the modern smartphone that is more likely to be relegated to a pocket or bag today.

6 tech trends that will help small business in 2015www.inc.com December 31, 2014 Article by Ross Rubin

Clockwise from top : Apple Pay focuses mainstream attention on mobile payment,Giroptic markets 360cam, the world’s first full HD 360° camera, Samsung’s 4K ultrahigh definition curved smart TV, and a smart thermostat by Nest, part of the ‘Internet of Things’ you’ll be hearing about for the foreseeable future.

Will Tweet for Food:7 Dining Technology Advances For 2015

Time was, dining out was a chance to get away from all those beeping screens. But now, tech is invading the restaurant space, as operators look for ways to turn tables faster, keep kids entertained,and avoid errors.

If you’ve ordered your meal off a touchscreen kiosk, made a reserva-tion with your phone, and paid with your virtual wallet, what else can perk up your dining experience? Take a look at the new waystechnology may jazz up your restaurant meal in the coming year:

1. Here come the drones — Forget TGI Friday’s drone-with-mistletoeholiday debacle. They’re going to work the bugs out of this. Soon,drones could deliver food to your house — Domino’s began testingthat idea in 2013. Drone companies got a lot of venture capital in the past couple years, and perhaps that’s not all with military uses in mind, hm?

For a more elegant, drone-enabled dining experience, Frisbee-shaped, levitating robots from Infinium Robotics may soon dumpyour plate into your lap — or, if all goes well, whizz through the dining room to deliver your meal to your table. (see photo below)

5. No more shouting — Tired of having to talk right in your companion’s ear or bellow, “What did you say?” over a restaurant’sthudding sound system? Better restaurant sound systems fromMeyer Sound technology solves all that. At newly remodeled Oakland, Calif. restaurant Oliveto, Meyer installed its second concert-hall quality sound system in a restaurant. Now, waitstaff at the 28-year-old eatery can make micro-adjustments to the room’ssound system depending on occupancy, time of day, and type of event to make sure conversations are easily heard.

6. Social snacks — If you’re hungry but don’t have any cash on you,social media may come to the rescue soon. Vending machines fromInnovative Vending Solutions of Dayton, Ohio, makes kiosks thatwill spit you out a treat if you post about an eatery or event on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Restaurant clients have already included Buffalo Wild Wings, Coyote Ugly Saloon, and The OldSpaghetti Factory.

7. Beam me my discount, Scotty — Hungry? Walk past a restau-rant you like with a smartphone, and you may get texted a discountdeal, thanks to the growing use of beam technology. Apple's iBeamis seeing competitors such as Samsung’s Proximity join the beamingfray, too. Retailers and restaurant owners alike are excited by the potential of beam tech for sending you instant deals and gatheringquick feedback. Entire malls such as Malaysia’s Shaftsbury Squareare installing dozens of iBeams, so that every food-court purveyorand retailer can pop a deal onto your smartphone.

www.forbes.com December 23, 2014 Article by Carol Tice

American snack machines that offer freegoodies for social media mentions

2. Pizza while you game — Do you hate having to put down thatgame controller to pick up a phone and order a pizza? Soon, if you’replaying on the Xbox One, you may not have to. Last month, Domino’srolled out its Xbox app to Ireland and the UK, so it’s probably notlong until American gamers enjoy the same privilege.

3. “Surge” menu pricing — Disruptive car-ride startup Über’s approach to pricing is grabbing attention in the restaurant world.With Über looking to patent its surge technology, restaurant consultants are already discussing how to charge more during peaktimes, or add a surcharge to reserve a table on popular nights. Hopefully, that same surge technology will warn diners when a mealis having a price spike, so we can arrive early or late and get a deal.

4. Read my mind — Tired of puzzling over what to order? New technology Pizza Hut is testing analyzes where you look on a visual menu of topping items, and figures out what you want. Some people think it’s creepy, but what the industry is calling “subliminal ordering” using Swedish company Tobii Technology‘s eye-movement tracking tech could catch on. It’s fast, different, and definitely a conversation starter.