As we close the books on 2014, it’s time to pull out the crystal ball to see what’s in store for social media in 2015. “Overall, we see social media beginning to reach its potential as a marketing tool – businesses are finding they can use social media channels to sell their products or services while maintaining an authentic voice that social media is famous for,” says Bernard Perrine, CEO and co-founder of SocialCentiv, a Twitter marketing tool designed to help businesses find new customers on Twitter.

Perrine predicts businesses will find success with these top trends in 2015:

Targeting audiences. Instead of trying to reach the masses to find a handful of customers, the idea is to specifically target several small, tailored groups of people via the social media channel that you are most likely to reach them on. That way, companies are reaching more people who are relevant to their business and more likely to become customers.

Twitter fact: Businesses are finding that the @reply is a great way to engage customers one-on-one, or Tweet-to-Tweet, allowing a business to tailor its message, send a direct response and create better grounds for established customer relationships.

Blending paid and owned content. As marketers have perfected their social media strategies, they have found that blending their paid and owned media together lets them get their content out to more people while keeping costs down and still maintaining an authentic voice. Striving to find the perfect blend of paid and owned media will be the challenge in 2015.

Enlisting employees to help share. When employees are sharing their company’s social media content on their own channels, businesses cash in with a higher organic reach and engaged employees who feel passionately about the company. How should a business organize this effort? Simply ask!

Laughing it up! Social media marketers have found that one of the best ways to resonate with their followers – many of which are Millennials – is to be silly and give them a good laugh. Businesses can achieve this through pictures, videos or even corny jokes. Humor has boundaries – make sure that jokes are within good taste, tied to the business and relevant. 

In August 2014, HipLogiq integrated its portfolio of Twitter marketing applications under a single product line, SocialCentiv. Now, businesses can visit SocialCentiv.com and find a user-friendly, do-it-yourself Twitter marketing tool that makes it easy to create a campaign that tracks keywords and reaches relevant consumers with greater precision by targeting local Tweets. You can be part of the most relevant Tweets as they happen, spot opportunities first, and make a name for yourself with SocialCentiv.