Trends in Sight: Marketing in 2014: The Year of Social

As we all look ahead towards 2014, it is all about Social Marketing. 9 in 10 marketers will use social media marketing. Call 2014 the year of “social acceptance.”

Redesign your website for the experience of your users not for search engines only. We have now transcended from the age of SEO to the age of CEO [Customer Experience Optimization]. Our technology have aided us in knowing our customers in a way that boggles the mind. We know all the numbers associated with our target audience - we know their age, location, annual income, their spending habits and so forth. Behind this veil of statistics, what we now need to know is the  person with emotions and questions regarding the purchasing of your products and services.
Your marketing strategy needs to be personal.
When developing content always ask yourself: how relevant is your message for this person at this point of customer life cycle?

Since the dawn of history, man has been nurtured by fire side stories. Our brains are hard wired to remember stories. share stories and connect with stories. You, as a marketer are the new story tellers of our digital age.
“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.” Brandon Sanderson
Need help developing a story. Here are some pointers from Brian Tarcy.

In a society inflicted by massive ADD, small and simple is your ticket to drive attention and retain registration.
David Armano of global social agency Edelman Digital calls mini content, like the six-second video platform Vine, "the second coming of YouTube." He adds, the best way to reach someone is in those "in-between" moments when they're flipping through content on a mobile device.
Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229806#ixzz2mA401zJ6
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2013/09/17/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2014/

Content, Context and Contact. -  should be the three pillars of your marketing strategy for 2014 and beyond.