This list was compiled by BRND WGN’s digital analyst Ian Papagiorcopulo, media planner Lisa Browning and PR manager Christian Peregin.

Last year businesses took to social media like politicians and teenage girls took to selfies. But if you think you’re ahead of the game, think again. There are plenty of changes in store for 2014 and here’s what we think some of them will look like.

Short videos with big budgets

Micro video exploded thanks to social apps like Vine (up to six seconds) and Instagram (three to15 seconds), allowing brands to engage with people who have goldfish-like attention spans. Oreo’s six-second remake of The Shining is a great example. But while brands take advantage of the short-form medium, they will also realise that videos don’t go ‘viral’ alone. Where goodcontent goes, paid advertising must follow.

More Internet of Things

Inanimate objects are quickly becoming a thing of the past and 2014 is the year where the Internet of Things will explode. Soon everything will be donned with intelligent sensors and connectivity allowing for all objects to have internet-like qualities, applications and monitoring abilities. Meanwhile, wearable technologies will turn every day accessories like watches, spectacles and items of clothing into replacements for our handheld devices.

Technological leap: 3D, Touch-ID and Google Wallet

This year will see a technological leap, with innovations like Touch-ID technology, 3D printing and the Google Wallet. The Touch-ID technology used by the iPhone 5S will become a must-have on any digital device. Who needs passwords when your unique thumbprint can enable you to log on to all your web accounts? Similarly, who needs cash and credit cards when you can pay with your phone? But it is perhaps 3D technology,particularly 3D printing, that will leave the most lasting legacy in the world as it becomes more accessible.

Private over public

Private is the new public and the kids are getting there first. Young people are increasingly opting to share content privately, selectively and for a limited time only through apps like Snapchat and Confide which make content time bound and difficult to screenshot. Social networks are already adapting, with developments such as Instagram Direct. Brands who close their eyes to this will miss out.

A specialist agency is this year’s must-have

Time-tight brand managers simply don’t have the time to master Facebook’s world of ‘custom audiences’, ‘lookalike audiences’ and ‘retargeting’. Gone are the days of ‘click here to promote post’. It is now more crucial than ever to have a specialist agency that knows what it is doing because Facebook advertising – and any other social media/online advertising for that matter – is getting smarter by the day and changing faster than most people change their status updates.

The rise of brand journalism

Content creation is a serious business. And the trick is to create content that people want to see. Social media managers must create engaging stories with the potential to go viral. To do this, brands don’t need social media ghostwriters anymore; they need fully-fledged multimedia newsrooms producing SEO content across platforms like Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

Scarily accurate ad targeting

Cookies (not the crumbling kind) and location settings allow advertisers to target consumers with extremely specific ads that are perfectly targeted at the right individuals. Cookies allow you to send a discounted rate to a consumer who’s left your website without making a purchase. Location tracking could see you walking by a restaurant and immediately seeing an ad about it on your smartphone.

Google plus, not minus

When Google+ first launched everyone wondered where it would fit into their Facebook-dominated lives. Google, being the giant it is, has now combined Google+ with its enormous share in the search industry pie. Now when searching on Google’s network all the brand’s +1s will appear under the sponsored ad. This is the digital equivalent of ‘word of mouth’. Google claims these search ads increase click through rate by five to10 per cent. 2014 will see a spike in Google+ activity, more effective search campaigns and a surge in our friends’ faces on Google.

B2B = B2C

Business-to-business consumers are complex creatures but they are not immune to good design, practicality and efficient navigation. As digital, social and mobile worlds combine, B2B clients are increasingly being offered a more business-to-consumer experience. Marketing agencies will this year, more than ever, provide holistic B2B strategies across platforms, spearheaded by a ‘B2B=B2C’ mentality.

That ‘dislike’ button

Facebook is always trying to improve the way users engage and interact with content. However, they have so far resisted calls for a ‘dislike’ button, giving us only a ‘dislike’ sticker in Facebook messenger. Lately there has also been talk of a ‘sympathise’ or ‘empathise’ button to allow for a more respectful response to bad news. We predict 2014 will see a whole range of engagement options beyond ‘like’, ‘comment’ or ‘share’.

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